Definitions, Descriptions, and Analysis: Oh, my!
This episode is a vlog! Just click on the link below, relax, sit back, and watch – I hope it entertains and educates you. The video covers definitions and descriptions of positive reinforcement training and constructional teaching. I also included some ideas of behaviors you can teach your own dog or cat to help build a great repertoire of foundations for bigger behavior sets. The examples I talk about may help you to analyze behaviors and what their function might be for your pet. When you know what purpose a behavior is serving, you can use that information to create something better!
The video is chock full of useful stuff. Put some of it to work right away and see how your partnership with your pet can advance. Enjoy it, share it, and let me know what you think about it in the comments below.
Further Reading about Constructional Teaching
In one spot in the video, I talk about Dr. Israel Goldiamond. He developed Constructional Teaching, and did a lot of writing about it. His name might not be clear when I say it in the video, so I wanted to make sure you had that in case you wanted to look him up! He was very smart, wrote a lot of papers, and there are even some videos of him being interviewed here and there if you search a little. The footage is old and the writing is scientific and a bit dry, but the knowledge he imparted is immense. Constructional teaching is a way to teach within the framework of a path to a solution to a problem instead of focusing on the “bad” things about the problem itself. It makes sense. Constructional teaching helps you provide a clean learning environment and maintain an open-minded learner. Dr. Goldiamond worked primarily with disabled humans but constructional teaching fits right in with positive reinforcement animal training.
Be the first to read our monthly training application blog posts like this one, designed for you to try with your own pet, right away! Subscribers also receive a monthly educational and inspirational post about training and behavior, best enjoyed with a cup of coffee or the relaxing beverage of your choice. Sign up for our mailing list at the bottom of this page!