Modern training is all about being positive and not forcing our dog to do something. The main way we do this is with Positive reinforcement training.
What is Positive Reinforcement Training?
Positive reinforcement and force free training are methods of teaching our dogs in an enjoyable and humane way by motivating them to perform those good behaviours that we want to train.
Our dogs learn that good things happen when they do good things and good things don't happen when they don't do good things. The main thing we don't do is punish the dog but instead we simply withhold the treat until we get the correct behaviour.
Why use Positive Reinforcement methods?
Dogs repeat behaviours because they enjoyed the outcome. If you tell the dog they have done something right they enjoy it because they want to make us happy and they know they will get a reward.
We all know the saying 'a happy worker is a productive worker'. Well it turns out this goes for dogs too. Studies have shown that when a dog is happy and enjoying their training, they are far more likely to pick it up and at a faster rate.
How to train using Positive Reinforcement
Marking a behaviour is done by picking a marker. This can be a 'click' from a clicker or a word like 'good' or 'yes' and using the marker as soon as the dog has given us the correct behaviour. To 'charge' the marker, we simple say the word or click, and reward the dog. The best time to do this is when the dog is relaxed and not misbehaving.
When we first teach our furry friends a behaviour, we need to use some sort of motivation to get the desired outcome. One of the main ways to do this is by luring them with a treat. We can lure them into a certain position like a sit or lay down, we can lure them during an exercise like walking to heal and we can lure them away from distractions. Once they have done what we want, we can mark the behaviour and give them the lure as a reward.
Training with Town Paws is always force free, uses positive reinforcement methods and charging the marker will often be the first thing we work on!
Finding our dogs motivation
There are three main motivators for dogs:
- Food
- Play
- Attention/praise
The effectiveness of each motivation will depend on the dog as every dog is different. Some dogs are far more food motivated than overs and attention/praise can work really well with an anxious dog that is looking for reassurance more than anything else.
We can also use anything that the dog wants to motivate them. For example, if they want to go into their favourite park, they may start pulling on the lead as you get close. By stopping, luring the dog back into the correct heal position and only walking towards the park when they are not pulling, we are using the park as the reward.
What to do when our dog isn't behaving
When the dog is not behaving, we simply withhold the reward. Remember, good things only happen when our dog does good things We don't tell them off but instead ignore them or keep the treat away. Once they have stopped misbehaving, we can mark the correct behaviour and reward.
One common mistake is to accidently reward our dogs by giving them something they want when they misbehave. This could be giving them attention when they jump up, letting them get to that interesting sniff when they pull towards it on the lead, giving them a treat to make them stop barking or many and many other things that we as owner unintentionally do to reinforce a behaviour.
Comments