Train N Treat What Is Positive Reinforcement Training Why Does it Matter to Your Dog

Today, in our dog-friendly training tip for enlightened dog lovers - Chief Cheerful Officer (CCO) Kiyo shares the secret of why training positively is more fun than being commanded to obey.

What is Positive Reinforcement Training:

Motivating a dog to make good choices, and rewarding it when it does. The reward provides feedback to your dog that you like what it just did. It thus reinforces the good behaviour that we want, and the dog is more likely to repeat that same desired behaviour in another similar situation. With consistent practice, the dog becomes more reliable and fluent in making the desired choice.

Through careful counter-conditioning and desensitization (CCD),
using force-free, rewards-based training,
Sugar (right), was able to safely meet Kiyo (left)

Take for example the case of a dog thats reactive to another dog. We train the reactive dog to look at its owner when it sees another dog, instead of barking and lunging at the other dog. Whenever it does so voluntarily, it gets rewarded with a treat. Eventually, the dog learns and makes the conscious choice to check back with the owner whenever another dog is around. With positive reinforcement, the dog learns the skill of coping with a  potentially stressful situation and is able to make a safe choice instead of reacting negatively.

What it is not:

In the same situation of a dog thats reactive to another dog, it is NOT positive reinforcement when we force the reactive dog into a sit or down position whenever another dog is coming near. It is also NOT positive reinforcement when we use a head collar to turn the dogs head away from the other dog, or jerk its leash and run away in the opposite direction.

One should not repeatedly expose the dog to such a situation, and then deliver a treat when the dog becomes too exhausted to be reactive towards the other dog. This form of training is an aversive method, using punishment and flooding, with treats thrown in as a disguise for positive reinforcement. Aversive training is often an inappropriate method for dogs that are fearful and/or aggressive, and may even escalate the reactivity further. I have seen too many cases of this happening, not to sound an early warning as much as I can.

Why does it matter?

Just as it’s important to choose the appropriate school for a special needs child, it matters to your dog how you educate it to fit in with your family and lifestyle. By reading your dogs communication signals accurately and learning together to establish an effective way to work as a team, both you and your dog will be much happier in the long term.

Find out what your dog likes as rewards, and use them
to provide feedback to your dog as to which behaviours you like.
Kiyo loves to swim - thats as good a reward as food!