Why don’t dogs “unlearn” commands once they stop receiving treats?
In: Biology
Short answer – they do. Or at least, they stop responding to that cue unless incentivised.
Behaviour that gets reinforced is more likely to be repeated. Behaviour which isn’t tends to stop. What’s reinforcing to a dog can be very varied – eg if your dog wants to go outside and you ask it to sit and then let it out, or if your dog wants attention and you ask them to shake hands and then cuddle them once they do, then those behaviours have been reinforced.
If the only reward your dog gets for a cue is a food reward, and then you stop the food rewards, your dog will pretty quickly stop responding to that cue. It’s a VERY common mistake people make when training their dogs, and they then complain that their dog will “only listen when there’s food”.
Latest Answers