Our Daily Pet

The majority of dog training experts agree — positive reinforcement training is the most effective and humane way to train a dog. The phrase positive reinforcement training simply means: rewarding the behavior you want, and ignoring the behavior you don’t want. This dog training technique sharply contrasts with some popular techniques. Some older, extreme dog training methods promoted physical pain and intimidation. This included hanging an aggressive dog by the collar or inhumane methods of aversion therapy, such as using powerful shock collars for barking. Positive reinforcement works with your dog — just like it works for killer whales! Do you seriously think Shamu’s trainers act aggressively with a giant killer whale?

Your pet dog’s natural instinct is to please you – the theory of positive reinforcement recognizes that lessons are more meaningful for dogs, and tend to “stick” more, when a dog is able to figure out what you’re asking under her own steam. Rather than learning “down” by being forced repeatedly into a prone position, while the word “down” is repeated at intervals. When you use positive reinforcement training, you’re allowing her the time and the opportunity to use her own brain.

Keys to Positive Dog Training:

Use meaningful rewards:

Dogs get bored pretty quickly with a routine pat on the head and a “good girl.” Most dogs don’t even like being patted on the head – watch their expressions and notice how most will balk or shy away when a hand descends towards their head. Food treats and physical affection are what dog trainers refer to as “primary incentives.” Dog treats and owner affection are rewards that most dogs will reliably and significantly respond.

Use the right timing:

When your dog obeys a command, you must mark the behavior that you’re going to reward so that, when she gets that treat in her mouth, she understands exactly what behavior it was that earned her the reward. Some people use a clicker for this: a small metal sound-making device, which emits a distinct “click” when pressed. The clicker is clicked at the exact moment that a dog performs the desired behavior (so, if asking a dog to sit, you’d click the clicker just as the dog’s bottom hits the ground). You can also use your voice to mark desired behavior: just saying “Yes!” in a happy, excited tone of voice will work perfectly. Make sure that you give her the treat after the marker – and remember to use the marker consistently. If you only say “Yes!” or use the clicker sometimes, it won’t have any significance to your dog when you do do it; she needs the opportunity to learn what that marker means (i.e., that she’s done something right whenever she hears the marker, and a treat will be forthcoming very shortly). So be consistent with your marker.

Be consistent with your training commands:

When you’re teaching a dog a command, you must decide ahead of time on the verbal cue you’re going to be giving her, and then stick to it. So, when training your dog to not jump up on you, you wouldn’t ask her to “get off”, “get down”, and “stop jumping”, because that would just confuse her; you’d pick one phrase, such as “No jump”, and stick with it. Even the smartest dogs don’t understand English – they need to learn, through consistent repetition, the actions associated with a particular phrase. Her rate of obedience will be much better if you choose one particular phrase and use it every time you wish her to enact a certain behavior for you.

How to reward your dog meaningfully:

All dogs have their favorite treats and preferred demonstrations of physical affection. Some dogs will do backflips for a dried liver snippet; other dogs could care less about treats. Many dogs prefer a game with a cherished toy, or physical affection from you. You probably already know if your dog enjoys being touched, played with, or fed treats – each dog has a unique balance of needs, much like humans do. I know one of my dogs loves treats, while the other loves to play fetch.

Dogs really like to be touched:

• The base of the tail gently scratched – the lowest part of their back, just before the tail starts
• Their chest rubbed or scratched –  right between the forelegs
• The ears rubbed gently – rub the ear flap between your thumb and finger, or scratch gently at the base

Dogs love tasty treats:

It is easy to determine if you dog likes treats. If you can’t tell immediately, experiment with different pet treats until you find one that she really goes nuts for. Many trainers have discovered that dogs actually respond most reliably to training commands when rewarded with treats periodically, instead of predictably. Intermittent treat rewards keep your dog on its toes. Your dog stays interested in what might be, rather than growing tired of the food rewards, and from making a conscious decision to skip a treat.

How to correct your dog meaningfully:

The great thing about positive reinforcement training is that it doesn’t require you to do anything that might go against the grain. You won’t be called upon to put any complex, weighty correctional theories into practice, or be required to undertake any harsh punitive measures. When it comes to positive reinforcement training, all you have to do is ignore the behavior that you don’t wish to see repeated. Not getting any attention (because you’re deliberately ignoring her) is enough to make just about any dog pretty miserable, and thus is a powerful correctional tool. Contemporary belief in dog training states that we should simply ignore incorrect responses to a training command – that, with no reinforcement from us (yes, even negative attention – like verbal corrections – counts as reinforcement: to some dogs, negative attention is better than no attention at all), the dog will stop the behavior of her own accord. The bigger the fuss you make over her when she does get it right, the clearer the connection will be between a particular behavior(s) eliciting no response at all, but other behaviors (the right response) eliciting massive amounts of positive attention from you.

Recommended Reading:

Hopefully this article has given you a good basic insight into the more helpful attitudes and techniques to use when training your dog. However, the subject remains pretty complex, and it’s a good idea to learn as much about effective training techniques as possible. One excellent resource for dog training is Secrets to Dog Training: the ultimate training and knowledge database for dog owners. With a focus on preventing and dealing with problem behaviors, as well as obedience work and ‘tricks’, Secrets to Dog Training covers a vast variety of topics in minute detail – all round, an invaluable manual for dog owners everywhere.

Visit the Secrets to Dog Training site to learn more.