Looking to train your dog and stumped about which dog training method or philosophy is best?  Ask ten different people how they believe dogs should be trained and you’ll likely hear ten different stories. 

The truth is there are really two major dog training approaches, positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement.  And most training techniques fall under these two approaches.

Positive Reinforcement Dog Training Techniques

Positive reinforcement isn’t a new technique however it is a more recent approach when compared to negative reinforcement techniques.  Positive reinforcement basically means you reward for good behavior. 

It embraces the philosophy that animals perform better when they know they’re going to receive a reward. The training results are permanent and positive reinforcement doesn’t create negative behaviors.

Benefits of positive reinforcement include:

-          Creating a bond of trust between owner/trainer and dog

-          Creating a structure of behavior and reward

-          Eliminating and preventing negative or aggressive behaviors

-          Empowering owners to train – it’s easier to use positive techniques successfully

-          Motivating dogs to learn.  When a dog knows they’re going to get a treat they’re much more excited to learn a new behavior.

Positive reinforcement training embraces several training methods including clicker training, play training, nothing in life is free, and even luring.  The essence of these techniques only differs in the process. 

For example, with clicker training the click marks the correct behavior and the behavior is enforced with a reward.  It can be a food reward, a belly rub or a game of tug of war, it doesn’t matter. 

Food rewards, are of course easier and most dogs are very responsive to food. Play training substitutes the food reward with play time and luring guides a dog’s behavior with food.  Okay, onto negative reinforcement…

Next time I will cover negative reinforcement…