Behavior Adjustment Training

Presented by: Grisha Stewart

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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