Most trainers use rewards – and use them well. But rewards only function as reinforcement when behavior reliably strengthens and holds up over time. This session goes beyond “what we give” and focuses on what actually changes behavior.

In this in-depth presentation, Louise Stapleton-Frappell clarifies the functional difference between delivering a reward and producing reinforcement, then builds a practical, ethical framework for using reinforcement strategically across the full learning cycle: acquisition, fluency, generalization, and maintenance.

Participants will explore how reinforcer selection, bridging stimuli, timing, and delivery strategies shape not only behavioral precision, but also the learner’s emotional experience of training. The session also covers reinforcement schedules, the Train–Test–Train system, and how motivating operations and setting events influence reinforcer value, performance, and learning outcomes.

Designed for trainers and behavior professionals who want greater precision without adding pressure, this session equips you to diagnose stalled progress, strengthen durability, and build learning that is both effective and humane.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Differentiate rewards from reinforcement using a functional definition based on observable behavior change.
2. Identify where reinforcement occurs within the learning process and use this understanding to evaluate training effectiveness across sessions and contexts.
3. Describe and apply reinforcement priorities across the four stages of learning: acquisition, fluency, generalization, and maintenance.
4. Select appropriate reinforcers for a given learner and context, including explaining the difference between primary and secondary reinforcers and the role of conditioned reinforcers and markers.
5. Demonstrate informed decision-making around reinforcement delivery by matching specific strategies to defined training goals.
6. Explain how reinforcement schedules affect behavioral durability, and apply basic thinning strategies appropriately.
7. Recognize and adjust for motivating operations and setting events that alter reinforcer value and learner performance, and modify training plans accordingly.

Your Presenters-Louise Stapleton-Frappell

Louise Stapleton-Frappell – B.A. Hons, PCT- A, PCBC-A, CAP3, CTDI, DN-FSG2, DN-CPCT, CWRI

Louise is a Partner and Faculty Member of DogNostics Career Center and Board Member of The Pet Professional Guild. Louise has constantly built on her knowledge and furthered her education in the field of force-free, rewards-based, science-based pet training. The creator of the DogNostics’ Dog Trainer Certification Program, Louise has presented at conferences internationally and has gained a reputation for expertly teaching and training humans and canines at her own establishment, The DogSmith of Estepona, in Southern Spain, where she offers a wide range of both group and private classes and pet dog services.

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