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Drinking From the Toilet: Real dogs, Real trainingAuthor: Hannah Branigan
A behind-the-scenes look into the reality of dog training, behavior, teaching, and learning. We love our dogs, we love our jobs, but sometimes it's not all unicorns and rainbows. Sometimes at the end of the day, you just need a drink and friend who gets it. We'll keep it fun, and keep it real. Language: en Genres: Education, How To, Kids & Family, Pets & Animals Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Protected Contact Isn't Just Management.
Episode 191
Tuesday, 15 September, 2026
Protected contact gets filed under zoo training, the thing you do when your learner can eat you. Hannah used to think that way too, right up until she noticed she'd been quietly using barriers with dogs and horses for years and getting far more out of them than safety. In this solo episode she makes the case that a fence, an ex pen, or a PVC pole on the ground is a training accelerator, not a consolation prize, and walks through how to fade one down to almost nothing while keeping every benefit. Key Takeaways: The matching law describes behavior as proportional to reinforcement, but real life is messier than the original equation suggests: Variables like reinforcer quality, difficulty of the behavior, and delay of reinforcement all affect outcomes in ways the simple version of the law doesn't account for. Reinforcer value matters as much as reinforcement rate: A less frequent but more valuable reinforcer can outweigh a higher rate of a less valuable one. You can use this intentionally to load one side of the scale in your favor. If your dog prefers an easier behavior even when the harder one pays better, your criteria may have jumped too fast: Dogs, like students given two stacks of math problems, will gravitate toward what's more fluent. That preference is useful diagnostic information. Delayed discounting is real and shows up in training: The longer the gap between behavior and reinforcement, the less influence the reinforcer has. Getting the treat out of the jeans pocket slowly is not the same as getting it from your hand quickly, and your dog's behavior reflects that. Matching law doesn't excuse us from timing and mechanics: Understanding the principle is useful. Using it as a reason to stop troubleshooting your delivery is not. — About the Host Hannah Branigan is a teacher, trainer, podcaster, and author of Awesome Obedience and its companion field guide. She is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT) and a faculty member at the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior. Her work is grounded in applied behavioral science and focused on helping serious dog trainers build better skills through positive reinforcement. Keep up with Hannah and find all her work and resources here: Website: hannahbranigan.dog Podcast: hannahbranigan.dog/dog-training-podcast/ Program: hannahbranigan.dog/z2cd/ Instagram: instagram.com/hannah_branigan/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPh-msUZUNJksIAu2zDTQhQ
