Positive Reinforcement & Negative Reinforcement for Dog Training

Reinforcement is a technique to train a dog to perform a behavior, such as following the command to "sit" or "stay." The flip side of reinforcement is punishment, which is used to stop a behavior. There are positive and negative ways to reinforce a behavior. Knowing the difference can help you train your dog.

  1. Positive Reinforcement

    • Positive reinforcement involves rewarding a dog for behavior with the goal of increasing the behavior. The reward can be verbally praising the dog, giving the dog a treat, physical affection or a toy, or some combination. For example, if you give a dog a treat after telling it to sit, that is positive reinforcement. According to the Humane Society, positive reinforcement is one of the most powerful tools for changing a dog's behavior.

    Negative Reinforcement

    • The goal of negative reinforcement, like positive reinforcement, is to increase the likelihood the dog performs a behavior. Instead of giving the dog a reward, however, negative reinforcement works by removing something aversive from the dog's environment. An example of negative reinforcement is releasing a choke chain when the dog stops pulling and walks beside you. You stopped doing something the dog disliked when it performed an action you want it to repeat.

    Reinforcement vs. Punishment

    • One misconception is negative reinforcement involves punishing the dog through fear or by inflicting pain, according to Drs. Daniel Estep and Suzanne Hetts. The training technique that uses punishing a dog to stop a behavior can lead to a dog fearing its owner or causing aggressive behavior. The goal of reinforcement, whether positive or negative, is to ensure a certain behavior occurs again, while punishment is designed to stop a behavior.

    Training Tips

    • When rewarding a dog, give the reward within seconds to connect the reward with the action. If the dog is performing a new behavior, reward it every time; this is called continuous reinforcement, according to the Humane Society. Keep commands short -- sit, down, stay, come. One technique is to reward a dog for being quiet or doing nothing, according to Doggie's Paradise, which says leads to a calmer dog.