Methodically Incorrect

The Alpha Witch flew to California to deliver a message. Word had reached her lair in the upper ether of the National offices that our Region had seriously breached training protocol. Without permission, we had strayed from the historical and mandatory training methods of the service dog organization. The two week training sessions at that time, the early 1990’s, were called Boot Camp and were conducted as such. We had gone rogue, extending the training to three weeks and introducing some positive reinforcement along with music, games and friendly competition. We were informed that the results of the extended training and class activities that so excited us were merely anecdotal. The message of the Alpha Witch was blunt- ”Learning does not have to be fun.”

Today, contention between positive and traditional or “balanced” trainers continues unabated. Looking back at my first years as a dog trainer, I would have been considered a “Trainer From The Dark Side” (1). by the Positive Reinforcement crowd. “Dark Siders,” such as the Alpha Witch, are Dwellers in the Second and Third Quadrants, who train mainly with physical punishment and avoidance techniques. (2). Recalling the numerous aversive training methods I learned and used, I cringe. We had been taught to use harsh leash corrections with a chain collar, ear pinches to teach retrieves, neck scruffs, alpha rolls and bops under the chin to discourage and prevent unwanted behavior. Later came the prong collar, the shock collar, the bonker (3), throw chains and the toe hitch (4). Not aware of alternative training methods at the time, it all seemed to work, for the most part, for most dogs. It was a huge relief to have alternative methods when our daughter became old enough to bring to work to help with the socializing of the dogs in training. What images of dog training would her impressionable young mind recall if we had employed only “serious” training techniques? Would applying pain and intimidation have become normalized for her?

There are a number of problems that can arise when trainers misuse aversives. For starters, the fallout list may include learned helplessness (5), poor relationships, aggression and reinforcement (increase) of the trainer’s bad behavior (6). I was taught these four conditions for a correction to be effective:

1). The timing has to be spot on. The aversion has to occur well within 1-2 seconds after the act. Better yet, correct as the behavior happens or you see in a dog’s eye the glimmer of intent to commit an offense.

2). Consistency. If the boom is lowered every time, the culprit will understand the boom is inevitably linked with the behavior.

3). Use the minimum correction for each individual dog. Our little terrier cross, Heidi, was terrified of spray bottles. She showed up at our doorstep with this fear installed, as we never used one on her. Our Lab, Druid, on the other hand, would think lapping at a gushing fire hose was a great sport rather than a deterrent.
4). The aversion must be salient enough for a dog to say “I get it, I won’t be doing that again!” (Like for us- burning yourself on the stove or getting that second speeding ticket).

The difficulty is to meet all four requisites. A seasoned “traditional” trainer will get very proficient in the use of physical force and intimidation. Back in the day, I felt quite confident in the application of corrections. And this leads to one of the biggest problems with aversive techniques- they mostly work. And this reinforces the trainer to repeat his or her behavior. Where did this heavy reliance on compulsive training originate?

Colonel Konrad Most, whose book, Training Dogs: A Manual, is credited with being the equivalent of the first best selling dog training book. (7). It was published in 1910. Most began training police dogs in 1906. He trained military dogs for Germany in both World Wars and in the 1940’s, he worked with guide dogs for the blind. The techniques that he prescribed to train dogs reflected “unconditional submission” and harsh, often painful discipline. His methods are still widely used today in military and police dog training. “Implements to be used in the case of ‘primary compulsive inducements’ are the collar, the choke collar, and the spiked collar, in combination with the lead. There is also the switch.” (8). “Mechanical operations, graded from weak to strong, in the form of pulls, pressure, jerks, thrusts and heaves, and in the second place with the infliction of pain, from slight to intense.” (9). I am not sure what all that would look and feel like. In addition to the “expedient” of “menace,” on the positive side are “enticements,” such as stroking and patting the dog and occasionally offering him tit-bits (sic).” (10). “Good training needs a kind heart as well as a cool and well-informed head for the proper direction of the indispensable compulsion.” (11)

William Koehler trained dogs for the military in WW 2 and worked for Disney for 23 years. (12) (13). ‘“Koehler trained dogs for movies such as “The Shaggy Dog,” “Big Red” and the original “The Incredible Journey.” (14 ). He is mentioned as a major influence in all the histories of dog training. He published The Koehler Method of Dog Training in 1962. While his influence is huge, his methods were brutal. His book will not be on any positive trainer’s recommended reading list, except as a horror story.

