What is positive reinforcement? Positive Reinforcement is anything occurring immediately after or during a behavior, which increases the chances of that behavior being offered again.   For instance, if you call your dog to you, and give it a piece of cheese when it gets there, you've increased the chances of the dog coming to you, the next time. If you only pet the dog, or do nothing when it gets to you, the behavior may very well extinguish itself on its own -- the reward must be reinforcement for the behavior -- meaning that the dog may stop coming when called (petting and praise, while considered to be positive in nature, are very limited forms of reinforcement -- when compared to food, toys, or other possible motivators -- such as other dogs). Always keep in mind this simple rule: whatever reward you are using MUST be more tempting than any distraction, in order to work. If the dog is more interested in chasing the rabbit than in coming to you for the piece of cheese, don't allow him to run free.

While punishment can be used effectively under certain limited circumstances, the need for precision in timing is crucial. You have to be very careful, when using punishment as a training tool -- rather than teaching right from wrong, you could be teaching your dog that he can't trust you. The punishment must be presented during the offending behavior in order to be effective. Also, the proper use of punishment as a training tool dictates that only enough force be used to stop the offending behavior, but at the same time, that enough force be used to deter the possibility of that behavior being offered again. If either of these 2 criteria are not met, it's abuse, and not punishment.

According to Jean Donaldson, renowned author of The Culture Clash and Dogs are from Neptune, dogs don't understand the concepts of "right" and "wrong", the way that humans do. (Read these books -- they make complete sense!!) They tend to assess individual situations according to level of personal safety. Using punishment as a training tool teaches your dog, over the long term, that doing things in your presence is dangerous. Whether it be house training errors, getting into the trash, chewing the furniture, digging up the yard -- whatever -- if you've punished your dog for these things, and he does them when you leave -- this is why: you've taught him that doing his "dog things" in your presence is dangerous to him. So, he simply waits 'til it's safe.

If you REALLY want to understand your dog, read The Culture Clash, by Jean Donaldson!  This book is what really opened my eyes to what I was doing to my dogs!

The very best (and easiest) way to get rid of an undesirable behavior is to teach a replacement behavior. For example, if your dog jumps up on guests: post a notice on your front door that your dog is learning manners, and that all visitors are to refrain from touching your dog until all four of his feet are on the floor. Then, keep some really good treats and your clicker handy (see Clicker Training Basics, for more information), and when somebody knocks or rings the doorbell, be ready. When the dog jumps up, don't show any reaction. When his feet are on the ground, click, give him a really good treat, and pet him. This method doesn't take long, at all. Your dog will quickly learn that he'll get what he wants by behaving! If the problem is that your dog gets into the trash, put the trash in a cabinet. If he chews the furniture, and you catch him at it, tell him "no chewing", and IMMEDIATELY give him one of his thousands of chew toys as a replacement (if your dog is a "chewer", and you don't buy toys for him as replacements, who is to blame for the destruction??)

Clicker Training

Clicker training uses as its main component positive reinforcement, which is based on the theory that an entity (human or animal) will raise its probability of repeating a behavior if that behavior is rewarded -- especially if the entity understands exactly what it is being rewarded for. If Fido gets a cookie for sitting on command, the probability that he'll sit the next time, on command, is increased. This is very basic psychological theory, and it works!! Dogs really respond to this -- all dogs, in all situations!! The clicker is used to "mark" the behavior, so that the dog understands exactly what it was that you liked about it.

Brenda Rushman, Web Author

To learn more about clicker training, or ask questions about how to shape a specific behavior, look at this page!