Operant conditioning – the amazing invisible fence

This is not the dog mentioned in the story

This morning while out walking with my dogs, we passed a house by which we have frequently walked in the past. In this house lives a young black and white border collie. Usually when we pass the dog is waiting by the front fence to bark a hello to any passers-by. As the front fence is made of vertical metal bars, the dog can easily see what’s going on outside and gets excited and barks accordingly.

After passing the front of this house and saying hello to the dog, we continue up the laneway that goes along the side of the property. The dog has never bothered to follow us up the laneway because the side fence is solid colourbond that the dog cannot see through.

This morning however, I noticed as I rounded the corner that a portion of the side fence was missing, possibly blown down in a recent storm. So I wondered to myself as we approached the missing section whether we were about to be joined in the laneway by a border collie or if she would at least come for a look.

I couldn’t see a small furry head poking through the gap and as we walked past I looked through to see what the dog was up to. As it turned out, she was just strolling nonchalantly across the yard in the opposite direction, completely oblivious to the two dogs and a human standing only metres away, completely unfenced and exposed.

It would seem that this dog enjoys her current lifestyle sufficiently that escaping has never been a consideration. Nonetheless it illustrates the power the conditioned response has over a dog’s behaviour. In the past the dog has had no interest in the side fence because she couldn’t see through it or interact with anything behind it. She has therefore learnt that there is no enjoyment to be had in that area. Once this behaviour is learned, the dog will continue to ignore this area and so the fence continues to hold the dog even though it’s not there.

While I’m not suggesting that we should all knock our fences down, once we understand the conditioning process it can be a very useful training tool. Obviously an action or behaviour that reaps no reward – food, attention, excitement – for the dog will eventually be extinguished.

Free feeding and the collapse of civilisation?

I’ve often been asked about free feeding dogs, or leaving food available for them to graze on throughout the day. It sounds like a great way to keep them occupied and out of mischief, right?

Yes, that’s exactly how it sounds. Unfortunately in practice it doesn’t work that way.

As with any sort of animal, the best way to enrich a dog’s life is by exercising its mind. A dog in the wild spends most of its time working out how to get its next meal. If the dog has food constantly available, it loses its primary motivation for using its mind.

If we make a human comparison, do you think everyone in the world would still get up and go to work in the morning if they could have everything given to them for free whenever they wanted it? How long would society continue to function under these circumstances?

The dog now has its entire mental capacity free to focus on other things, like escaping, barking at the neighbours or shredding your couch.


In addition to this, a free fed dog is more likely to develop fussy eating habits, weight problems and even eating disorders.

You may now be thinking, “How do I stop free feeding?” Fortunately it’s really quite simple. Just stop. Decide when you want to feed your dog – once a day is ample for most adult dogs – and do it. Other than at mealtime don’t make food available. Some dogs may protest at first, although I’ve found they rarely miss it, and they will certainly appreciate their meals more.

If you wish to make food available at other times it’s best to use something like a Kong or treat ball that requires the dog to work for the food. This will ease your conscience about leaving your dog without food whilst being an excellent enrichment activity for him.

While free feeding your dog probably won’t lead directly to the collapse of civilisation, it certainly won’t improve your dog’s behaviour or your relationship.