which is a more direct trade between not doing the thing and getting a treat.
Yeah, I’ve done similar trade-things with my cat. We certainly can trade with animals—we just very rarely do. Owning animals is like living in a Stalinist totalitarian communist dictatorship, in that there are sometimes nominally transactions involving ‘rubles’ and ‘markets’, but they represent a tiny fraction of the economy and are considered a last resort (and, animal activists would add, the treatment of animals resembles the less savory parts of such dictatorships as well, in both quality and quantity...).
The example of “don’t eat that!” communication which comes immediately to mind is https://savethekiwi.nz/about-us/what-we-do/kiwi-avoidance-training-for-dogs/, though that’s with negative rather than with positive reinforcement.
The example of “do this other thing when you get that stimulus” communication which comes immediately to mind is https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/training/stop-dog-barking-doorbell/, which is a more direct trade between not doing the thing and getting a treat.
Yeah, I’ve done similar trade-things with my cat. We certainly can trade with animals—we just very rarely do. Owning animals is like living in a Stalinist totalitarian communist dictatorship, in that there are sometimes nominally transactions involving ‘rubles’ and ‘markets’, but they represent a tiny fraction of the economy and are considered a last resort (and, animal activists would add, the treatment of animals resembles the less savory parts of such dictatorships as well, in both quality and quantity...).