About Guidance Training, Animal Training Devices, Dog Training Tips

Incentive / Guidance Training Compared to Other Methods

Posted on by Chad James
29
Oct

Many people who use an e-collar ask, “What is guidance training and how does it differ from how I currently use an e-collar?” And, those that do not use e-collars often ask, “How can using an e-collar be rewarding?”

To explain and show the difference, we constructed a side-by-side comparison chart of four common types of training – correction based training, escape avoidance training (most commonly used with e-collars), reward based training and guidance based training.

Correction-punishment Training

  • External aversive experience
  • Occurs immediately afterwards
  • Provoking, use of high level shock
  • Dog’s response is to watch out
  • Confusion potential is very high
  • No permanence of habit

Escape-avoidance Training

  • External aversive experience
  • Occurs immediately afterwards
  • May be provoking, uses different impulse stimulus levels
  • First cue notifies dog that a secondary reinforcement may occur
  • Dog looks to avoid secondary potent stimulation
  • Predictor can reduce confusion
  • Permanence of habit improved

Reward – Appetitive Training

  • External non-aversive experience
  • Occurs immediately afterwards
  • Dog trusts handler
  • Trust is that the handler will satisfy appetitive nature

Incentive – Guidance Training

  • External non-aversive experience
  • Occurs immediately before and during the training sequence
  • Stimulus is non-aversive (sound, vibration, impulse)
  • Dog believes it controls the stimulus as it is the one whose actions turn the stimulus off
  • Permanence of habit is quick, pronounced, long lasting

I hope you find this chart helpful in understanding what guidance training is.