What Are Desensitization and Counterconditioning? (FIX Dog Reactivity and Most Behavioral Problems)

Don't forget to subscribe for more dog training videos with Mochi! :) MOCHI'S VLOG CHANNEL:    / @thegoodfloof   Use code MOCHI15 at MAXBONE: https://max-bone.bop8.net/Vyxzq6 Blog: mochistails.com twitter: @mister_mochi_ TikTok: @mister_mochi_ #dogtraining #mochistails #dogtips If your dog has any sort of behavioral issues or problems, you’ve come to the right place. Desensitization and counterconditioning have become almost like buzzwords in dog training videos, but a lot of people don’t explain what they are, or why they work, so today, I want to go over what those 2 things are, and some examples of problems that can be fixed with them! Even though desensitization and counterconditioning are technically 2 different techniques, they are most often used together and the concepts almost intertwine a lot. You’ll see by the end of this video why that is, and how to use them. Desensitization is exactly what it sounds like — it’s the process to exposing triggers to dogs at a low volume or big distance at a level that is tolerable, getting them used to it, then increasing intensity or closeness as the dog gets less reactive to it. For example, if you watched our video on working on firework anxiety, I talked about playing a video of firework sounds on the TV at a super low volume at first, letting your dog settle in to that sound, then gradually making it louder. This is a prime example of desensitization training for real life problems. Now counterconditioning is, put super plainly, the process in which we want to change our dog’s response from something negative to something positive. For example, if your dog lunges at other dogs, you can start to counter condition them by giving them a high-value reward whenever they see a dog. Eventually, your dog’s response to seeing dogs will automatically be to look to you for a treat rather than lunging. That’s the basic methodologies behind desensitization and counterconditioning, and it’s the groundwork and fundamentals of basically any dog training that works on addressing problem areas. If you want videos on how these methods are used in real life situations, definitely don’t forget to subscribe to the channel right now because almost all of our behavioral training videos rely on desensitization and counterconditioning. But for now, let’s get into some example situations where desensitization and counterconditioning are used together. First, an example is reactivity. I won’t go to far into the details in this video, but if your dog is reactive of a certain trigger, for example dogs, you want to desensitize them while counterconditioning their response simultaneously. This can be done by starting somewhere with a large distance between your dog and another dog, so desensitizing them to the trigger at a low intensity. Then, you combine counterconditioning by rewarding your dog with treats every time your dog looks at you instead of the dog in the distance. As they get better, you can decrease the distance between you and the other dog. A final example is dealing with fireworks. If your dog is fearful, you want to desensitize them to the volume, while also counterconditioning their emotions from fear or anxiety to positivity through treats and other rewards. You can watch a more in-depth video on training your dog out of firework anxiety in the video linked on the screen here.