Training #3: Differential Reinforcement

[@Ciara1211.]

My favorite example of this I saw online was somebody trained their golden retriever to pick up a pillow whenever a guest came over, because before he always barked. Can't bark with a pillow in your mouth 😂

[@VianTheGryphon]

Great vid. My cat is quite a demanding little beast, especially when there's fish or chicken around, he'll get right up in your face and even try and take it off your plate. My Mum usually gives in after a few minutes and gives him some and now he has learned that if he begs he'll get something. He has also learned that I'm not so easily swayed, I have never given him food while I am still eating, and when he would jump up to try and steal some, I would immediately put him back on the floor every time. Now he doesn't even sit by my feet when I'm eating and will pick on someone else. I reinforced the behaviour by only giving him leftovers when I go to clean my plate, and only when he is at his bowl. When I do get up after a meal he'll rush ahead of me and beg at his bowl. It took a couple of years for it to get to this stage but it did, my Mum is always impressed that I don't get bothered by him but she always says she doesn't have the heart to tell the cat no. Perhaps I should try and train my Mum now! =D

[@pramitbanerjee]

yes you should *evil grin*

[@Pile_of_carbon]

This method works great with children as well.

[@evercuriousmichelle]

These techniques work quite well with kids too (obviously the reward wouldn't be candy but rather time to play with a favorite toy or even simply attention and praise).

[@MusicLover7545]

THANK YOU!!! Jessi, this video has been so helpful. Our 16yo cat has developed the need to drink water out of the sink or bathtub, despite having a nice fresh water bowl, and arthritic joints that make jumping hard. With positively reinforcing his water bowl, and drinking out of it, it's slowly turning back into his default choice! Thanks so much!

[@philophos]

Man, I need some differential reinforcement on myself. (Procrastinating writing papers).

[@ragnkja]

Sounds like you should use positive reinforcement when you exhibit the desired behaviour.

[@ravennightshade8329]

philophos piece of cake for each page you finish 😉

[@petriepack]

I'm the 171 like and the 16 comment

[@apothocareon7521]

this will assist in the training of the black lab I'm working with. she's more than excited to meet people and leaps up every time.

[@2yathangam]

These videos are soooo super helpful in understanding/training my pets, kids, and husband!!

[@EDITHFIVE]

Thanks for the information and thank you for the work you and your husband do, I may love animals, but you two take it to the next several levels. I will be watching your other videos on changing animal behavior. Our family will be moving next month and we will be facing correcting some of our dogs behaviors and even now we are working on integrating an older male cat with our three cats. One of the cats is a very dominate female who will beat on the other cats if she is frustrated. Our efforts to get the new cat & existing cats to get along has so far been dismal.

[@faithshirley1548]

i'm a dog trainer at petco and this was pretty helpful! :D I'll remember that tip about replacing jumping with sitting.

[@BeckyS]

Faith Shirley From one dog trainer to another - go watch kikopup's videos! She's amazing :) A great tip for an over excited jumper is to toss treats on the floor 5 feet from yourself, the dog can't eat treats and jump, so you can reward them for '4 on the floor' and they learn to give distance which is useful for meeting people who don't want to get jumped on. It removes the excitement from your space. I also love the video 'go crazy freeze' with a great dane for teaching hyper dogs self control. It works great! :)

[@animewhisperer1830]

Only issue with this is when you leave petco and start training client dogs... you’ll see..

[@animewhisperer1830]

The issue is, what if the dog has absolutely no concept of commands? And only way it would work is if the dog already knew sit/stay, all you’d be doing in this case, is waiving a treat around and yelling sit to try and get the dog to sit 😂 just saying, you have to utilize some punishment sometimes, petco training is unrealistic, think this to yourself, discipline, not punishment 🙂 they’re 2 different things, discipline is providing a consequence for unwanted behavior, punishment is causing misery for unwanted behavior, see the difference? 2 totally different things,

[@Lytchiie]

That's a very interesting video. My 9 year old dog has always barked a lot and for the last few years I've been teaching her differential reinforcement without knowing it! For example she would bark outside, I would tell her in a firm voice to come to me and sit on her bed and would praise her while she was sitting and the barks were reduced to whining only. Same thing when she barks while in the house, trying to calm her and praise until she's completely calm. She still barks a lot, but at least it's easier to calm her down now!

