LOL, I agree with your family! That is, during the initial trials for the dogs, the ring of the bell develops into an effective conditioned stimulus for the unconditioned stimulus of the shock. However, overtime the dogs become desensitized to the ring of the bell as they learn that the ring on its own is innocuous. (Remember that Kandel demonstrated that even a primitive snail called an Aplysia was able to become desensitized to a CS.) So now the ring of the bell turns into a discriminative stimulus for the dogs operant response regarding how far they can proceed without receiving a shock. The more intrepid and smarter dogs would be willing to 'test out' the system; that is,"How much further can I proceed after the bell rings without receiving a shock?" These dogs would eventually learn that if they make the bell ring over and over, they then can proceed beyond the normal restricted range without receiving a shock. Voila!
I might add, in addition to a dog's nature, if a dog has a history of being abused by their owners, their motivation to escape would be very strong as well as the the impact of the shock being far less effective. And a dog with a very sensitive nature and/or not particularly bright would not be a likely candidate for 'beating the system.' We had two sister beagles: B1 was very bright, adventuresome and mischievous while B2 had a very sensitive nature, was not very adventuresome and not all that sharp--though we loved her with equal enthusiasm! However, no doubt that B1 would be a top candidate for taking the necessary risks to beat the shock fence system whereas B2--no way. Joan Dogs who acquire this type of learning are likely fairly intrepid as well as risk takers. these dogs have learned a) that the ring of the bell does not produce a shock but b)the bell is simply a warning that if they tread much further, they will be shocked. So over time they become desensitized to the ring of the bell--i.e., no longer worksIsn't it conceivable that some dogs learn over time that when they have caused the bell to ring a sufficient number of times, entering the perimeter no longer produces no longer produces the punishment of a shock? > Maybe this is easier than I think but I am curious: so we all know about > those âinvisible fencesâ that will shock your dog - who is wearing a > âshock collarâ - when it tries to go past a certain perimeter around > your house (positive punishment, right?). But lately Iâve heard about > this: apparently a bell will go off if your dog gets near the shock area > which your dog learns (with experience) will be followed by the shock if > it continues in that direction. I heard that some dogs will enter the > âbell areaâ and allow the bell to ring until the battery on their > shock collar dies out. Then the dog simply walks past the perimeter > unshocked. > > My family of course said that the dog was âsmartâ. How would a > behaviorist explain this? > > > Michael > > Michael A. Britt, Ph.D. > [email protected] > http://www.ThePsychFiles.com > Twitter: @mbritt > > > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=49240.d374d0c18780e492c3d2e63f91752d0d&n=T&l=tips&o=46463 > or send a blank email to > leave-46463-49240.d374d0c18780e492c3d2e63f91752...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=46482 or send a blank email to leave-46482-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
