by Sarah Gladman
It's widely accepted among the vast majority of dog training experts that the most effective and humane way to train your dog is through a process called positive reinforcement training. This is a fancy phrase for what's essentially a very simple theory: using positive reinforcement entails rewarding the behavior that you wish to see repeated, and ignoring the behavior that you don't.
Positive reinforcement works with your dog. Her natural instinct is to please you .
Some ways for you to facilitate the training process:
- Use meaningful rewards.
- Use the right timing.
- Be consistent with your training commands
-Reward your dog meaningfully
All dogs have their favorite treats and preferred types of physical affection. Some dogs will go mad for a dried meat treat; other dogs just aren't 'food driven and prefer to be rewarded through a game with their favorite toy, or through some physical affection from you like a walk or being groomed.
The best ways to stroke your dog:
Most dogs really like having the base of the tail scratched gently; having their chests rubbed or scratched (right between the forelegs) is usually a winner, too.
You can also target the ears: gently rub the ear flap between your thumb and finger, or scratch gently at the base.
How to correct your dog meaningfully:
The easiest thing about positive reinforcement training is that you don't have to do anything special to get the rewards. The most effective action is to ignore the behavior that you don't wish to see repeated. Not getting any attention (because you're deliberately ignoring her) is enough to make just about any dog pretty miserable, and thus is a powerful correctional tool. The bigger the fuss you make over her when she does get it right, the clearer the connection will be between a particular behavior(s) eliciting no response at all, but other behaviors (the right response) getting massive amounts of positive attention from you.
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About the Author
Sarah Gladman runs an informational website called Dog Training Geelong you are welcome to visit and receive FREE Secrets To Dog Training 6 Day Behaviour and Training Course.