[@billyjarvis9849]

Great Video! I love animals so much!

[@danbachner4105]

This was extremely helpful, thank you!

[@banndsand]

Another great training video. Thanks as always for these. :)

[@SlyPearTree]

When I was a kid we got a puppy that behaved very badly when left alone for more than a couple of hours. He would eat/rip/destroy everything he could get his paws on. This was the late 1960's early 70's and training tips weren't a google search away. It was a long time ago but I think we had not problem house training him but his training disappeared when he was alone for more than a few hours. One day we came back from school and my mother told us that she had called the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) to take the dog away. I hope he found a good home but it is more than likely that he was "put to sleep". Even back then the problem was obvious to all of us, we were three kids which meant that the puppy never lacked attention except at night when tired and sleeping. The only place in the house where he could not destroy stuff anyone cared about was the basement but it did not have a door. My parents tried making barriers but that dog was a real Houdini and would ALWAYS get through. These days we would have put him in a cage when leaving the house but we considered those cruel back then when now I know dogs who happily go to their cage without being called when they sense their master are leaving the house. My family had several dog and it is the only one that had such serious behavioral problems that could not be corrected. I do believe that family with young kids adopting an indoor puppy must get through similar experiences, so what do you do short of getting rid of the poor puppy? Is a cage a good idea if it does not stress the dog?

[@bridgethoosic]

Thank you so much for posting this! I have a bird who constantly wants to chew on my pencil when I'm writing or drawing. She also always wants to fly to my shoulder, which I don't mind, but not when I'm trying to get ready. Thinking about training this way I think will help.

[@erikandfox]

Do you have any tricks for behaviors that only happen when the owner isn't around? E.g., my dog never chews up the couch except for when I'm gone for a period of time. Is crating the only option?

[@Alzmith]

It's such a coincidence y'all released this video because I jist got some new foster cats and the current cat isn't happy with them. And this helped some! I was able to reward the cranky one for sniffing the other cat without growling.

[@melodyrose3595]

I like the story I heard about dogs that were trained to hold a toy so they couldn't bark. Visitors to the house took it as an invitation to play, which created even more reinforcement for the preferred behaviour because the dogs loved to play with the new visitors.

[@louisathellama]

You have exactly 77,777 subscribers!

[@lilbasenji1]

2:04 BASENJI!!!

[@brenohenrique6666]

So great, i thought you ended the training videos, going to try make my dog sit to visitors i usally made it fetch something but that barelly makes enough time to people get to the door, wich is fine since him doesnt bite but not everyone likes to be jumped on by him.

[@culwin]

These techniques also work for employees

[@Katinflowers]

My baby lovebirds won't stop trying to go on my shoulder

[@soccerkitty24ham]

how do I substitute my cat's aggressive behavior before breakfast? If I close the door so she can't get in she scratches the door and has started to remove the finish, if I leave the door open she gets on the bed and starts to bite or claw me. She only does that right before I fed her and I'm ok if she gets on my lap or rubs against me, it's just the clawing and biting that I don't want.

[@PinkChucky15]

Great video! :-)

[@catheyboyer625]

my cat dosen't go in his cage bescuse it to dark what can i do to get him in or how do i get light or him?

[@brinapeanut]

Other than walking away and giving yourself time to cool off, what are some strategies you use when you just want to scream and pull your hair out? Since I'd imagine it would be difficult to walk away as your dog is jumping on someone or barking at every external sound.

[@syrenawebb2605]

thank you for the tips! recently our little parrot had been randomly biting us even during his favorite grooming sessions that he loves so much. just goes from calm and fluffy relaxing, to maximum rage in 2 seconds and don't know why. maybe he is getting too demanding of grooming, or reaching his 1 year old sexual maturity stage and getting too physically stimulated? not sure. going to try implementing some training slowly taking baby steps and see how things go.

