Understanding Extinction Bursts in Dogs
Learn all about extinction bursts and what they mean for your dog.
What Are Extinction Bursts in Dogs?
The term "dog extinction burst" may sound strange to those who have never heard it before. No, your dog is not about to explode or implode, nor is he going to become extinct.
First, What is Extinction in Dog Training?
First, let's take a closer look into what "extinction" means in general. In psychology, the term is used to depict a phenomenon where a behavior with a history of being reinforced no longer leads to reinforcing consequences, with the end result of it extinguishing or stopping from occurring. Sound complicated? Let's look at an example.
Say your dog begs at the table, and you always end up giving in and feeding your dog a bit of food when they start pawing at you because you think it's cute. This begging behavior is reinforced by the food you give.
If you suddenly stop giving food one day, your dog will likely continue begging for some time, but since you are no longer "feeding" the behavior, your dog will eventually start giving up, and the behavior may eventually reduce and extinguish over time.
Interestingly, in the initial stages, when you decide to stop feeding your dog, you will see an increase in begging behavior; your dog may repeatedly paw at you with even more insistence, or he may come up with a new behavior altogether, such as barking.
"Bursting" a Dog's Bubble
The "increase" in behavior phenomena described above, which makes you think you are doing something wrong, is referred to as an "extinction burst." Why does this happen? Let's get in your dog's mind.
Your dog has been pawing at you for food for quite some time, and you always gave in when he pawed at you. Suddenly you stop feeding and ignore your dog's pawing behavior. What happens next? Your dog starts getting a bit frustrated. He is thinking, "Hey, I always get fed when I paw at you; what's up today? Maybe you didn't notice, so I will increase my pawing and perhaps try doing something else to make you pay attention to me. Hello? Anybody there? I'm here!"
Like a Toddler Throwing a Tantrum
I like to explain these phenomena to my clients by comparing them with a child throwing a tantrum at the supermarket: If your child wants a bag of candy and you say no, and your child starts crying, you may give in and buy the candy to keep him quiet and avoid a big scene. Your child soon learns that whining and crying make you buy the candy, so he does it over and over.
Finally, a day comes when you think that things are getting a bit ridiculous and out of hand, so you decide to enforce some rules: from today, no more candy. When your child starts whining in the candy aisle, you say no and walk with your cart past the aisle. Within seconds, your child's face turns red, then purple and then green as he transforms into a small version of the Incredible Hulk and makes the most disturbing sounds.
Since people start staring at him as if he were a wild animal, you are forced to escape the store with your little monster to protect yourself from a lawsuit for breaking the barrier of sound. What was that? Very likely, a full-blown volcanic extinction burst!
"Extinction bursts" are simply behaviors with a history of being strongly reinforced that burst when they no longer get reinforcement.
As much as an extinction burst sounds like trouble, the good news is that they are ultimately a sign that whatever you are doing is working, so make sure to keep it up. It is crucial to not give in at this point, or you will experience a serious setback in training!
Advantages of Extinction Bursts in Dog Training and Behavior Modification
So an extinction burst is a good sign, meaning that you are progressing in your plan. When clients experience the first extinction burst and get discouraged, dog trainer and author Terry Ryan tells them, "Great! He got worst! That means extinction is working!"
The great thing is that if you continue withholding the rewards, the extinction will eventually prevail, and the behavior will weaken and vanish.
According to Karen Pryor's clicker-training website, extinction bursts are defined as:
"A characteristic of extinction. If a previously reinforced behavior is not reinforced, the animal will increase the intensity or frequency of the behavior in an attempt to earn the reinforcement again. If the behavior is not reinforced it will diminish again after an extinction burst."
Using Extinction Bursts to Your Advantage
Extinction bursts can be used at times to your advantage in training. Say you want to train your dog to accomplish a specific task, but you are not too happy with the results and want to see more motivation.
If you have been rewarding your dog with treats consistently, and then out of the blue, you stop rewarding it, you may notice your dog will work harder and with more intensity. Make sure you reward this increase in behavior to maintain it, since, in this case, you do not want the behavior to extinguish! To see how this works, watch the video below.
As seen, dog extinction bursts are a very good thing, whether you are training your dog or trying to do some dog behavior modification. Just keep it up, and your dog's extinction burst will go away, and the unwanted behavior will eventually reduce and ultimately extinguish over time!
If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting), please consult with a dog behavior professional for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos, and general information provided online are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this service, you are waiving any liability claims or other types of claims related to any of your dogs' behaviors against you or others.
© 2012 Adrienne Farricelli CPDT-KA, Dip.CBST
Comments
Adrienne Farricelli CPDT-KA, Dip.CBST (author) from USA on October 22, 2012:
Giblingirl,Yes, knowing about extinction bursts is very useful because often people see the fact a behavior comes back stronger than before as a bad thing and that their training methods are not working so they may give up.
Adrienne Farricelli CPDT-KA, Dip.CBST (author) from USA on October 22, 2012:
Thanks for stopping by Bob!
Bob Bamberg on October 22, 2012:
Hi alexadry, I knew about the phenomenon but never knew they had a name for it. That makes it easier to explain to people. I always told customers that when they stopped a certain practice, the dog may go ballistic a couple of times, but that shows that it's working and he'll give up on it soon.
I've got a grandson who will be three next month and he's starting to have meltdowns. He had one at the library last week so my daughter in law left immediately and took him home. He begged to go back but she didn't give in. It's what you have to do. He won't meltdown in the library again. Dogs eventually learn that less0n, too.
Thanks for the validation and enlightenment. Regards, Bob
GiblinGirl from New Jersey on October 22, 2012:
I've never heard of extinction behavior but it certainly seems like a good thing to understand. Thanks for explaining it.
Peter Nehemia from Jimbaran, Bali, Indonesia on October 21, 2012:
Wow. Nice tips. Extinction. Just heart about it.
