Successful Positive Reinforcement
Dog Training Methods

It has been widely accepted by among the vast majority of dog training experts that positive reinforcement dog training is the most effective and humane way to begin training your dog.

Essentially, positive reinforcement or conditioning entails rewarding good behavior that you wish to see repeated, and ignoring the bad behavior that you don’t to be repeated.

And it has proven that positive reinforcement dog training does works!

Behavioral science has shown that your dog share a range of needs, feelings and emotions - and his natural instinct is to please you, therefore the theory of positive reinforcement dog training recognizes that dogs tend to learn better and faster when they are able to figure out what you're asking under their 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 your dog the time and the opportunity to use his/her own brain.

Here are some successful positive reinforcement dog training ways for you to facilitate your dog training training process:

Using Meaningful Rewards

Dogs get bored pretty quickly with a routine pat on the head and a “good boy”.

To keep the quality of your dog’s learning at a high standard, use tempting incentives for good behavior. Food treats and physical affection are what dog trainers refer to as “primary incentives” – in other words, they’re both significant rewards that most dogs respond powerfully and reliably to.

Using The Right Timing

When your dog obeys a command, you must mark the behavior that you're going to reward so that, when he gets that treat in his mouth and he understands exactly what behavior it was that earned him 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 him 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; he needs the opportunity to learn what that marker means (i.e., that he’s done something right whenever he 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 him, and then stick to it.

So, when training your dog to not jump up on you, you wouldn’t ask him to “get off”, “get down”, and “stop jumping”, because that would just confuse him; 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. His rate of obedience will be much better if you choose one particular phrase and use it every time you wish him 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 just aren’t ‘chow hounds’ (big eaters) and prefer to be rewarded through a game with a cherished toy, or through some physical affection from you.

You’ll probably already have a fair idea of how much he enjoys being touched and played with – each dog has a distinct level of energy and demonstrativeness, just like humans do.

The best ways to stroke your dog: most dogs really like having the base of the tail (the lowest part of their back, just before the tail starts) scratched gently; having their chests rubbed or scratched (right between the forelegs) is usually a winner, too. You can also target the ears: gently rub the ear flap between your thumb and finger, or scratch gently at the base.

As far as food is concerned, it’s not hard to figure out what your dog likes: just experiment with different food treats until you find one that he really goes nuts for. When it comes to food, trainers have noted an interesting thing: dogs actually respond most reliably to training commands when they receive treats sporadically, instead of predictably. Intermittent treating seems to keep dogs on their toes, and more interested in what might be on offer - it prevents them from growing tired of the food rewards, and from making a conscious decision to forego a treat.

How To Correct Your Dog Meaningfully

The great thing about positive reinforcement dog 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 dog 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 him) 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.

In A Nutshell

Each dog has its own personality, intelligence, tolerance, and trainability. If you compares two teachers: One who shouts constantly and gives you a whack when you mess up, while the other firmly but gently corrects your mistakes, praises your successes, and makes learning fun. Who do you think you'd learn the most from?

Well, your dogs are no different. You can train a dog to do anything canines are capable of doing without the use of physical force or strong verbal punishment. And Positive reinforcement dog training methods are fun for you and your dog, and they avoid any possibility of injuring your dog mentally or physically with harsh punishment.

Recommended Reading One excellent resource for positive reinforcement dog training is SitStayFetch: 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', SitStayFetch covers a vast variety of topics in minute detail - all round, an invaluable manual for dog owners everywhere. Check out this bestselling dog training manual by clicking on:Sit Stay Fetch