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Using Positive Reinforcement For Dog Training

        
          

Do you remember the time when your parents gifted you a new remote control car when you got A grade on your report card? That made you study harder, right? This is known as positive reinforcement. Same is the case with dogs. They want praise, reward and food. Using positive reinforcement, you can train your dog in no time. As the rewards make the pooch more likely to do the desired behavior again, this type of training can prove to be the most useful tools to shape up or change the behavior of your dog.

positive reinforcement

 

Timing matters

Timing is very important when you plan to use positive reinforcement. For instance, reward should be given immediately or your dog may not be able to associate with it if not given on time.

 

Teaching commands

This training method is also great when it comes to teaching your dogs certain commands like sit, stand, down, fetch etc and is a great way to reinforce positive behavior in your furry friend.


 Treats, praise and more

Apart from the treat, you can give him praise like a pat or by saying “good dog” when he obeys your command. So, it is not just about giving treats; petting, praise or giving him his favorite toy to play are other ways that help in positive reinforcement training. But as it is seen that pets are more inclined towards food items and treats, they help in easing out the whole training process.

At the same time you need to keep in mind that the treat should be irresistible for your dog. Also, it should be small so that he gulps it down immediately and ask for more. But make sure that you don’t give something that he will chew for long as this may break the chain of training or will take away the time from the training session. You can also try with keeping different types of treats so that the dog doesn’t get bored of getting same treat each time he obeys you.

While the above mentioned points were all what can be done, there are some don’ts as well when it comes to training using positive reinforcement. Here they are:

 

Don’t make things too complex:

If you wish that your dog should fetch, don’t ask him to fetch the Frisbee. Rather, just say “fetch” and reward him as he does so. Getting too complicated with words or commands will confuse him. So be simple and specific.

 

Don’t be inconsistent:

Everyone in a dog’s life should be on same page and give consistency in expectations, reactions and training. So when one person lets the dog sit on the couch and others do not, he will surely get confused. Also, everyone should give same type of commands so as to make him obey fast without getting perplexed.

So, you can continue using positive reinforcement for maintaining good behaviour of your dog. The reward based training always help to create desirable attitude in the pet and also builds up feeling of confidence and trust between the dog and the owner. Last but not least, dog training needs to be a happy and fun experience for your pet. After all, you would want your furry friend to enjoy while getting trained.

 

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