Advanced Training and Behavior Study Academy - NEXT WEEK

I can't believe it's Friday already!! As they say, time flies, whether you're having fun or not... This has been "Recover from BMod Academy and get ready for Advanced T&BS Academy week." Not much time for R&R - but busy is good!

So - what exactly is the Advanced T&BS Academy? It's for our very dedicated and science-minded trainers to challenge their brains and sharpen their training skills: We spend about 50% of the time practicing advanced training protocols including Scent Work, Shaping, Premack, Cooperative Care (Bucket Game and Chin Rest), Behavior Chains, Reading, Match to Sample and Classical Conditioning. The other half of the time we review and discuss scientific dog behavior studies and articles.

The studies we're reviewing as a group this week are:

1. Aversives/Gender: https://doi.org/10.1080/08927936.2022.2062869

2. Shelter Relinquishment: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2021.11.007

3. Dogs/Vets/Owners: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S109002332200003X?dgcid=author 

   
   

   and

4. Cue Modality: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2023.01.001Get rights and content

Feel free to take a look at them and tell us what you think! I'll share some of the articles with you next week...

For each of these studies, we do the following:

a.      Identify research design

Research Designs

 Surveys gather information from relatively large numbers of individuals. Polls, for example, collect people’s opinions on an issue or their reactions to an event. As long as the group of people surveyed is scientifically selected, surveys

are good for explaining what people in general think or do and for identifying subgroup differences.

Qualitative Research can provide rich detail and insights into the complexity of behavior. Unlike surveys, though, qualitative designs do not produce findings meant to apply to the population as a whole. They provide very rich data and can offer powerful, illustrative stories—valuable for journalists trying to convey a situation to readers. However, their very depth and specificity mean that the results cannot be easily generalized to other situations.

Trials test the effect of an intervention, such as a vaccine or a training program. In an uncontrolled trial, the researcher examines a subject group before and after applying the intervention and measures the difference. In a controlled trial, the researcher adds a “control group,” which is comparable in every important way to the subject group but does not receive the intervention. If the groups are truly similar at the beginning of the study and carefully monitored to limit influences (other than the intervention) that might affect outcomes, then changes that occur in the subject group, but not in the control group, can be said to result from the intervention.

b.     Answer key questions from the Key Questions to Ask About Research Studies article

 • What makes the study important?

• Do the findings make sense?

• Who conducted the research and wrote the report?

• Who published the report?

• Did the researcher select an appropriate group for study?

• If comparison groups are used, how similar are they?

• What has changed since the information was collected?

• Are the methods appropriate to the research purpose?

• Does the study establish causation?

• Is the time frame long enough to identify an impact?

• Could the data be biased as a result of poor research design?

• Are the results statistically significant?

c.      If you are unable to do (a) or (b) for any particular study, briefly explain why

d.     Indicate whether you feel any of the points from “False Research Findings” and ”Can I Trust This Study” apply to each study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1182327/ (False Research Findings) and https://route1evaluation.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/can-i-trust-the-research-findings.pdf (Can I Trust This Study)

Then we answer these questions and share the answers in class discussions:

1.     Is this study important to the dog training/behavior profession? Why, or why not?

2.     Is it useful to you as a dog trainer? Why, or why not?

3.     What information is new to you?

4.     Is it philosophically congruent with positive-reinforcement training? Why or why not?

For Graduation, in addition to a written test, each students presents their analysis on a dog behavior study they have selected, and they demonstrate three of the training skills they have worked on with their dog for the week, explaining the principles of behavior and learning relevant to each skill.

Yes - it's a HEAVY DUTY week! And one of my favorite academies... Watch my blog for more details on the students and the work they are doing next week! 'Til then... stay cool - and thanks for reading my blog!

Warm Woofs,

Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA

P.S. We offer 7 different Academies, and you need to take at least 3 of them to become a Pat Miller Certified Trainer-1 (PMCT1) - then with additional Academies you can earn your PMCT2, 3 and 4. To find out more about our Academies you can go here: https://peaceablepaws.com/peaceable-paws-intern-academies/ - And feel free to contact us if you have questions: info@peaceablepaws.com or 301-582-9420.