The Premack Principle

Definition: more probable behaviors will reinforce less probable behaviors

I love the Premack Principle. I’ve really taken to applying it to Sadie Mae’s training and teaching my clients to use it in their own dog’s training regime.

It might be a little hard to understand at first but when you see it in action, its easy to see why it works so well with dogs.

Basically, its reverse psychology for dogs.

To get your dog to perform a behaivor that they don’t want to perform (low probability) or a behavior you struggle to train (loose leash walking), you give them ‘permission’ to perform a behavior that they want to perform (high probability) (sniffing) after they perform the low probabliliry behavior.

Here’s a few examples:

1. Jumping up:

Put jumping up on cue and ‘ask’ for it. The dog now knows he’ll be able to jump up so sitting politely will be easier for him and easier for you to train because he knows he gets to jump up, on cue.

2. Loose leash walking:

Give your dog permission to ‘go sniff’ on walks. Allowing him to ‘go sniff’ ups the chances of him walking nicely with you because he knows you let him ‘go sniff’.

3. Leash up in the dog park:

Randomly call him in, leash him up and walk then release him to ‘go play’. You’ll get more compliance to the recall when you aren’t always calling to leash up thus ending his freedom.

4. Recall:

On leash, toss a ball or treat. Allow the dog to go to the end of the lead but not get the reward. Call him back then give him permission to get the treat/ball (reward). One exercise to build a good recall.

This theory of behavior was created by Professor David Premack. Originally studied on humans, it applies wonderfully to dogs and fits in so well for those of us that use force free training methods.

Chances are you are already using the Premack Principle in your dog training regime:

You ask your dog for calm behavior before you let him out of the car.
You request a Sit at the door before you open it and let him through it.
You ask for a Sit/Stay before you release your dog to eat.

Now that you know about the Premack Method, you can start seeing ways to use it to train your dog.

Are you using the Premack Method in your training?