By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

What makes Social Cognitive Animal Training different?

For decades, dog training has brawn from behaviourism, giving trainers powerful tools for understanding reinforcement, consequences, shaping, and behaviour change.

Recently, cognitive science expanded our understanding of perception, memory…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

For decades, parenting and dog training have followed remarkably similar cultural trends. As society moved away from authoritarian methods, both fields embraced compassion, empathy, and positive relationships. The goal was admirable: replace fear with trust. Yet…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

Animal training has never lacked information; it has theories, methods, techniques, and generations of practical application. What it has lacked is something more fundamental: a way to see how all of these pieces actually fit together…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

Social Cognitive Animal Training (SCAT) sits at the intersection of learning theory and lived experience. While it draws from social learning principles, cognitive processing, and attchament, its deeper structure aligns closely with two frameworks rarely discussed…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

There’s a moment in every animal trainer’s journey when knowledge shifts from acquired to lived experience. It’s quiet, almost imperceptible at first. Professionals pause before a cue, softening their body, and recognizing that learning unfolds between…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

Social cognitive animal training emerged from a growing recognition that dogs learn within a social context, where observation, interpretation, and referencing shape how behaviour forms. This perspective shifts training away from conditioned responses and places it…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

When most people think about puppy socialization, they picture play. Groups of puppies tumbling over one another, burning energy, getting used to the world. It looks productive, and it feels right.

Social Cognitive Animal Training

For…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

Dogs learn behaviours everywhere: on a sidewalk, in a kitchen, near another dog, beside a food bowl, or at the end of a leash. Cognitive science has long shown that learning is deeply contextual, and Albert…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

Dogs are exceptional observers. In social cognitive animal training, dogs gather information from people, animals, and the environment around them. They notice patterns, predict outcomes, and adjust their responses based on what they see others do.

…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

Dog trainers are exceptionally good at observing behaviour. We notice patterns, emotional thresholds, timing, and context. Yet even with this level of skill, many trainers still encounter moments that behavioural explanations alone cannot fully account for…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

There comes a moment in this line of work when usual explanations stop working.

You can no longer say, They just need more clarity, and mean repetition.
You can no longer say, They’re refusing to obay,…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

The future of dog training is being shaped less by canine science and more by digital visibility. In an era where screens dominate both learning and leisure time, algorithms now determine which voices rise to the…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

Modern, science-based dog training, like social cognitive learning, recognizes that behaviour emerges from the interaction of three core determinants: social learning (how dogs learn from others), cognition (memory, perception, and attention), and environmental (physical and social…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

In dog training, professionals and pet owners often misunderstand learning theory. Social media is full of people who claim they are reinforcing behaviour when, in reality, their actions say otherwise. Trainers claim positive reinforcement (R+) while…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

Resilience, the ability to recover quickly from setbacks, is a concept most often associated with human psychology as emotional or self-regulation. In dogs, resilience is just as vital. Whether they are therapy dogs working in challenging…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

In many traditional training contexts, obedience has long been the benchmark of a well-trained dog. The sit, down, stay, and heel behaviours are essential skills, and they certainly make life with dogs safer and more manageable.…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

Within the professional realm of dog training, a critical distinction exists between cues, commands prompted by external signals such as sit or look at me, and voluntary behaviours, actions the dog initiates independently. While cued…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

In canine training and behaviour science, the prevalent assumption is that puppy-to-puppy play alone ensures optimal socialization. While peer interactions contribute to motor skills and bite inhibition, they lack the structured guidance that well-socialized adult dogs…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

Positive-reinforcement training (PRT) has transformed zoo and aquarium animal care. But more treats, more often isn’t always better. In exotic species, whose metabolic needs, social systems, and foraging ecologies can be very different from domestic animals…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

In today’s digital age, online courses are everywhere, promising to teach everything from basic obedience to complex behaviour modification. While virtual learning can introduce theory, it simply cannot match the depth, precision, and emotional engagement of…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

Dogs and wolves are intelligent species that evolved to navigate complex environments through learning, memory, and adaptability. While they share many cognitive traits, domestication has shaped dogs in unique ways. By examining how canines acquire, process,…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

Dog and horse training is evolving from conditioning to a practice that incorporates various learning theories to address the unique needs of animals and their owners. Integrating approaches like social cognitive theory, constructivism, and situativism to…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

In recent years, mirror neurons have captured the interest of scientists and animal behaviourists alike. Originally discovered in macaque monkeys in the 1990s, these specialised neurons have been linked to empathy, imitation, and social learning (Rizzolatti…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

While many dog trainers talk about social or cognitive learning, few discuss, or use, the social-cognitive learning theory developed by Canadian psychologist, Albert Bandura. This oversight matters because understanding how animals—and humans—learn through observation, perception, internal…

By Gaby Dufresne-Cyr, CBT-FLE

Part 2: How to Think Critically About Online Dog Training Advice

In Part 1, we explored how social media trainers have gained massive influence despite offering advice that’s often unqualified, outdated, or ethically questionable. Now, in…