When it comes to training a dog one
popular way to go about it is – positive reinforcement. It’s what pretty much
all daycare facilities strive to be. What is the definition of positive
reinforcement? According to North Shore Pediatric Therapy, “Positive reinforcement
is a very powerful and effective tool to help shape and change behavior.” As
much as that definition comes from a doctor perspective for humans, dogs are
too wired the same way. So how can one use that to their advantage training a
dog? Well, the first question you must ask yourself “What motivates your dog?”
Some dogs are motivated extremely by dog food or treats, while others are not.
Some are motivated by their favorite toy. So, whatever it is food, treats or
toy - once you figure that out it will hopefully help motivate your dog to pay
attention to you. We recently started using kibble in our playgroups at work.
Before, we would use commands in an dog social setting – we were not important
to them to listen. Because they weren’t motivated enough to leave their friends
they were playing with to go see what us humans wanted. Since, bringing the
treats in group – dogs recall has improved 80% of the dogs. You might be asking
well what about the other 20%? Well, like I mentioned above not all dogs are
motivated by food or treats. As much as motivation is key to working with your
dog on commands with positive reinforcement. You as the person training also,
need to keep consistency and providing that reward to them for your dog to
understand what is being asked of them. If you get a dog/puppy for your family.
It’s also important to make sure all family members are using the same cue
words for each objective you want your dog to be doing. A huge example that
happens a lot is people use “Down” and “OFF” in the same context. To some “OFF”
is telling a dog to not jump and stay off them. “Down” is to have the dog lay
down on the floor. But each family uses these words differently. You don’t
necessarily have to use those this way, if your family is on the same page at
what you want accomplished when that command is told to your dog. Your dog will
be confused if your family is staying both terms for the same action.