Here are a few excerpts from the book: For “the dog that bites in resentment of the demands of training.”........“the dog is suspended in mid air…….hold him suspended until he has neither the strength nor inclination to renew the fight.” (15). Koehler’s “tranquilizer” was a 16” length of hose with a similar length dowel inserted (16). For housebreaking, “giving the dog a hard spanking, of long duration, then leaving him tied by the mess he’s made so you can come back at twenty minute intervals and punish him again for the same thing… It will be better for your dog….if you really pour it on him” (17). His technique for curing a dog of predatory behavior belongs at the top of the list of the 20 Most Unethical Psychology Experiments. (18). This guy surveyed the boundaries of the “Dark Side.” He then re-imagined and expanded its horizons.”

The time worn tradition that dogs must heel on the left is rooted in the text of both authors. For Colonel Most, “heel on lead is principally an act, that of following at the left side of the trainer, which is required.” (19). In Koehler’s book, an observer exclaims, “But he’s got the dog on the wrong side– he knows nothing about dogs.” “It may be that old habits, confusion, or cussedness prompts your dog to walk on the wrong side.” (20) (21). In his book, Most addresses a question that is still asked today- can a dog have a guilty conscience? His answer- “the ‘guilty conscience’ is caused simply and solely by the… fear inspired by the menacing noises and gestures of the human being… by hostile behavior on the part of its master.” There is “never awareness in the dog of any present, let alone past, behavior to which the man objected.” (22).

Today, many dog owners would swear on Lassie’s grave that their pup knows absolutely if he is guilty of an offense. Generally, I would agree with Colonel Most, that dogs are not capable of possessing a guilty conscience. An anecdote featuring Heidi, our dog mentioned above, does make me question the “never awareness” part of his statement. Heidi had a penchant for pizza crust. She would patiently bide her time until the wee hours of morning and then slip off the bed and out of our bedroom. She would silently pad her way through the darkness and down the stairs. guided by the ambrosial redolence of her favorite repast. In the morning, Heidi was back on our bed, apparently sleeping the sleep of the blameless. Later, we would discover an overturned trash can. A constellation of empty plastic gallon jugs was attached to the trash can and the sky came crashing down upon Heidi. The Colonel had anticipated this corrective measure (23). The “clattering down” deterred Heidi for six months but then she stuck again. This time I was following a few paces behind Heidi, intent solely on the coffee pot. She halted about three steps into the kitchen, paused a few moments after glancing to her right. She then casually reversed course, backed out of the kitchen and disappeared. Heidi had not given me an opportunity to display “hostility” in my demeanor, not that I could faze her. There is so much more that goes on in a dog’s head than I will ever fathom. Heidi never had any use for the least whiff of guilt and as she calmly absconded, she seemed well aware that the statute of limitations on correction had long expired. (24).

In his 1910 book, Konrad Most presages B F Skinner’s “modern” learning theory, The Behavior of Organisms, by almost three decades. These are the same “science based” principles of learning theory touted today by many trainers. With his descriptions of “primary and secondary inducements” and “primary and secondary compulsive inducements,” he is spot on describing primary and secondary reinforcers and punishers. Most anticipated Karen Pryor and her popular training game, which we had introduced in our training classes. (25). In his take on the “hunt the thimble” game, Colonel Most uses “shaping” to reinforce approximations by using reward markers (think clicker) and non reward markers- ‘There’s a good boy’ when ‘hot’ and ‘Bah!’ when ‘cold.’ (26). Additionally, he combined individual links of behavior into behavior chains (chaining). Teaching the retrieve, requires “methodical performance of the following acts: From a sitting or standing posture at the left side of the trainer the dog, on receiving an auditory signal, is to run, at a gallop, to the object thrown, seize it… and dash back… holding the object... then to sit… holding the object in its jaws… until the trainer, by auditory signal causes it to be given up.” (27)..

