This is the use of negative reinforcement (removal of or increasing the distance of the unfamiliar person) to shape more desirable behavior in dogs who behave aggressively to strangers. I have not tried this and it doesn’t fall within my personal method constraints - I am philosophically opposed to the use of aversives in training, so for the same type of cases use differential reinforcement using positive reinforcement or desensitization and counterconditioning (D&C). I am asked several times a week what I think of it. I must therefore preface my comments with two enormous caveats:
It’s been pointed out to me and I’ve pointed it out to myself that the subtitle of The Culture Clash has the word “revolutionary” in it. The book actually makes a case for training using operant conditioning, a technology that’s been around for sixty years.
Every morning I take Buffy to a beautiful off-leash area on San Francisco Bay. It has acres and acres of hiking trails and a fair density of small mammals like ground squirrels, field mice and jackrabbits. Not every dog chases critters but Buffy is among those who do. She’s never caught one, or even come close, but this in no way dampens her riotous enthusiasm. (If she ever starts getting close, incidentally, I’ll cut off her access.)
