According to B. F. Skinner (Science and Human Behavior, 1965), the Operant Conditioning is the process by which a response becomes more or less likely to occur depending on its consequences. The schedule of reinforcement is an important component of learning process under the Operant Conditioning. I would like to apply this theory on the 2 dogs with same age in 2 different educating situation.

The 2 objects of study are Yorkshire Terrier in my cousin’s home and Toy Poodle in ours. The Yorkshire Terrier was educated under random schedule, while the Toy Poodle was educated under continuous reinforcement schedule.

While house training the Yorkshire Terrier and Toy Poodle, classical conditioning was applied. In order to communicate the command and action to the 2 objects, we applied the motivational training. Motivational training engages the use of rewards to strengthen good performance, and overlooks all bad behavior (Marlo Shelby, 1999). It is based on Thorndike's Law of Effect (Burch Mary R. and Jon S. Bailey, 1999), which states that actions that generate rewards tend to increase in regularity and actions that do not generate rewards decrease in frequency.

We brought both Yorkshire Terrier and Toy Poodle into the cage while saying the command “House” then gave them snacks, after that we reward them with snacks whenever they get into the cage. Both Yorkshire Terrier and Toy Poodle learnt to get to the cage with the command “House”. After learning the command, Yorkshire Terrier only receive random schedule of reinforcement, while the Toy Poodle receives continuous reinforcement schedule for a month.

After a month of reinforcement, a significant difference between the Yorkshire Terrier and Toy Poodle was noticed. Toy Poodle was able to get into the cage with the command “House”, it can be understood as Toy Poodle has linked up the command “House” with the action of getting into the cage. On the other hand, Yorkshire Terrier could not achieve 100% completion rate of the command. Sometimes Yorkshire Terrier was not able to link the command “House” with the action of getting into the cage, and failed to complete the action.

From this 2 objects of study, we could see the importance of reinforcement for the training of pets. For any of these methods, regularity of the owner's training or behavior and level of engagement can impact the effectiveness of the applied method.

Nevertheless, regarding the biological behaviors of specific breeds of dogs, there is a limitation on this study. As Toy Poodles are known to be highly responsive and said to be one of the most trainable breeds, while Yorkshire Terriers are very eager for adventures and highly energetic, fearless, loyal and smart. Thus, the Toy Poodle is comparatively more capable to manage the new command.

Besides, the owners’ characteristic also affects the result of study. Under the condition that the owner is not 100% pack leader (Dog Breed Info Center), Toy Poodles may snap if teased or surprised, while Yorkshire Terrier would become suspicious of strangers and aggressive to strange dogs and small animals. In this study, the owner of Yorkshire Terrier is overprotective to it and let it take over the house, and that might be a reason for the result of study on the reinforcement schedule. On the other hand, Toy Poodle’s own has shown their pack leadership to it and thus it is likely to be a trustworthy, and mentally stable dog.

From the abovementioned, we could see that training of dogs could not be simply under right reinforcement schedule, but also with other elements, including the owner’s leadership, and specific training technique according to the breeds of the dog.

Reference:
1. B. F. Skinner, Science and Human Behavior, 1965
2. Marlo Shelby, New Art of Dog Training, Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1999
3. Burch Mary R. and Jon S. Bailey, How Dogs Learn, New York: Howell Book House, 1999
4. Dog Breed Info Center, http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/
5. House Training Puppy
http://thedogtrainingsecret.com/HouseTrainingPuppies