[@FishSmack1]

My senior cocker spaniel constantly wants to lie in the middle of the floor where she is a tripping hazard. I've tried giving her treats when she lies in an acceptable place off to the side, and lightly nudging her to get her to move when she is in an unacceptable place and then giving her a treat when she moves to an acceptable spot, but she still doesn't seem to understand the concept. Should I try directing her to the acceptable areas and giving her treats upon having her lie down there just at random times of the day to make her enjoy lying in those areas? Most of the time her brain seems to just shut off as soon as a treat is within the vicinity. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

[@maribelz.7306]

What do you recommend I do when my puppy (red heeler mix) gets shy, and sometimes rude, around other puppies? My trainer said I should set up more puppy play dates, but I don't want to force my puppy to do something she wouldn't be comfortable with. It's becoming a problem bc she will bear teeth, growl and bark at other puppies who approach her and I don't want any one to get hurt. :(

[@SiriusEquestrian]

How is DRL different from variable interval reinforcement?

[@Bia-ib5op]

My English is not very good but I'll try my best~ DRL is related to RATES. You want a low rate, i.e. a little amount of the behavior. So you stablish a limit of that behavior and if it surpasses that limit you don't reinforce it. Variable interval is related to TIME. And the time is not fixed, so the animal won't know when he's gonna get reinforced, it may happen any time, so it might be a little confusing. While in DRL the animal knows they'll get reinforced if they do X amount of behavior. Hope I helped :) I'm a Psychology student and I LOVE behavior analysis 💕

[@SiriusEquestrian]

Thanks, yes that make sense.

[@annasyliva9463]

This question has nothing to do with the video but I've seen your parrot videos and I just wanted to ask,we have been given a 13 week old conure parrot and know absolutely nothing about caring for a parrot.We have had budgies in the past but from what I've read it's not the same.Do you have any advice or information we should know?

[@eleanorberryman5003]

Can you please elaborate on how to reinforce calm behaviour of a cat in a crate? My cat won't eat treats if it is stressed, so passing treats through the crate door doesn't work because the cat doesn't want treats. Thanks for the tips!

[@animalwondersmontana]

Eleanor Berryman Sure! That's definitely a common problem. Check out my video on Clicker Training and also Crates: A Safe Space. These address exactly how you can get your cat to enjoy her crate more. Good luck!

[@SonnyKnutson]

+Eleanor Berryman I don't know if this is what you meant but you should NOT give the cat treats if it is still stressed. Also don't be to quick to give it treats when it's calming down. Wait until it's completely calm. Try to read the energy of the animal. Is it still tense or calm?

[@eleanorberryman5003]

I followed Jesse's suggestion and watched the video on crate training. I now put a couple treats inside the crate each day for my cat to find so that he associates the crate with good things instead of bad things. He won't take treats if he is at all stressed. I didn't realize that offering treats to a stressed cat was also a bad thing.

[@hywodena]

Can you give me some tips on how to start training differential behavior? When my dog starts barking at visitors, she just keeps going until they leave, even if they're here for hours. This is very frustrating, and she never stops long enough for me to reward her.

[@DracarmenWinterspring]

I don't have any pets to train, but I watch out of curiosity about how this might apply (subconsciously) to humans. Also because I've seen reinforcement learning mentioned on a machine learning course, I assume the intention is to create an analogous system for an artificial intelligence.

[@thatonegirl570]

My rats always mouth my fingers, at first is was cute but now they actually bite me! It hurts! I don't think they want to hurt me, more of a rough play scenario. Any tricks to stop this?

[@metime00]

freeridexx make a squeaking sound if they hurt you and pull away! Since they don't want to hurt you then communicating pain in a way rats understand should get them to stop hurtful bites!

[@batcatfoxloverthelooser1141]

I want to start a animal rescue team like yours have any tips?

