How to Train Your Dog Using Positive Reinforcement – Part 1

Posted by Jeanne on March 22, 2010

It’s widely accepted among the vast majority of dog training experts that the most effective and humane way to train your dog is through a process called positive reinforcement training.

This is a fancy phrase for what’s essentially a very simple theory: using positive reinforcement entails rewarding the behavior that you wish to see repeated, and ignoring the behavior that you don’t.

This method is in direct contrast to some of the now-outdated but once-popular techniques for dog training, some of which were frankly abhorrent: physical pain and intimidation (such as hanging an aggressive dog up by her collar), or inhumane methods of aversion therapy (such as shock collars for barking).

Positive reinforcement works with your dog. Her 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 (as opposed to, say, 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.

More on this subject next week…

How to Teach Your Dog to Use a Leash – Part 3

Posted by Jeanne on March 1, 2010

Things to Remember

Remember to be patient! Don’t attempt to rush your dog’s progress: using force is counterproductive to your end goal. You’re teaching him to relax and be calm around the leash – if you get stressed or frustrated with his lack of progress, he’ll be able to tell, and his anxiety levels will increase, not decrease.

Remember not to indulge his nervousness or coddle him if he plays up or gets nervous. If you react to his crying and trembling with petting and cooing, you are telling him that it’s OK to feel like that. If he’s nervous, either ignore it and carry on, or distract him with a game or short walk. If he’s still panic-stricken after three or four minutes, revert to the previous step and give it more time.

This should go without saying, but never correct or punish him for skittishness or nervous behavior – again, it’s counterproductive in the extreme.