POSITIVE DOG TRAINING

Positive dog training doesn’t rely on physical punishment, force or coercion. Instead the focus is on rewarding the good behavior you want to see more of. The result is an effective dog training style that is fun for both you and your dog!

Positive dog training is based on the principles of classical and operant conditioning. All animals, from whales to dogs to humans, learn in the same way: we learn from the consequences to our actions. An action that results in something pleasant is more likely to be repeated.

We will use a sound, either a click or a word like ‘Yes!” to mark the behavior that we like, and then we will give the dog a reward. The sound we use is paired repeatedly with the reward in order to create a classically conditioned response (think Pavlov’s dogs) When your dog hears the sound, he knows he did something that will earn him a reward. He will pay attention to what actions earn rewards, and he’ll repeat those actions in the future. You won’t have to use the clicker or treats forever- after the good behavior is established, you can start phasing out the rewards.

Positive training is about more than giving out rewards. You need to have a good strategy for dealing with misbehavior. Anything that the dog does, he is doing because it works for him on some level. Whether it is jumping up on visitors or barking, your dog keeps doing the bad behavior because it is rewarding. You can deal with it by examining the behavior, figuring out what the reward is, and removing the reward while you make doing another behavior in that situation simply more rewarding.

One of the inspiring things about positive training is how much the dogs enjoy the training sessions. The time you spend training your dog to do new behaviors will be fun time you spend together. Positive dog training will give you the tools necessary to successfully meet any dog training challenge without using force or physical punishment.

Contact woof@fuzzybuddys.com to sign up for a class or schedule a private consultation.