The Slot Machine Effect and How It Builds Reliable Behavior

A variable reinforcement schedule, aka the slot machine effect, is when a behavior is rewarded every once in a while, and it makes for really strong, reliable behavior. This is why gambling can be addicting – maybe THIS time I’ll win! If you give your dog a treat every time you call him, it will eventually be expected and will lose its surprise. But if you call your dog multiple times a day, give him a treat for it only once a day, and change up what time of day you give it to him, well the game just became a lot more exciting! If you give your dog a treat often enough to keep him motivated, he’ll be more excited and reliable in doing the behavior because maybe THIS time he’ll get the treat!

The slot machine effect is great in training, but it can also cause problem behaviors. Some examples include:

-Counter surfing: it's a lot easier to prevent counter surfing than fix it after it's become a habit. Even if there hasn’t been food on the counter for years, the dog may keep trying because once he got an entire rotisserie chicken.

-Jumping on people: It’s really hard to teach a dog to STOP jumping, because even the occasional pet or hug rewards the jumping. In this case, it’s a lot easier to ask your dog for a behavior that he can’t do while jumping, like sit. Then you can reward the sit instead of trying to ignore the jumping. Eventually your dog will sit instead of jumping because he’s learned that sitting gets him treats a lot more often than jumping gets attention.

-Leash pulling: Consistency is key with loose leash walking! If you let your dog pull even 1 time out of 100, he will keep pulling because maybe THIS TIME it will work! (This is called extinction, and even behaviors that are unlearned through extinction can randomly come back. Better to just not teach them in the first place). Again, the best way to teach a dog not to pull is to teach him to do something that he can’t do while pulling. There are hundreds of ways to teach loose leash walking, but I prefer to heavily reward checking in with me. It’s really hard for the dog to be pulling at the end of his leash when he’s also watching me and waiting for a treat.