Colonel Most outlines the concepts of “fading” and “proofing.” For a recall from a down position, “The primary inducement to stand (and come “Here”) was provided by jerking the lead…it is possible and appropriate to resort to… “Here” alone. (28). This is an example of “fading” by eliminating the jerk and replacing it with the verbal cue, “Here.” As training proceeds… the dog pays no attention… to any movement.. of the trainer, even if the latter runs away quickly or throws himself to the ground.” These latter two behaviors of the trainer help “proof” a dog by teaching him to generalize or “work in the presence of distractions, e.g. in places where people and vehicles are passing and other dogs or similar disturbing factors are in the neighborhood.”

William Koehler had no patience for the “wincers” who found his methods overly harsh. Straight out of the blocks, in the Introduction, Koehler “proclaims the kindness of adequate discipline” which “might disturb some folks who have nothing to offer but their own emotions.” He deplores the “biscuit popping” and “tid- bit training techniques” as “ideas in books and periodicals not only infeasible but fantastic.” (29). Is there anything a positive trainer can take from Koehler’s book? In reality, the goal that Koehler set for his students is shared by positive trainers- we all want a well trained dog. How we get there depends on which techniques are employed. All professional trainers and civilians teaching their pets make use of Skinner’s “science based” principles of operant conditioning which are divided into Four Quadrants (see previous blog- “A Nun For All Quadrants”).

Koehler abides deep within the Second and Third Quadrants- Positive Punishment and Negative Reinforcement. His techniques rely on the trainer’s application of pain and discomfort and a dog must learn how to escape and then avoid these afflictions. Later,Koehler does introduce praise as a reinforcer but it seems disheartening that what makes a dog feel best is that he has learned how to make bad things not happen. Unfortunately, a canine student must experience these bad things before he can learn how to make them not happen. Colonel Most, who used throw “casting”chains and throw sticks” among his training tools, describes one of the worst of punishments as “barbarous,”- the procedure of “An advocate of ‘the disciplinary shot”- where a gun is used and the dog is “peppered with the pellets.” (30). I do not know it was this technique that inspired Karen Pryor to title her famous book, Don’t Shoot The Dog but William Koehler was imaginative enough to come up with a variation on this theme. “If… the dog is so big and tough he ignores the chain?,” use a slingshot. He goes so far as to recommend the brand “WHAM-O” loaded with BBs. (31).

Koehler had a very clever correction for a dog that escapes over a fence. He secured a line “long enough to permit the dog to jump the fence without the possibility of hanging, but so short that he only has a few feet of movement when he lands.” The owner is “hidden out in the neighbor’s yard to greet him” and “help him to see that he’s jumped into a worse situation.” The owner is then instructed to “Descend on him, blister his bottom, and pitch him or drag him back over the fence.” Additionally, the owner is to “work the set-up on all boundaries… adding to the surprise and unpleasant landing in all ways possible… A bunch of BBs from a slingshot will contribute greatly to his reception.”(32). Wince.

