In dog training, a “jackpot” refers to giving a dog a significantly larger or more desirable reward than usual. This is done to acknowledge an…

There are generally four universally recognized stages of learning that describe the progression a dog goes through while acquiring, refining, and mastering new skills or…

Sensory adaptation refers to the process by which an individual becomes less responsive to a constant or unchanging stimulus from any of the senses over…

Learned irrelevance is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when a dog learns that a particular stimulus has no meaningful consequence, either good or bad. This…

Habituation and sensitization are two fundamental learning processes that play crucial roles in how dogs adapt to their environments and learn to respond to various…

The Polyvagal Theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, is originally a psychological and physiological theory that explains how mammals, including humans and dogs, respond to…

Behavioral contrast is a concept from behavioral psychology that can be observed in dog training. It refers to the phenomenon where the rate of a…

Herrnstein’s Matching Law is a behavioral psychology principle, particularly within operant conditioning, which is also applicable to dog training. Initially formulated by Richard J. Herrnstein…

A tertiary reinforcer is a type of conditioned reinforcement used in training that has become rewarding to a dog through its association with a secondary…