[@ilangovans7280]

Hi jessi can you please do a video on "how to overcome fear of animals ,birds,etc ". Because I love animals but I am scared whether they will bit or hurt me so badly

[@BeckyS]

Crafting for Fun behavior training works on people too. You could look into behavioral therapy (which is for humans ;) ), or look into desensitization and get some friends to help you out. If you're extremely anxious, to the point of inability to control your reactions, then a behavioral therapist would be a good bet. If you are uneasy, but can be in a room with a calm animal you can probably make great strides on your own. A few basic exercises I can think of would be assessing your level of anxiety with different animals (can you see a picture, watch a movie, see a confined animal, see a held animal across a room) etc. Think about those scenarios and journal to track your anxiety. Consider going to a zoo and observing animals from a comfortable distance, or sit outside a vet clinic in your car. This way you can observe without risking an interaction before you're ready. If you're friends have very well behaved (or very elderly) animals ask if you can come observe them. Explain that you're trying to get used to animals and that you may not want them to approach you. Baby gates, kennels, or leashes might help you feel more secure. The goal is for you to slowly push your boundaries with positive interactions. Desensitization works even when we know it's happening. Go slow, know your boundaries, and don't rush yourself. :)

[@ilangovans7280]

Becky Shepherd Thank you I will try to overcome!!

[@BeckyS]

Crafting for Fun good luck! :)

[@banjoc222]

Wanting to share this video with a roommate who has been slapping the nose of her 1 yr old dog to “train” it to stop barking/jumping on people. It’s painful for me to watch and I don’t know how to approach her about it… hoping this video will help

[@Fralmunk]

My dog always cries before I feed him, I only put the food down after he stops crying but he always repeats this behavior. What am I missing?

[@animalwondersmontana]

Fralmunk Sounds like he's just excited to eat. Sometimes it feels good to release excitement vocally. It's good to let him settle and collect himself before eating so he doesn't gulp it down too fast. If you want to try to eliminate or reduce the vocalizing before eating, I'd recommend stopping your movement forward every time he makes a noise. Resume your movement toward feeding him as soon as he exhibits the desired behavior. It'll be a long process but if you're dedicated to reducing the behavior be patient and good luck!

[@courtneyy7789]

My kitties are very good about only scratching where they're supposed to, but my one cat has an unstoppable urge to scratch our kitchen chairs. We have two different scratchers on either end of the table right next to the chairs to try and redirect her, but she just keeps doing it. Maybe being more consistent with reinforcing her when she scratches on the scratcher? I also wonder if scolding her when she does scratch the chair is almost reinforcement just because she's still getting attention, so maybe silently picking her up and setting her away from it instead of verbally scolding her would work? Any suggestions would be appreciated :D

[@Oracle428]

This may sound weird (and if this isn't a good suggestion, someone please correct me), but I've read that cats don't like the texture of aluminum foil - I often see suggestions to lay foil on counter tops or furniture to keep cats from jumping onto them. Perhaps try wrapping foil around the chair legs - this will hopefully encourage your cat to choose the scratching posts you've provided in that area and you can then give some yummy treats when she uses the posts you want her to use.

[@emilyscott6274]

I have 2 cats and a dog. I rescued all of them and they all have their own quirks. The youngest cat, in particular, loves to jump on the table with our house plants and eat them. I believe they are non toxic, but it is difficult to tell what the name of the plant is to verify its toxicity to cats. We have tried a multitude of tactics to get her to stay away from the plants (hence putting them higher up on a table), but she still manages to get up there. We have tried things like aluminum foil to deter her from getting in the table, but she doesn't seem to care. The only thing we can do is punish her when she does the behavior and it doesn't seem to work. Do you have any suggestions?

[@EDITHFIVE]

Emily Scott I once had a problem of my cat walking and laying on my computer keyboard. Withholding attention from him did not reduce the behavior. I looked on the web and found the answer of using double sided sticky tape leading up to my keyboard. Seems cats don't like to step on sticky stuff. It worked for me.

[@emilyscott6274]

Yes I heard about that one too along with the aluminum foil trick. She just jumps past it or on the plants themselves.