Koehler strayed from the precincts of the Second and Third Quadrants in his lengthy association with Disney. In 1959, Disney released “The Shaggy Dog,” the second highest grossing film of that year, at over $9 million dollars. “Sammy,” had been trained in one of Koehler’s classes. He had been chosen from a pool of more than 20 auditioned Old English Sheepdogs. (33), In one scene, Koehler put together an impressive behavior chain. Sammy “had to walk into a bedroom, close the door, open a dresser drawer and take out a pair of pajamas with his teeth, enter the bathroom, and close the door. Everybody applauded when he did the whole routine perfectly the first time.” (34) In another scene Sammy famously drove a car. To prepare him, Koehler’s ‘Driving lessons’ “began with making Sam comfortable in a wheelbarrow with the long hair held out of his eyes by rubber bands so he could see clearly. Over a period of days, the dog adjusted to not only sitting in the wheelbarrow, but being moved slowly around as he sat in it over bumpy ground, different speeds, steep grades, tight circles, and more. Then, Sam was brought to the Disney Studio to go through the same exercises on a “flat,” a four-wheel platform used for moving heavy items.” (35) The car, equipped with a custom bucket seat and seat belt, was then introduced. “Koehler was able to get a wide variety of expressions and attitude from Sam by doing simple tricks like ducking out of sight and emitting suspicious sounds, or popping up suddenly and showing him a mouse, a cat, a turtle, an interloping other dog, or a crispy, crunchy bone.” (36). “Believable dialogue was written afterwards to match the mouth movements of the dog. Sammy received lots of treats- with the use of beef jerky to help aid in his mouth movements. (37).

Most, writing circa 1910, deplored the old “days of training by force, which one shudders to think of.” (38). Yet he states, “In the absence of compulsion neither human education nor canine training is feasible.” (39). Koehler concurs that punishment (and for him, even more punishment), is de rigueur as the “propensity for making all activities fun, or a game, has done much to confuse kids and and to cause mental nausea among working dogs.” (40). He speaks of the “kindness of adequate discipline.” The Alpha Witch was also convinced that too much fun would be the undoing of dogs and participants in Boot Camp, and possibly children.

So how does current American society consider physical punishment of its children? In 1977, the Supreme Court, by a 5- 4 decision, ruled that corporal punishment of children by their parents is legal in the all the United States. 31 states have banned corporal punishment in public schools while the remaining 19 states legally allow corporal punishment of students. (41). “Nearly half of American adults at least somewhat agree that it is sometimes necessary to discipline a child with a good, hard spanking.” (42). This does not bode well for how our society treats dogs. There is little reason to believe that trainers entrenched in opposite methodologies will convert wholeheartedly to the opposing camp. To be fair, many “balanced” trainers have assimilated a healthy portion of positive techniques. Perhaps we can call it “Koehler Lite” training.

We are long past the days of Colonel Most and William Koehler. Regrettably, the assumption that “indispensable” compulsion is intrinsic to learning proper behavior remains entrenched in the instruction of dogs and children. It has also been many years since the flight of the Alpha Witch and the delivery of her message. She was absolutely correct that learning does not have to be fun. Training can be restricted to the Second and Third Quadrants. She was also accurate in her assessment that the results of the training changes that led to our excitement were anecdotal. We had not applied a “rigorous or scientific analysis.” We had experienced a number of “agreeable experiences,” as Colonel Most would have said. We believed the results relevant, reliable and well worth sharing. (43).

Not long ago, I came across some early artwork of our daughter. In one picture she had depicted a dog training class. There were images of people and dogs accurately rendered. There was her father instructing the class to “Let’s Go,” the words spelled out above my head. There were also musical notes dancing over everyone in the picture in primary colors. She had depicted no trace of a recollection from the “dark side.” Today, almost thirty years later, those same musical notes still resound in training classes. Over time, the flight of the Alpha Witch and her message has distilled into a small and sad anecdote.

(1). Doctor Dunbar's Good Little Dog Book | Dog Star Daily

(2). See previous blog, “A Nun For All Quadrants.”

(3). Bonker- a rolled up towel secured with rubber bands used to ”bonk” dogs.

(4). (161) Trained Retrieve Step 7 - Fetch Part 1 - YouTube Toe hitch.

(5). Learned Helplessness | Wilde About Dogs

(6). Fallout from Use of Aversives eileenanddogs.

(7) Colonel COLONEL English Definition and Meaning | Lexico.com

See Origen of colonel. Still a mystery as to spelling and pronunciation.

(8). Training Dogs A Manual by Konrad Most p. 26.

9). Ibid.

10). Ibid p. 27.

(11). Ibid p. 24