Positives and Negatives

The main thing that I have learned during the taught portion of this course and during my time living independently in Edinburgh is that things are not just black/white or good/bad. It is important to remember that life is complex. Occasionally animal rights campaigns focus very specifically on a single, very emotive issue. It is easy to look at these campaigns and think that there are very clear right/wrong, good/bad sides in the debate. Usually, once you take the time to look more critically and talk to the parties involved, you will realize that the issue is more complicated and nuanced. We all have a psychological predisposition to categorize things, often into "good" or "bad". This categorization can occur very quickly in our minds, often as the result of our emotions or limited information. It is important to be aware of this tendency because black and white thinking can lead to a lot of problems.

I am a "clicker" trainer. I studied animal training with Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D. and the Karen Pryor Academy before applying for this MSc course. I also have a Bachelor's degree in Psychology (which included a course on animal training). The way that I train animals is often described as "force free", "science-based", or "positive reinforcement". Like most phrases in language, these descriptors don't fully explain or capture the entirety of my training methods and often cause confusion. 

Scientists are wonderful because they analytically and critically break down concepts and give these concepts names or labels. For example, entomologists give names to insects. We often say that these scientists, "discover" insects, but really, the insects already existed on Earth and contributed to the ecosystem and would have continued to live their lives regardless of whether they were ever seen by scientists. Scientists just describe them and give them names. 

Often, the names that scientists come up with have limitations. When Psychologist, B. F. Skinner named components of learning/training he gave them the names "Positive Reinforcement" "Negative Reinforcement" "Positive Punishment" and "Negative Punishment". For Skinner, Positive simply meant adding something and Negative meant removing something. Reinforcement simply meant causing a behaviour to increase and Punishment meant causing a behaviour to decrease. All of the four components are part of learning. None of them are inherently Good or Bad. Unfortunately, the words that Skinner used are emotionally charged and have other meanings. Many people see those labels and think that Positive is good and Negative & Punishment are bad. That isn't actually the case within Skinner's learning theory. 

I strive to be an ethical, scientific, respectful animal trainer who has a strong interest in promoting good animal welfare. It is ok to say that I do "Positive Reinforcement Training", but if I am teaching a dog to sit  - shaping that behaviour by giving treat rewards as the dog bends his rear legs and moves his rear closer to the ground (Positively Reinforcing the sit) - and the dog offers an unwanted behaviour like running toward me, I will not reward that running behaviour. The running behaviour will be Negatively Punished because I will put my treats away, removing them. 

A horse-trainer who taught us told me that she wishes Skinner had chosen the words "Additive" and "Removal" instead of Positive and Negative. I think she had a good point. 

Now, to make things more interesting - lets get into the debate over training devices...

Scotland is considering banning Electronic Dog-Training Collars (which deliver an electric shock) because they are thought to be bad for dog welfare. I once saw a husky with infected wounds on his neck that were  in the shape of the metal electrodes of an Electronic collar. This dog's owner had not noticed these wounds and appeared not to have noticed that the level of electric shock delivered to the dog was inappropriate and inhumane. Unfortunately, I don't have proof that these wounds were definitely from an electronic collar as the collar was not on when I saw the dog. I do have access to a few studies that have shown that owners and professional dog trainers often deliver shocks inconsistently using these collars (inaccurate timing and inappropriate level of shock). I also know that I could not use an electronic collar to train a bird. A primary interest of mine is training pet parrots and I choose not to spend my time practicing training methods that I can't apply to all species. 

The Kennel Club in the UK is calling for a ban on electronic shock collars. Veterinarian, Heather Bacon from the Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education has also made a statement against electric collars and in favour of the ban. My MSc programme is affiliated with The Jeanne Marchig Centre for Animal Welfare Education, and I personally support banning electronic collars.

However, I have learned to read scientific literature and to think about welfare topics critically during this course. I have also interacted with people who I respect who train dogs using electronic collars. If you had asked me about dog training at the very beginning of this course, I would have said, "I am a positive, force free trainer and I am in opposition to trainers who use shock collars" and had a heated, emotional argument about why the type of training I had studied with Susan G. Friedman and The Karen Pryor Academy was Good and why other types of training were Bad.

Now, I have read the scientific studies of dog training and welfare. I have learned that there are too few studies on this topic, and the existing published studies are imperfect. I have also learned that if a shock is delivered at the exactly appropriate time and at a low level, it may not cause the dog to suffer. I have learned that electronic collars have been used to train dogs to avoid endangered animals in conservation programs (Dale et al. 2013), and I can see the benefit to the welfare of the endangered species in those cases. My view has changed from thinking that electronic collar training was all Bad to thinking that it is a more complex issue. I still support the Scottish ban because I think that there is potential to cause harm by using electronic collars inappropriately. One study (Cooper et al. 2014) indicated that even professional dog trainers who were chosen by electronic collar companies used the collars inconsistently and, in my opinion, incorrectly. 

It is important to read scientific literature, think critically, talk to people who have different opinions on animal welfare issues to prevent your good intentions from having unanticipated consequences.

References:

Cooper, J.J. et al., 2014. The welfare consequences and efficacy of training pet dogs with remote electronic training collars in comparison to reward based training. PLoS ONE, 9(9).

Dale, A.R. et al., 2013. The acquisition and maintenance of dogs’ aversion responses to kiwi (Apteryx spp.) training stimuli across time and locations. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 146(1-4), pp.107–111. Available at: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0168159113001020.