As a responsible pet parent, it is extremely important to continuously teach your dog new things. This will not only stimulate his mind, but also prepare you and him for a variety of scenarios. If you want your training sessions to be successful, it is also important to make use of positive reinforcement and reward-based training.
Quick overview
Dog training has come a long way since the two World Wars when dogs were trained with methods that included punishment, intimidation and cruel equipment, according to www.helpanimals.co.za. As early as 1947, Keller and Marian Breland introduced more humane ways of dog training.
In 1984, Karen Pryor published a book, Don’t Shoot the Dog, which laid the foundations for force-free, reward-based training methods. Many other trainers have published books on this method of training and held many sessions explaining its benefits. In short, all these works and scientific studies have proved that positive reinforcement and reward-based training work the best.
Alyson Kingsley-Hall, animal behaviourist and Animaltalk contributor, agrees: “There’s nothing admirable, ethical or intelligent in physically or emotionally dominating any animal to comply through the use of punishment. There is so much modern, scientific evidence to support force-free, positive reinforcement training methods as being the most effective and successful way to change behaviour. To use punishment in the form of pain, force, fear or dominance to change behaviour is unnecessary, inhumane, outdated and, quite simply, wrong.
“Most behaviour is driven by an underlying emotion; creating more negative emotions by using punishment certainly doesn’t solve anything and, in fact, creates more problems. Animals live in our human world and are expected to follow our rules. How can we expect them to behave the way we want them to if we only punish unwanted behaviour and don’t teach them an acceptable, alternative behaviour to replace it?”
Reward-based training
In a nutshell, reward-based training boils down to rewarding your dog every time he has done something good or right during the training process. So, instead of punishing him for doing something wrong, he gets rewarded for getting the cue right.
According to the American Kennel Club, the reward you offer your dog could be anything that he enjoys. The reward could be a treat, a toy or his favourite game. While teaching your dog new cues, a treat, a toy or telling him excitedly what a clever dog he is, are all beneficial.
Tracy McQuarrie, founder of Dogtown SA, says: “Remember, your dog will repeat a behaviour he finds rewarding and will cease those that are not rewarding to him.”
Positive reinforcement
By repeating the same action again and again, you’re reinforcing it. So, every time you reward your dog for getting the same cue right, you are positively reinforcing that behaviour. Your dog will then willingly participate in the training and behaviour that you have reinforced throughout the sessions.
For example, if you’ve taught your dog to sit and you reward him the moment he sits, he has learnt through positive reinforcement that he will be rewarded in some way by adhering to your cue. After a while, he will immediately sit when he hears the cue (reinforced behaviour), which is ideal in a situation where you need him to sit on cue, like if the doorbell rings and you don’t want him to run outside when you open the door.
With reward-based training, you focus on what your dog does right and simply ignore it when he does something wrong. Your dog will quickly learn that he won’t get rewarded ‘with the good stuff’ for the wrong behaviour. Dogs are naturally people pleasers, and they will appreciate the rewards much more than being ignored.
By repeating the same action again and again on your cue, you have reinforced the behaviour in your dog.
Benefits
There are so many benefits associated with reward-based and positive reinforcement training. With these methods, you will have a dog with a healthy dose of self-confidence, you will build a strong bond with him and your dog will most probably show less behavioural problems. Your dog’s mind will be stimulated, which means he will be less likely to become bored. It also teaches him to think for himself. But the best part of it is that the two of you will be having fun together while doing it.
Conclusion
The keys to reward-based and positive reinforcement training are perseverance, patience and spending quality time with your dog. Both you and your dog will reap the benefits in the long run. If you struggle with reinforcing certain behaviours, it is worth consulting a reputable dog behaviourist to help you understand your dog and the best way to train him.
