Dog Behavior Training

Positive Reinforcement

• Positive reinforcement is the most effective and humane method of dog behavior training. You give the animal something he wants in exchange for a particular behavior. Punishment is never used. Initially, food treats work as reinforcers. Treats must be easy to eat and small enough that they do not take time away from the training session. As training progresses, treats can be replaced by petting, praising, and the sound of the clicker.

Clicker Training

• Use a clicker to mark the exact moment when the desired behavior occurs. For example, if you are training your dog to sit, click exactly when his bottom hits the ground. Clicking signals that a reward is on its way, and must be followed by a reinforcer--usually food.

Capturing

• Capturing is taking a behavior that your dog is already performing and adding a cue. If you are training sit, for instance, every time your dog sits on his own, you click, praise him with "good sit!" and give a reinforcer. The dog soon associates the action of sitting with the word "sit." At this point, you only reinforce for behaviors that occur after the cue is given.

Shaping

• Shaping means building a desired behavior through successive approximations. To shape sitting, first you click and reinforce for all four paws on the ground; then for each motion of the dog's bottom toward the ground, no matter how slight; then next for the bottom touching the ground, no matter how brief. Soon you will be clicking and reinforcing only for a complete sit, as your dog gradually learns what you are asking him to do.

Aversives and Punishment

• An aversive is anything that is frightening, painful, or otherwise unpleasant. Punishment is adding something to the dog's environment that makes it less likely that a behavior will occur. Traditional dog training once relied almost exclusively on aversives and punishment.