What is positive reinforcement?🔻
⠀
Positive reinforcement in dog training is when your dog gets something valuable and important for behaving well. For example, he/she lies down on your command and gets a treat as a reward.
⠀
It’s not only treats that you can use though, there’s also playing, toys, verbal praise, etc.
⠀
🌟Positive reinforcement training method is based on the fact that the behavior that is reinforced appears more often.🌟
⠀
Its main advantage is that the dog’s motivation is satisfied.
⠀
✔️What other things make positive reinforcement great?
⠀
1️⃣Your dog become proactive;
2️⃣He/she learns to think and make conclusions, often demonstrating correct actions even without any cues from you;
3️⃣No distress (damaging stress) during training, which means both the dog and you as the owner enjoy training sessions and strengthen your bond through them;
4️⃣Your dog trains with great pleasure and is motivated to do their part of the “job”.
⠀
Positive reinforcement training method can be used with all dogs, the only thing that a dog needs is the physical and mental ability to learn and to acquire skills.
⠀
An owner who chooses to use positive reinforcement when training their dog needs: • Understanding of what their dog perceives as reward; • Identifying the right moment to give reward. If when you’re teaching your dog to sit you reward him/her only when they already stand up, you’ll end up teaching them to stand up, and not to sit; • Patience. Sometimes you just need to let your dog think. • Consistency. There must be rules in a dog’s life, and the owner’s behavior must be predictable. If on Monday you use positive reinforcement, but on Tuesday decide to use an electric shock, your dog will never know what to expect – this will undermine his/her trust, and you won’t achieve anything.
⠀
Let’s sum up! Your dog does something and is rewarded for it. This is what positive reinforcement is about.
⠀
But if only it was this simple😅
In dog training, there are also:
•Positive punishment;
•Negative reinforcement;
•Negative punishment!
