Good day everyone
Welcome back to the Café
Here is some advice I shared with a family this week.
I hope you find it helpful.
Advice To Using Positive Reinforcement And Rewards To Train Your Dog
Training dogs using positive reinforcement and reward training has long been recognized as both highly effective for the owner and a positive experience for the dog. Positive reinforcement training is so essential that it is the only method used to train dangerous animals like lions and tigers for work in circuses and the movie and television industry.
Proponents of positive reinforcement swear by the effectiveness of their techniques, and, indeed, the vast majority of dogs respond well to these training methods.
Positive reinforcement training is so effective because it uses rewards to teach the dog what is expected. When the dog performs the desired behavior, he is provided with a reward, most often in the form of a food treat, but it could be a scratch behind the ears, a rub under the chin, or a pat on the head as well. The important thing is that the dog is rewarded consistently for doing the right thing.
Reward training has become increasingly popular in recent years, but chances are some reward training between humans and dogs has been going on for hundreds if not thousands of years.
When understanding what makes reward training so effective, some knowledge of the history of humans and dogs is beneficial. The earliest dogs were probably wolf pups that were tamed and used by early humans for protection from predators, like alarm systems, and later for guarding and herding livestock.
It is possible that the wolf pups that made the best companions were the most easily trained. Or it is possible that these early dogs were orphaned or abandoned wolf pups. Whatever their origin, there is little doubt that the wide variety of dogs we see today have their origin in the humble wolf.
Like packs of wild dogs, Wolf packs operate on a strict pack hierarchy. Since wolf and dog pack hunt as a group, this type of hierarchy, and the cooperation it brings, is essential to the species’ survival. Every dog in the pack knows their place in the pack, and except in the event of death or injury, the hierarchy, once established, rarely changes.
Every dog, therefore, is hard-wired by nature to look to the pack leader for guidance. The basis of all good dog training, including reward-based training, is for the handler to set him or herself up as the pack leader. The pack leader is more than just the dominant dog or who tells all the subordinates what to do. More importantly, the pack leader provides leadership and protection, and their leadership is vital to the success and survival of the pack.
The dog needs to see itself as part of a pack, recognize the human as the leader of that pack, and respect their authority. Some dogs are much easier to dominate than others. If you watch a group of puppies playing for a little while, you will quickly recognize the dominant and submissive personalities.
A dog with a more submissive personality will generally be easier to train using positive reinforcement since they will not want to challenge the handler for leadership. Even dominant dogs, however, respond very well to positive reinforcement. There are, in fact, few dogs that do not respond well to positive reinforcement, also known as reward training.
Positive reinforcement is also the best way to retrain a dog with behavior problems, especially one that has been abused in the past. Getting the respect and trust of an abused dog can be very difficult, and positive reinforcement is better than any other training method at creating this vital bond.
No matter what type of dog you are working with, chances are it can be helped with positive reinforcement training methods. Training methods based on respect and trust, rather than intimidation and fear, is the best way to get the most from any dog.
Thank you for stopping by the Café. Would you mind sharing this information with someone who could benefit from it? For more Dog Tips, Please visit the website at “The cafeBoss.Net.”
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