Positive reinforcement training
The theory behind traditional dog training was the belief that the best way to train a dog was to correct the dog when he was doing something wrong. If he was pulling on his leash, a painful jerk (while wearing a choke chain or pinch collar) was given to correct the behavior. If a dog jumped up on a person, the person was instructed to knee the dog in the chest. If there was a wet spot on the rug, the dog was roughly reprimanded, pushed down to the floor, and punished by having his nose rubbed in the wet spot. The idea was that if bad things happened, the behavior would disappear. This caused an undue amount of stress on both the dog and the pet owner.
Fortunately, in the early 1980's, positive reinforcement training became popular and pet owners learned how incredibly effective, easy and fun training this way could be! The dog was now rewarded for performing the right behaviors, which made him happy to repeat the good behavior. Positive training does not mean permissive. Positive trainers prefer to use "negative punishment"- taking away something the dogs wants - rather than "positive punishment" - adding an aversive the dog does not want. Positive trainers also believe in the generous use of management to stop the dog from practicing undesirable behaviors - in short, setting the dog up for success.
ADVANTAGES OF POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT TRAINING
- Your dog learns to think and figure things out, working with you as a team.
- Your dog learns he can make good things happen by offering behaviors you like.
- Positive training is fun for both you and your dog.
- Positive training avoids methods that have the potential to cause stress and injury to your dog.
- Positive training allows you to develop a relationship with your dog based on affection and trust.
DISADVANTAGES OF AVERSIVE BASED TRAINING
- Training with physical corrections (choke or pinch collar) can cause physical pain and/or injure your dog.
- Use of aversive techniques can damage the dog's confidence, as well as his trust in and relationship with his human.
- Some dogs will associate the pain with whatever happens to be nearby - another dog or a child perhaps - which may result in future aggressive behavior towards dogs or children.
- The behavior may return when the aversive stops.
- Punishment can suppress desired behaviors and inhibit offered behaviors. The dog learns it is safest to do nothing.
- Punishment shuts down the behavior, but doesn't teach the dog an appropriate behavior to use in its place.
- The dog learns not to do the behavior when you're there, because the punishment only happens when you're there to deliver it.