Dog Training. What works, And What Doesn’t
Many dog training methods are based on what makes the owner feel good, rather than on what makes sense to the dog. For example, positive only dog training has become popular nowadays.
With “Positive Only” dog training, you bribe your dog to something with food or a toy. If he does the desired behavior, he receives the reward.
Positive only dog training often includes a clicker device, a little metal tab that makes a clicking sound when pressed with your thumb. Clicker training as a form of conditioning. You click at the precise instant your dog is doing some desired behavior, then immediately give a treat. The dog learns that whenever he hears the clicking sound, what ever behavior he was doing at that instant will bring him food.
The Problem with Positive Only Training
Positive only dog training and clicker training work well for teaching fun things like tricks, where it doesn’t matter whether you’re Dog Obeys or not.
But for teaching your dog to come when called in the presence of Temptations or distractions, for teaching your dog to stand quietly while his teeth are brushed, or his coat is groomed, for teaching your dog to ask politely towards strangers and other animals, if you’re teaching your dog all the other behaviors you want a well-behaved family dog to do or not to do, positive only dog training is less effective .
Think about it. What happens when you want your dog to stop chasing a cat or a squirrel and come to you, but at that particular moment he’s not hungry and would rather chase the cat or squirrel rather than get a treat.
Owners who rely on positive only dog training are stuck whenever their dog isn’t in the mood to do something.
An animal trainer once said that if the dog wants to chase a cat, he will chase it regardless of biscuits showering upon him.
Why respect training makes more sense to Dogs
Respect training is a balanced philosophy of dog training. Balanced means both positive and negative consequences for once behaviors. This is what we teach at hot dog on a leash.
Dogs learn best from balance dog training, where their behaviors can result in positive or negative consequences.
Positive consequences mean you reward desirable behaviors with praise, smiles, petting, games, and yes, treats.
Negative consequences mean you correct undesirable behaviors with your voice, your facial expression, your body language, your hands, or with the leash or collar. Now I don’t mean hitting, yelling, or using choke collars
By showing your dog both positive and negative consequences, he can make a conscious choice to do a behavior or to stop a behavior, Not only when he’s in the mood for a reward or treat, but also when he might not care about the reward or treat, but he still controls himself because he doesn’t want a correction.
And here’s the best part, when you become the arbitrator of your dog’s behavior, the one who gets to say yes or no about what he or she is allowed to do, your dog respects you.
And once your dog respects you, he will listen to you. He will pay attention to you. He will do whatever you asked, and stop any misbehavior upon a single word from you.
