We’re geeking out on the topic of dopamine in dog training and how it impacts a dog’s motivation. Dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter, and there’s a lot of research on its relation to the drive to seek out happiness. Now, you might be wondering what it has to do with dog training but to make sure our dogs want to work with us, it’s something we need to know, and it relates directly to my training protocols and transfer of value.
In the episode you'll hear: • How and when dopamine gets released in a dog’s brain. • About an experiment by Robert Sapolsky on dopamine spikes with a cue, behaviour, and reward. • How a dopamine spike would relate to me and vegan chocolate chip cookies. • That dopamine relates to the transfer of value in dog training (the thing before the thing). • What the research shows about the difference between luring and shaping and dopamine. • About research on blocking dopamine and how it impacts motivation. • What a suppressed level of dopamine does and how that relates to dogs. • What I’ve noticed with my young dog This! and how I’m particular about her training. • About foods and supplements that support healthy dopamine production. • The effects of too much dopamine and what I observed with my dog Buzz. • How I give my dogs a calm walk once a week for a dopamine detox. • Why to look at your dog training to see if your dog is getting healthy dopamine spikes.
P.S. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel so you get notifications of new videos!
Timestamps: 00:00 Geeking Out on Dopamine in Dog Training 00:30 Dopamine and Drive to Seek Out Happiness 01:10 The Science Behind My Dog Training 02:02 What Gives A Dopamine Release 03:14 Dopamine Jackpot! - Dr. Robert Sapolsky’s Cue, Behavior, Reward Study 04:47 Tap Me on the Shoulder and Give Me Cookies 05:41 Transfer of Value (Quoting Neuroscience Professors Wolfram Schultz FRS and Mark Humphries) 06:57 My Question About Luring and Dopamine 07:55 This Happened When Scientists Suppressed Dopamine in Rats 09:04 Low Dopamine Levels in Dogs (This! observations) 10:53 Too Much Dopamine in Dogs (Buzz observations) 12:51 The “Dopamine Detox” I Do Weekly with My Dogs 13:30 What To Consider About Your Dog Training - - - - - - -
Dogs That is brought to you by Susan Garrett and the Say Yes Dog Training Team.
Susan Garrett’s interest in animal behaviour started at the University of Guelph where she earned a Bachelor of Science majoring in Animal Science. Since then she has developed into a preeminent dog trainer and canine sports instructor and competitor. Susan is one of the most successful agility competitors of the last three decades. She has won multiple Gold Medals at National or World Championship events with every dog she has ever owned over the past 30 years.
A natural teacher and an entertaining speaker, Susan is world renowned as a leading educator of dog trainers. Her understanding of how to apply science-based learning principles to both competitive and family pet dog training has been pivotal in changing how dogs are trained. - - - - - - -
There’s always something new happening at Dogs That, so if you’d like to be the first to know, visit our website, register to receive updates, and we'll keep you in the loop. https://dogsthat.com
