Dogs will naturally do things that we don’t want them to do. They will chew anything that they can get their teeth on, they will bark like there is no tomorrow, they will pee and poo where they please, they will dig holes and destroy the backyard, and so on. If we want the dog to behave, we must train him. Dogs do not possess the ability to learn proper behavior on their own.
The two primary dog training tools are positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. Today, positive reinforcement is gaining more and more popularity among dog owners and is recommended by most experts in the field as a principal training technique.
How does positive reinforcement works? Positive reinforcement is a method where the trainer reinforces a specific behavior in an effort to increase the probability of that behavior’s occurrence. It works by using rewards or praise when the dog does the right thing. This way the dog associates something positive with a specific behavior which results in a future increase of the frequency of that behavior.
The opposite of positive reinforcement in a negative reinforcement where the trainer delivers a punishment, or negative consequence, when the dog performs an undesirable behavior. Punishment gets the dog to stop doing something. Negative reinforcement is connected to misbehavior.
Most experts in the field agree that positive reinforcement training is more effective than correction. It’s associated with positive feelings and has better long-run implications than negative reinforcement.
Negative reinforcement has its benefits and it would be quite unrealistic to think that you can properly train a dog using only positive reinforcement. But because it can have serious long-lasting consequences, it has to be used very sparingly and carefully.
I myself always use mainly positive reinforcement techniques to train my dogs and I love training them. This builds a strong relationship and it’s a great way to bond. Always remember, a well behaved dog is a happy dog and a credit to its owner.
