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Undoubtedly, the most effective training technique that you can use to improve your dog's behavior is positive reinforcement. The formerly common, but recently proven to be incorrect technique of negative reinforcement can not only slow down the dog training process, it can be detrimental to the dogs behavior.
The definition of positive reinforcement is that you praise and reward your dog for behavior that you want to see repeated, and that you ignore and don't reward your dog for exhibiting behavior that you want to eliminate.
Positive reinforcement works better than negative reinforcement because of a dog's natural instinct to look up to the pack leader. Before dogs were domesticated, they lived in packs. A dog that pleased the pack leader was often rewarded with first choice of food, first choice of mate, and a better living environment
Positive reinforcement dog training can be a complicated and in-depth study. Although a proper dog training manual is needed to ensure correct training methods, there are a few simple steps you can take to increase the likelihood of dog training success.
The basics of positive reinforcement dog training is to ignore the behavior that you don't wish to see repeated. Along with this, reward behavior that you want the dog to understand is correct. It is important that your timing is accurate when handing out rewards and praise. Even a slight mistake in timing of her reward can cause the dog to become confused and not understand what the behavior was that resulted in the reward.
You should also make sure that the rewards are meaningful to the dog. A common form of praise that dog owners give their dogs is a pat on the head. What many people don't understand is that some dogs do not even enjoy a pat on the head, in fact, they find that it irritating. A better method is a doggy treat. Whatever method you choose, pay close attention to the dog's reaction and behavior to get a better understanding of which rewards the dog enjoys and which ones do not mean as much.
Although this just scratches the tip of the iceberg when it comes to positive reinforcement dog training, this should get you on your way to having an obedient and loving dog. It is recommended that you obtain a thorough dog training manual, such as one found at http://www.dogtrainerpro.info/ to get a better understanding of positive reinforcement, and other types of dog training. With the information in this article and the information found in a good dog training manual, you are sure to have the most well behaved |
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