Reinforcement based training – bring out the brilliance

How many times do you say No! to your dog? Could it be that your dog thinks his name is No? Just kidding. But the sad truth is that most of us tend to notice our dogs when they do something naughty. But when they are good we kind of take it for granted. 
Positive reinforcement training turns this habit around. Positive trainers focus on saying yes! and rewarding the dog for good behaviour.  
Positive reinforcement training comes under many different names, e.g.  reward-based training, science-based training, force free or choice-based training.  
All these training approaches are based on the same proven principle: 

If you reward your dog for a behaviour then that behaviour will likely be repeated. 
Rewards can take many forms, of course, such as praise, food, toys and play.
Why use positive reinforcement training?
There are many reasons to choose positive reinforcement based training. 

• Your dog learns that good things happen to him when he does the thing you like.  And if  you reward your dog for behaviour that you like, you increase the chance of her repeating that behaviour. You also reduce the chance that she will engage in behaviours you don’t like.
• When you scold the dog for doing something naughty, you think you are teaching your dog a lesson. But from your dog’s perspective it is more like the strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Sometimes you are loving and affectionate and sometimes you are scary!  Would you trust Dr Jekyll?
• Using positive reinforcement training on the other hand helps your dog to trust you. It also helps the dog make predictable choices which hellos you to trust her. As a result the bond between you and your dog grows even stronger.
• Dogs that are trained with reward-based methods are much more engaged in the training. They become an active partner, which makes our job as trainers so much easier.  
  

An absolute must for any positive reinforcement trainer is Susan Garrett’s It’s Yer Choice game. You can watch her demonstrate the game and get a copy of the rules on her new site Dog’s That Listen.  Watch her video and learn how your dog can become and active partner in your training. The key to positive reinforcement training is that we need to shift our focus on the behaviours that we like instead of the dog’s naughtiness! Of course this is easier said than done. A shift like this requires some fundamental changes in the way we look at our dogs. Here is a great way to start changing something today: Every time you catch yourself saying NO to you dog, reward your dog five times for something that you do like. Let’s say YES more and see how brilliant our dogs really are!
Leave a comment and let us know how many times you said yes! to your dog today.