![]() This perspective allows us to set up environments in which the dog can thrive. We also avoid using language such as “aggressive dog” or even “bad dog” (see “ How Can I Help My Reactive Dog,” for more details) because we adhere to the philosophy that an environment may set a dog up for failure, not that the dog is inherently bad. The behavior of a dog avoiding a stimulus such as a car tells us that they may be frightened without needing to use words. ![]() Instead, dogs can’t “tell” us how they are feeling using words, so instead we rely on the behavior they show us to solve problems. As someone who works closely with dogs, and adores my own, this can’t be further from the truth. One of the biggest criticisms of behavior analysis is that practitioners and trainers don’t care about the emotional wellbeing of the animals with which we work. Applied behavior analysts are interested in socially significant behavior, and with how many people have pets, it makes sense that the science of behavior can be used to help pet owners and their companions get the most out of life. Problem solving is not the only thing behavior analysts do, they also work on skill acquisition such as teaching new commands and building in distractions or other challenges to ensure the behavior is maintained for the owners even after they leave. To best do so, these individuals often receive advanced training in the science of behavior to understand why a dog may engage in certain types of behavior and then work to set up the environment for different, more appropriate behaviors. Those interested in studying behavior tend to focus on data-driven science to solve problems. Behavior analysts and behaviorists are interested in measurable, observable actions and work to understand those behaviors in the context of the organism’s environment and genetic history. Said simply, behaviorists study anything an organism does. Skinner, who not only studied behavior with rats and pigeons, but expanded our understanding of behavior as a unit of measurement. What is behavior analysis?īehavior analysis is a discipline that encompasses three different domains, behaviorism (the philosophy), experimental analysis of behavior (basic principles), and applied behavior analysis (how to use the science to solve problems Fisher et al. This blog is going to break down some of these titles and provide some background to these terms. Terms that often get thrown about are behaviorist, behavior consultant, and trainer. ![]() When thinking about dog trainers, there are a lot of different terms to think about when reading about credentials, training, and philosophy.
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