Behaviour is in a constant state of change. In fact the one thing you can guarantee is that it is the nature of behaviour to change. You may believe that you will always love chocolate, that it is a fixed behaviour and it does not change. But if you have eaten so much that the idea of another piece makes you feel uncomfortable, then your behaviour has changed. Working for two weeks in a chocolate factory served to associate severe displeasure with the smell of cooking chocolate for me. What was a reinforcer stopped being a reinforcer and slipped over to the dark side – a punisher, an aversive, something I wished to avoid. This can be temporary or permanent depending on how traumatic the punishment, or aversive effect has been.

If behaviour is constantly shifting then the reinforcers and their values are shifting as well. The reinforcer is entirely defined by the effect it has on the behaviour. If the dog is tired, another chase after a ball could be one chase too many, if the dog is full another piece of food make be taken by habit, but make the dog feel more uncomfortable. And at that moment, being allowed to rest becomes the effective reinforcer.

We have many, many different types of reinforcers available and success in using them depends on our skill of being able to apply them appropriately and effectively. This means choosing the right reinforcer that maintains or strengthens the behaviour at that time, in the right quantity.

I want to examine each reinforcer and the effect it has on behaviour. None are perfect or suit every situation, behaviour or receiver. Reinforcers also have greatly different values and in one situation a slice of meat will be a reinforcer but not when a more valued reinforcer is possible. My Gordons are reinforced by the bird hunting process and food is of no value in that situation, similarly with the collies when herding. Away from that environment food is very high value.

We term this reinforcer as functional – it serves to compliment the behaviour that we are wanting to reinforce, not contradict it.

Both of these activites are reinforcers.

It is up to the dog to decide which is their reinforcer choice in each situation, we cannot force them to choose what we would wish, or is more convenient to us.