Pet Health And Care >> Articles >> Dog Training

Positive Reinforcement Dog Training

Submitted by Michael Adams on April 21, 2010

Training is imperative for your pet because every pet owner would want to own a dog that is well behaved and obedient and does not embarrass them in public. It is therefore important that you train your dog well so that they listen to you and obey your commands. There are two basic types of training that that are the positive reinforcement training and the negative reinforcement training.

The negative reinforcement dog training is a traditional concept that follows the rule of punishment for the wrong behavior that is done. In this way, the dog will remember that the particular thing is not to be done and thus, will not repeat it the next time. This method of dog training is although being disregarded by many and is being replaced by the positive reinforcement dog training which is a fairly new method of dog training.

This method believes in rewarding the dog every time they listen to you rather than punishing them for doing the wrong things. In this way, dogs will realize that doing a certain thing is good or right as they are being treated after obeying the same. The positive reaction can be anything where you can praise them or do certain gestures that they like or reward them with a favorite treat of theirs. A treat can be any favorite food or snack that your dog likes to eat or you can give them their favorite toy to play or simply pat on their back. A combination of all the above positive gestures can also be done in order to let your dog know that his behavior was as desired.

If your dog is behaving in a manner that you do not want him to, don’t punish them. In such a case do not give them any reward neither give them any attention till they stop behaving in that way. You might even have to lock your dog in another room for a while or be away from him till he has calmed down and once they are acting normal; you can begin to play with them again. In this way they will know that they will have to forego their play time if they behave in that way and not do it again. Positive dog training is very beneficial as it helps in building a better relationship between you and your dog where as negative dog training will only cause your dog to get scared of you.

Pet Health Instructor

Dog Training