Positive dog training (also known as force free, reward based, or science based) is a kind sympathetic approach to training your dog.
It is backed by loads of science and proven to be the most effective method of teaching - not just dogs but all mammals including us! We all respond better to positivity.
Rewarding Behaviour
In technical terms, the word "positive" means adding something.
During "positive" dog training we add something good: a reward. Because when an act is rewarded, it is more likely to be repeated. The reward itself makes us (or them) ‘feel’ good and when we do something that makes us feel good, we inevitably want to do it again.
Reward vs Bribery
But many people confuse rewarding with bribery, so let me give you an example to help you tell the difference:
If you were to help out a neighbour, for example mowing the lawn, because you had some extra time on your hands: it’s a sunny day and you know it’s something really difficult for them to do, they haven’t asked you to, nor do they expect it, you just want to help.
The next day, you find a bunch of flowers, or a bottle of wine on your doorstep and a thank you note: this is a reward.
You didn’t mow the lawn to get a prize, but getting a thank you and acknowledgement of your good act, makes you feel valued, appreciated and more likely to help out again in the future.
This is not about being offered something first in return for a service, it is being ‘rewarded’ for doing something without being asked.
Dog trainers often talk about ‘paying’ the dog. Positive trainers don’t have the outdated attitude that our dogs should just ‘do it’ for us because these are intelligent animals, so why should they perform a behaviour for no reason at all?
If we pay them and pay them well (just the same way you expect to be paid for a days work), they are far more likely to repeat that behaviour.
What Should You Use to Reward Your Dog?
Being rewarded makes them feel good. What better way to get an animal to do what we ask them to do than by making them feel really good when they do it?
Imagine the anticipation of your dog when you pick up your training lead or clip on your treat pouch, if they know that this is going to be fun and make them happy - as opposed to older training techniques that are going to cause pain or fear.
So the next time you are training your dog, think about what is rewarding to them. We often use food for training, simply because most dogs love it and it taps into their survival instinct (known as a primary reinforcer). Food is really quick and easy to use, meaning we can get in lots of quick repetitions to cement learning, but you can use anything that YOUR dog finds rewarding - and they all have individual preferences!
I love training using life rewards, also known as the Premack Principle, these can be very powerful tools when training, but I will discuss this in more detail another day.
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Lynne :-)