Lets talk threshold, and why applying thresholds to your dog is wrong.
Threshold: the point or level at which a physical or mental effect begins to be produced.
Think about that definition. Trainers and owners create this upper limit as what they believe or assume the dog will freak out or panic and they work the dog within that threshold. It’s the humans threshold, not the dogs. It’s a human deciding for the dog – the human is making assumptions over what the dog is capable of – and they typically don’t treat the dog like it is capable. B.F Skinner – the so called father of all this training, coined a phrase that “free will is an illusion”. To that end, you’ll hear trainers say “as long as the dog thinks it’s making a choice, then it is”. This is not fair.
Trying to lure a dog to a target using treats for example is the wrong way to do things. As a dog gets closer to your “threshold”, you’re causing the dog to be stressed – flooding it, forcing it to create cortisol, and now you’re going to force the dog to stress eat. This is actually cruel to an intelligent animal.
Instead, think a little different. Take the threshold off the dog, let them show you where the threshold is. Friends have 2 young children that are afraid of spiders – mainly because of constant reinforcers from
their parents. They have never had a bad interaction with a spider. The mom is petrified of spiders, the
dad isn’t great with them either. If children consistently get the reinforcer of “don’t touch that spider”,
it’s going to become a fear. Children can become “mirrors” of their parents, their hopes, and fears –
dogs are the same. “Don’t touch that spider”, “Don’t touch the hot stove”, “Don’t go near the water”.
These are negative reinforcers due to proxy fear – and it’s irrational. People do the same with dogs
without even realizing it – they keep removing the dog from things that scare or worry them. You’re
creating fear in the dog – creating negative reinforcers.
I had to babysit the kids for a week. One morning I was having coffee and reading the news in the back
yard, they came running around the house yelling “spider!”. Ok, show me where, it was a harmless
jumping spider… I picked up the spider, sat down, put the spider on my face and resumed coffee and
news. The children trust me, they were a bit freaked out that I had the thing that scared them on my
face, but i never said anything. Fear turned to curiosity, and before long they wanted to hold it. What
happened?
I’m respecting the fact that the kids were afraid, I didn’t throw the spider at them, didn’t ask for them
not to be afraid – that doesn’t work. It’s leading by example that really works, I’m not scared, follow
my lead. I respect and understand why the children were afraid of spiders, they trust me 100% – and
know I wouldn’t put them in harms way. Fear turned to curiosity, and became confidence building – I
didn’t terminate a fear, I’m not focused on the fear, I don’t care about the fear. Of course, we had the conversation about respecting spiders, they don’t need to be feared or killed – but there are spiders that can harm. Just not around here.
Many trainers opt to use a protocol instead – and the comparison makes protocols utterly ridiculous.
Open bar – closed bar. A human created protocol where by they shovel food into the dogs mouth while
holding the dog at a distance from a target while making the dog excited. And this is supposed to help a dog overcome fear? They call this “threshold” training – the trainer is a creating a threshold and they apply that to the dog they are working with. Unfortunately, it’s not the dogs threshold, it’s the trainers threshold.
Now imagine if I did the bar protocol on the kids. I’m feeding them, I’m excited – and we’re standing
close to a spider. This is supposed to help a child overcome fear? See how ridiculous protocols can be when we run comparisons?
The dog isn’t a protocol, stop treating it like one. Instead, take the lead, show the dog that you’re not afraid of this thing – and give them time to make a choice. If the dog really does trust you – they will join you. If they don’t join you – then they don’t trust your judgment and you’re working on the wrong things.