FAQs
Is “ethical” training the same thing as “positive reinforcement” training?
1
Positive reinforcement is an important tool in training in general. It is one of the four major quadrants of operant conditioning. It does not in itself constitute, nor is it inherently, ethical training. There are unethical applications of positive reinforcement and there are methods of ethical training that are not positive reinforcement.
Ethical training asks not just “can we?” but “should we?” And if we should, “how?”
There is no simple answer. I think the most ethical route to training involves always trying to do better, always being open to new ideas, and approaching problems from a compassionate place.
What is ethology?
2
“Ethology, traditionally, is the study of animal behavior in their natural habitat. Right off the bat, you can see the obvious implication for, ‘Okay, but is captivity a dog's natural habitat?’ If you have a domesticated and captive species, it gets complicated.
That's why there's the field of Applied Ethology, which is my background, that's specifically looking at animals that are under some form of human control, whether it's domestication, captivity, or both. And so it gets messier, but all the principles of ethology are still there, ethology being studying animal behavior within the framework of evolution and all of the other natural laws and functioning principles.”
- Kim Brophey on the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast
Can my cat be trained?
3
Yes! All animals learn through operant and classical conditioning, which we can harness to train them. The main differences between training a cat and training a dog are the species specific ethology, body language/modes of communication, and common learning histories.