Slot Machines Don’t Train Dogs! What if everything you’ve been told about variable reinforcement is only half the story? Dog trainers and psychologists love to say, “Switch to variable reinforcement, it’s like a slot machine, that’s how behaviors stick.” But here’s the truth: that analogy is flawed, incomplete, and in training, often misleading. In this episode, Ivan Balabanov breaks down: -Why the slot machine comparison fails in dog training. -When is Continuous Reinforcement actually more powerful? -How to use extinction bursts as a tool to sharpen behaviors. -Why barking, whining, and nipping aren’t “disobedience” but feedback. -The difference between keeping behaviors alive vs. making them bulletproof. Dogs aren’t pigeons in Skinner boxes. They aren’t gamblers at slot machines. Real training is about clarity, joy, precision, and connection — not random paychecks. If you’re serious about dog training, this episode will challenge what you’ve been told and show you how to think beyond the textbook.

If Errorless Learning was the greatest breakthrough in how animals—or humans—learn, why hasn’t it taken over education? It’s been over 60 years since it was introduced. If it really worked, wouldn’t our schools, colleges, and universities have adopted it by now? In this solo podcast, I break down two recent publications by Eduardo J. Fernandez: “Comparing trial-and-error to errorless learning procedures in training pet dogs a visual discrimination” and “The Least Inhibitive, Functionally Effective (LIFE) model: A new framework for ethical animal training practices” These aren’t scientific breakthroughs—they’re ideological maneuvers. Behind the friendly language and force-free branding lies a troubling pattern: rigging methodology, ignoring real-world complexity, and selling fantasy as welfare. I’ll explain why these ideas not only fail in practice—but are dangerous when taken seriously.

The first podcast I did with Larry Krohn was years ago, and it sparked a lot of debate around the e-collar. Since then, Larry has completed my Training Without Conflict® school, and through many conversations we’ve come to realize how much common ground we share. Today, we agree on nearly everything and hold a strong respect for one another. We’ve wanted to do a second podcast for quite some time, and our schedules finally aligned. The result is a 4+ hour conversation covering a wide range of dog training topics. This one isn’t about conflict, it’s about depth, clarity, and experience.