[@littlecatdiary1262]

Never punish a cat. They do not understand the concept, and it could make the issue worse. You should also not have potentially toxic plants in your house where your cat can get to it. Which means more to you, the plant or the cat? Always check the ASPCA's list of plants to see whether something is toxic or not: www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants There is also an app you can use while shopping to make sure the plants you're buying aren't toxic to cats. Always offer alternatives. Get some plants that the cat _can_ chew on. Cat grass is available at all pet stores and places like WalMart, and it's cheap. You can buy deterrent sprays and spritz them on the dangerous plant if all else fails, and if that doesn't work, rehome the plant or the cat.

[@emilyscott6274]

Obviously my cat is more important. I am saying that I don't know what type of plant it is so I would rather her not eat it in case it is toxic. As far as punishment, if I tell my other car to stop doing something, she learns after a few times, but the younger one doesn't. The only thing we can do for the young one is to keep her in her crate to keep her away from it. That is why I'm trying to ask someone who knows about animal behavior for other alternatives to keep her away.

[@emilyscott6274]

Also I don't want to encourage her to chew on plants if it can be helped because if she thinks it is OK to chew on one plant then she will chew on others.

[@prithviraj6824]

Dear Jessi, my newly bought adult Indian Ring Neck was really sweet to my whole family for the first 3 days. He perched on everyone's finger and even shoulders. A week passed and he started to show aggression once I touch his cage. His eyes always starts pinning once I go near his cage even to change water and food. So I saw your bird finger perch video and started training him. He also started perching well. Then as I trained him he started to perched on my finger (towards my knuckles) and today suddenly he got really mad and bit the other part (nail side of my finger) really hard that it started bleeding. I thought he did it by mistake and I did the exercise again after 1 hour, he bit me again. What could be the reason for his aggression and how can I train him back to get normal like the sweet heart once he was? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Your fellow subscriber, Prithvi :)

[@animewhisperer1830]

I don’t use punishment I discipline 🙂 2 totally different things, at least In my opinion, to me PUNISHMENT isn’t fun, that includes lots of negativity like yelling, hitting, ect. however disciplining an animal is a great way to show what Is acceptable in a calm in control manner they understand, example, if a dog were to jump on me, I would just claim my space by moving into theirs, or gently guard myself with my knee, discipline or as most people call it, “punishment” doesn’t have to be inhumane, cause pain, or be an unfun way of learning! I’ve had many animals learn very easily and quickly using some methods, never once had an animal who was unhappy to learn! Then again, I don’t punish I discipline, ☺️

[@mazzyelf]

This gives me a few ideas to stop my cat who has some kind of pika for chewing/eating/licking plastics... but I cant stop her bringing rubbish in from outside :/

[@MathAndComputers]

Yikes! Keep a close eye and make sure that your cat's digestion stays normal, because bits of plastic, rubber, or cloth can cause intestinal blockages that sometimes don't pass on their own, which can lead to a very sick cat. Laxatives from a vet apparently sometimes work to clear the blockage, but sometimes not.

[@mazzyelf]

We've kept a close eye since she started doing it as a kitten (at Xmas) as a result some gift wrapping options are banned in my house XD it is an absolute pain, and cant really be avoided, you bring your shopping in and before you got everything out the car she's chewed up a shopping bag

[@r.b.4611]

Confusing. Ian Dunbar the famous dog trainer uses the term "Differential reinforcement" to mean giving more treats the closer the animal gets to the target behaviour. Eg. a dog poos 10 metres away from where you want it to, and it gets a treat, the dog poos 5 metres and it gets 2 treats, it poos in the right spot and gets 3 high value treats and praise. Not a big problem, just a matter of naming.

[@Bia-ib5op]

That's called shaping of behavior or successive aproximation, and it's also a type of different reinforcement. But it's used to stablish a *new* behavior, and Jessi is talking about *replacing* inappropriate behavior. :)

[@ModJamesRandall]

This seems great, but I assume it's best when combined with other training methods or used over a long period of time. For instance, training a dog to whine when they see the mailman, then training them to be quiet for the mailman once the whining is well established.

[@DaanavReview]

u r very cute ;)