Negative Reinforcement: The removal of something that the dog perceives as aversive in response to a behavior we want to increase. Keep in mind that it is what THE DOG PERCEIVES AS BEING AVERSIVE that defines positive punishment! So for example, when the dog does something you don’t want him to do you the yank his prong collar, squirt water in his face, step on his paws, hit him, yell at him, give a disapproving look, or apply an electric shock. Positive Punishment: The application of something that the dog perceives as aversive in response to a behavior we want to decrease. Examples: ignoring a dog who is barking at you for part of your dinner putting the dog back in the house immediately if he bolts out the door and hits the end of his leash when you go to take him out for a walk. Negative Punishment: The removal of the opportunity for the dog to earn things he likes, following a behavior we want to decrease. It is important to note that it is what THE DOG PERCEIVES AS BEING VALUABLE that makes something a reward. So for example, when your dog does something you like, you immediately click and treat, throw a ball, play tug with the dog, give a butt scratch to the dog, or happily praise the dog so his tail wags. Positive Reinforcement: Anything which follows a behavior which increases the chance that the behavior will happen again. Confused already? Let’s define each term clearly: What, exactly, IS a “positive trainer”? In the strictest, most realistic sense of the word, a positive trainer is one who uses mostly positive reinforcement and a little bit of negative punishment, and no negative reinforcement and positive punishment.
But it also indicates a certain dishonesty (or a definite lack of understanding) on the part of the trainer. I suppose I can be hopeful that the use of the marketing ploy is a sign that the more “traditional” trainers are feeling the squeeze, and are trying to keep their businesses, because this would indicate that positive reinforcement training is overtaking the traditional methods in popularity. Let’s go to them!” It’s very easy to become lured (no pun intended) by these terms, but it takes a bit more savvy to tease out what each trainer’s style REALLY is. “These trainers use positive methods in their training. If these owners search websites and ads in phone books, they may find some of these “positive” catch phrases mentioned above. In the latter case, the owners may begin the search for another type of training which fits their belief system and/or conscience. They do what the instructor tells them to do sometimes they follow instruction that includes force without question, and sometimes they stop themselves and think about what they are being asked to do with their dog. When they look up a trainer for some instruction, they may not be aware that there are different styles of training. People, for the most part, love their dogs and WANT to be kind and gentle toward them.
Folks are starting to realize that there is an alternative to the techniques used in force training, which utilizes choke chains and prong collars, along with alpha rolls and dominance downs, spray bottles with lemon juice, shaker cans with pennies in them, shock collars, electric fencing, mousetraps, the list goes on. Dog magazines are talking about clicker training, there are more dog training organizations which are dedicated to ethical and humane treatment of animals, and websites and books abound on the topic. Why? Dog training which uses positive reinforcement is (finally) becoming more popular. These catch-phrases are all the rage right now, so everyone is jumping on the bandwagon.
All you have to do is Google websites on dog training and they're there - the marketing keywords: “Positive Methods,” “Positive Training,” “Positive Rewards,” “Positive Motivation.” Sounds great, right? Well… better take a closer look.
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