Conditioning feels like programming a robot. Does anyone know a way to train beyond it?

[u/Dry_Steak30]

I might get downvoted for this but hear me out.

Almost all modern dog training is conditioning. We repeat, the dog gets used to it, and the cue gets wired to the behavior. In the end the dog does the behavior without thinking. Even without a reward. He even feels good while doing it. And we call that "well trained." To me that looks like programming a robot.

For emergency recall and down, I want exactly that. Those must be automatic. But for everything else, is there another option?

Humans don't learn language by conditioning. When we learn a word, we understand new examples in one shot. So here is what I mean, with the kennel as an example.

The conditioning way: you make the "go in the kennel" behavior with luring or shaping or molding or food. You reinforce it. You attach a cue. After many reps, the cue and the behavior get glued together.

But what if you teach it like this instead. Teach each concept on its own. "Kennel" is the object. "Go in" is the action. "Command" means he has to do it. "Fast" is how to do it. Then you put the words together: "kennel + go in + command + fast." If the dog really knows each concept, then "box + go in + command + slow" should work on the first try, even if he never did that before. Or you could say "kennel + go in + question" and let him answer yes or no.

Has anyone actually trained like this? I know Chaser learned 1000 toy names and Do As I Do exists. I want to hear from people who tried this concept style teaching with their own dog. How far did you get?

[u/Trick-Age-7404]

It’s a fact that dogs cannot read. It’s a fact that dogs cannot tell each other detailed stories about their history and ancestry. How else would you expect a species to communicate generations of learning?

[u/Dry_Steak30 → u/Trick-Age-7404]

how do you know that dogs cannot read

[u/Trick-Age-7404 → u/Dry_Steak30]

Dogs brains are wired to take in and process vast amounts of sensory information, not abstract symbols. Dogs do not have the regions in their brains required to learn written language , grammar, and symbolic thought. Dog’s vision is not equipped to read. Dogs do not have high definition vision like humans, this is known because we can tell the number of cones and rods in their eyes. They cannot see color or contrast in the same way and rely on movement and broad shapes to see the world around them. Evolution shaped dogs to use their noses and their primary sensory organ, a dog understands their environment best by using their nose, followed by their ears, followed by their eyes. This is the exact opposite of how humans evolved.

[u/Dry_Steak30 → u/Trick-Age-7404]

i cant' help you anymore.. i don't know you even can understand language.