#premack

Zaku: Premack clicker + ball throw. Eventually I want to use the clicker to get expression in the ring.

Hooo you ask for nerdy, you shall get nerdy. You ask for me to lay down the law, you too shall get nerdy. My answer is two many pronged, partly because there are generally two different ways in which “Premack” is referred to.

PART 1

ABA Premack Definition: a behavior that occurs at high free operant rates can/will reinforce behavior that occurs at lower free operant rates when made contingent upon than behavior.

English version of ABA Premack Principle Definition: If X is more likely to occur than Y, and X follows Y, Y will be reinforced. (Or maybe thats the math version of the ABA Premack Principle Definition, Oops)

So in reality no we use the Premack Principle all the time in dog training. We use it every single time we provide a reinforcer. e.x. Eating treats is more likely to occur than Sit-Stays, eating treats will reinforce Sit-Stays.

Part 2

Dog Trainer Premack Definition: Lets use the thing the dog seems to want most to reinforce the thing we want. Most frequently I see it as, lets use the thing the dog wants to do to reinforce the dog for not doing that thing.

Often you see this in recall training. Dog recalls from fence, dog is reinforced by access to fence to bark at neighbors dog. If we are using this definition, hell yeah we could be using premark more…Let me explain how.

Part 3

Before I go further, let me also introduce…

Response-Deprivation Hypothesis: if a type of behavior is restricted below free operant levels it can function as reinforcement for other behavior

This is important, because it doesn’t matter if food or play or whatever occurs super frequently (is very reinforcing) if they have also already satiated on that reinforcer. e.x. You regularly watch tv 6 hrs a week but this week you watched 10 hours already, is access to TV really gonna be very motivating anymore, especially if you have to [clean the toilet/ talk on the phone/ insert terrible task here] to access it?

So, with these things in mind…we have a whole bucket of reinforcers we can use. We know have things we never even though of as reinforcers as tools in our toolbox. Do you know you can reinforce cleaning the toilet by making a rule that you don’t get to fold the laundry until cleaning the toilet happens. (Assuming laundry folding occurs more frequently than toilet cleaning and has been restricted below normal levels).

Let me start to list the number of reinforcers we can use for our dogs…

Common: Food, Play, Praise, Petting

Less Common: access to outside, letting them sniff, sending them chase [squirrels, rabbits, etc], any cued behavior with a clear reinforcement history, performing any OCD/naughty/unwanted behavior that occurs at high rates, sleeping, anything which progresses them along the search->stalk->chase->bite->kill->eat chain, relieving on things (esp for boys), literally any behavior that happens more frequently than the least likely behavior they perform

Granted, some of those things are much harder to dispense in small consumable bits than others. However, with a little creativity and practice, its is not all that hard to real in a dog on a long line after they tree each squirrel and set yourself up for the next trial.

Part 4

I get a draft done of first half of paper and I get to hide under my covers and cry.