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Fighting is expensive for dogs. Instead of jumping directly
into fighting, most dogs give distance-increasing signals, from subtle to overt.
But many dogs have also learned to give up on the subtle signals and leap
straight to showing big aggressive displays, fighting, or fleeing in panic.
When dealing with aggression or fear, BAT uses *operant* counter-conditioning
with a marker signal and systematic desensitization to build social skills,
confidence around the trigger, and trust in the handler. While food or other
rewards are used with BAT in some cases, the main focus of BAT is on using
environmental rewards that already maintain the problem behavior.
In the case
of aggression and panic, the reward is usually being able to walk further away
from the trigger. We initially reward the "lost" distance-increasing signals,
like head turns or other displacement behaviors. Once those avoidance behaviors
are firmly established, if the dog has good bite inhibition, we teach them that
showing curiosity or other approach behaviors won't get them trapped, either -
they can still get away from the trigger. Having more control over their
environment allows for a change in the dog's emotional response.
This
presentation will show many video clips on different BAT set-ups, as well as
some videos of how to deal with problems that crop up, a brief history of
related methods, and how to use BAT with other behavior modification techniques.
We will discuss the science behind BAT, the reasons and ways that BAT is kept
low-stress, how to get volunteers for set-ups, and how to use BAT "undercover"
in the real world.
Day 2 builds on all of the concepts discussed on day 1. To
get the most from this seminar we recommend you attend both days.
VIDEO: See
some videos of BAT in action at http://ahimsadogtraining.com/blog/bat
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