The Puppy Class That Reinforces the Wrong Dog
A six-month-old intact male Border Collie, "Rook," attends a six-week group puppy class of eight dogs. In week two, Rook begins lunging and barking at a calm adult dog used as a demo. The instructor's plan is to have owners say "leave it" and gently pop the leash. Rook's owner reports he is fine with dogs on walks but does this only in class, right after the demo dog is fed a treat by the instructor. Rook has started to orient to the instructor's treat pouch as soon as he enters the room. Rook already knows sit, down, and a hand-touch. Two other puppies have begun barking when Rook barks.
1. Analyze the antecedent conditions and the likely function of Rook's behavior, including the role of the demo dog and the treat pouch.
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The behavior is context-specific (class only), which points to discriminative stimuli in the class rather than a general dog-directed reactivity. Two antecedents stand out: the instructor's treat pouch and the demo dog being fed. If the demo dog is fed immediately before or during Rook's lunging, the pouch and the instructor's hand movement become a conditioned stimulus predicting food. Rook's orienting to the pouch on entry shows the pouch has already acquired incentive value.
Likely functions, in order of plausibility:
- Frustration/access to food or social contact - the lunging occurs when another dog receives a resource Rook can see. This is an establishing operation that raises the value of approaching the instructor and the demo dog.
- Attention from the owner - "leave it" plus a leash pop delivers attention and physical contact contingent on lunging, which can reinforce if attention is the maintaining consequence.
- Social facilitation/modeling - two other puppies now bark when Rook barks, indicating the class environment is amplifying arousal; Rook's barking may be reinforced by the chorus of other dogs, not only by the instructor.
The leash pop is the weakest link: it is an aversive delivered contingent on lunging, and if it does not suppress the behavior it will add arousal and may create a negative association with the demo dog and the instructor. That is the judgement call the question is testing.
2. Design a six-week behavior plan that changes antecedents and reinforces an incompatible response, and state how you would measure success.
Read the worked answer
Antecedent changes. Seat Rook at the greatest distance from the demo dog at which he can eat a treat and reorient to his owner (find this distance in week two; it may be 6-8 m). Use visual barriers (other owners seated between Rook and the demo dog) so he can practice below threshold. Ask the instructor to feed the demo dog out of Rook's line of sight or after Rook is engaged in a task. Put the treat pouch on only during Rook's own turns so it stops predicting another dog's food.
Replace the "leave it" + pop. Teach a conditioned relaxation or a hand-touch to the owner's knee as the incompatible response. Mark and reinforce (a) looking at the demo dog then back at the owner (a look-at-that/engage protocol), and (b) sustained attention to the owner during the demo. Reinforce with food Rook values more than the demo dog's food, delivered at a high rate initially (e.g., every 2-3 seconds) and thinned as he succeeds.
Manage the chorus. Separate Rook from the two barking puppies, or run parallel stations, so barking is not reinforced by the group. Reinforce quiet in the other puppies too, so the class is not a barking chain.
Measurement. Count lunges/barks per 10-minute demo segment, plus latency to reorient after the demo dog appears. Success = at least 50% reduction by week four and reorientation within 3 seconds by week six, with the ability to halve the distance. If lunging increases or Rook shows avoidance of the demo dog or the instructor, stop the exposure and reassess - that pattern suggests the aversive has created a fear component rather than suppressing an operant.