Is your puppy in need of learning basic commands like sit and stay? Could your older pet be in need of new tricks? Regardless of your dog-training needs and questions, the answer is positive reinforcement training.
What is positive reinforcement training?
Remember how great it felt when your parents rewarded you for getting outstanding grades or for cleaning up your room without being asked? That reward or praise likely made you want to continue overachieving at school or keeping your room clean. In a sense, their praise or reward “trained” you to continue the behaviours they liked. That’s the idea behind positive reinforcement training. And it works for dogs, too.
To train your dog using the positive reinforcement method, you’ll use praise or treats to motivate him to do the behaviour you desire.
How do you train your dog using positive reinforcement methods?
To ensure your dog associates the praise or reward with his good behaviour, it’s important to do the following:
- Keep commands short, like “sit,” “stay,” “off,” “come,” “leave it,” etc. Don’t use full sentences, which will only confuse your pup.
- Reward your dog immediately after the good behaviour (you can use a clicker to mark the behaviour and then give the treat or praise), so he realizes the reward is because he did the specific behaviour.
- Be consistent. Everyone in your family should use the same commands and should reward your dog after the desired behaviour.
If using treats to reward your dog, be sure to break them up into small pieces. The calories in treats can add up quickly, and you’ll go through a lot of them during the training process.
While your dog is learning the new command or behaviour, reward him every time he does it. Once he’s learned it, you can gradually reduce the number of times he receives a treat for doing that particular behaviour. But don’t decrease the rewards too quickly—that will frustrate your dog and could jeopardize his training.
If you have any questions or concerns when it comes to training your furry friend, we’re here to help. Please don’t hesitate to contact us.
