Pain Relief For Cats & Dogs

When training your cat, an understanding of operant conditioning is helpful, so you are aware of what it is that you are actually doing.  Essentially, operant conditioning is the basis of all animal training and essentially, all behaviors of just about everything.  Operant Conditioning experimentaion was pioneered by Edward Thorndike, John Watson, and B. F. Skinner. 

Us humans are even subject to the laws of operant conditioning.  We got to work because we are paid.  The behavior of going to work is reninforced because we receive money, so we keep going.  We touch a hotplate and get burned.  We have received pain which is a negative recation so therefore we won’t repeat the behavior.

There are 4 basic fundamental laws of operant conditioning that effect the strengthening or weakening of a behaviour.

• Positive Reinforcement
• Negative Reinforcemnt
• Positive Punishment
• Negative Punishment

Positive & Negative

In the field of behavior psychology when it applies to training, the ‘Positve’ in the Positive Reinforcement and Positive Punishment refers to the appliaction or addition of something on our part. We are adding something.  For example

- giving a moresel of food (we are adding food)

- give a pat (we are adding our affection)

- we praise the cat (we are speaking, using our voice)

- we give the cat a little tap (we are adding our hand)

- we give a click with a clicker (we are adding a sound)

 Essentially, we are adding something to the cat’s enivonment.

With the ‘Negative’ in the Negative Reinforcement and Negative Punishment, we are taking something away from the cat’s environment.

- we remove the cat bowl (we area taking it away)

- we remove the cat litter (we are taking it away)

- we ignore the cat (we are taking away our attention

Reinforcement & Punishment

This is a little more easy to understand.  Essentially if we add or remove a stimulus that increases or strenghtens a behavior, that is reinforcment.  

- give the cat a treat for sitting (positive reinforcment)

- we  begin removing the litter box so the cat will go in the toilet (negative reinforcment)

If we add or remove a stilmus that reduces or weakens a behavior, that is punishment.

- we tap the cat on the bottom for scratching the furniture (positive punishment)

- we stop playing with our cat instantly as soon as it bites us (negative punishment)

Once you understand these concepts,  it is really quite simple to begin training your cat, or in turn, reduce and eliminate undesireable behaviors.

To learn more about training your cat or overcoming undersireable cat behaviors, head over to cattrainingguides.com

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