Dog Training World › Forums › Obedience Training › Phase 3 Obedience › Phase 3 Avoidance Conditioning Peer Review › Reply To: Phase 3 Avoidance Conditioning Peer Review
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I got a kick out of watching this video because it really is a testament to the power of phase 2 and what phase 3 should look like. When phase 2 is done properly, the dog already understands exactly when a correction will occur. So once they understand that all the rules are exactly the same, except for the fact that the correction truly is now an effective punisher that does its job of making the dog want to avoid it, and once they go through escape conditioning and know, yes, this thing I do not like follows the same rules as whatever phase 2 correction, avoidance conditioning will look exactly like this.
This is why a dog can usually be trained on the basics of all phase 3 exercises, minus generalization, on one ecollar charge.
I 100 percent agree with what @Allie is writing, especially as a rule in phase 1, through phase 2, and even everything thereafter. But I also think it is our duty to create a fair lesson (especially during a paid private lesson) that sets the dog up for failure efficiently so we can be prepared to teach the avoidance conditioning lesson, very similar to the escape conditioning lesson. To do this we need to be able to make it most likely the dog will choose disobedience. Ultimately we want the dog to know, whether rewards are present or not, this rule of punishment applies in isolation and it is clear to the dog that the right decision avoided true punishment and not be overshadowed by a high value reward, which makes it less clear if the dog really understands this as true avoided punishment vs the ecollar being merely another correction, to “help”. For instance, if there was no food involved would the dog truly obey to a level 30 on an ecollar and that number can be relied on outside of the lesson? I may not be convinced.. at least at first or as not decisively.
Then, of course, the full dog training trinity goes back into effect as much as possible and reasonable throughout life, and 99 percent of training is mostly generalization after that point.