Positive Reinforcement Dog Training

Positive Reinforcement Dog Training Systems

There is considerable confusion in relation to positive reinforcement dog training – how it works, whether it works successfully as a stand alone system, and so on.   I recently came across a summary of the 4 critical elements of a positive reinforcement training system which really does work:

1: A positive reinforcement dog training course must deal with positive reinforcement only. And it must state it on its cover.  One positive reinforcement dog training expert, maintains that “many books will try to hide the fact that you have to hit, drag, even throw chains at your animal to get it to perform”.   He could be exaggerating a little here – I’m aware of a training method which does advocate throwing a small piece of chain on the floor near the dog to get the dog’s immediate attention.  I was taught this method myself when my dogs were puppies.  I wasn’t terribly keen on the method, but it certainly doesn’t involve cruelty.  Nevertheless, he has a
point.

And yes, these other dog training methods will work, but your dog could end up being a lit
tle wary of you.  Positive reinforcement dog training, on the other hand, teaches you how to fix behavior problems without even touching your dog.

2: Any positive reinforcement dog training system needs to have very specific instructions on how to deal with each behavior that may arise. It needs to cover at least the basics of how to get started, including the following behaviors which you’ll be wanting to encourage, or discourage as the case may be:

Sit
Stay
Lie Down
Come
Crate Training
Barking
Biting
Jumping
Potty Training
Aggression
Fears (ie. Vacuum Cleaners)
Leash Control

3: It is also preferable to have a dog training method which results in your being dog trained to perform all of those behaviors with hand cues. Hand cues allow you to take training to the next level.

A well trained dog needs to learn how to master all of the basic behaviors with visual hand cues and audio cues. Your dog won’t always be able to hear you. He might be in a noisy park, or lose his hearing with old age, and will need to rely on your signals to still obey, even when he can’t hear you.
4: A positive reinforcement dog training manual should also cover more difficult behaviors, and not only focus on training your dog to a just tolerable level.

Any training method should engender trust.  If your dog doesn’t trust you, or, heaven forbid, is afraid of you to any degree, you won’t get the best out of your dog.  It is this extra trust that will take your relationship with your dog to the next level.  And you can use positive reinforcement dog training to achieve some quite spectacular results.  And it can give you the benefit of a very deep bond with your dog.

For information on a positive reinforcement dog training system that I highly recommend, check out the positive reinforcement training method – click here.