Dog Training – Reward & Punishment
Most training revolves around giving the dog consequences for his behaviour, in the hope of influencing the behavior the dog will exhibit in the future.
There can be 4 types of consequences:
| Positive Reinforcement | Negative Reinforcement | Positive Punishment | Negative Punishment |
| Adds something to the situation to increase the chance of the behaviour being exhibited again | Removes something from the situation to increase the chance of the behaviour being exhibited again | | |
| e.g. giving a dog a treat when he sits. | e.g. releasing the tension on an uncomfortable training collar when the dog stops pulling on the leash). | e.g., verbally growling at a dog to make it stop jumping up | e.g., walking away from a dog who jumps up |
Modern trainers use "positive training methods", which is a different meaning of the word "positive" from that in operant conditioning.
"Positive training methods" generally means preferring the use of reward-based training to increase good behavior over that of physical punishment to decrease bad behavior.
However, a good trainer understands all four methods, whether or not they can put operant-conditioning terminology to them, and applies them as appropriate for the dog, the breed, the handler, and the situation.
Positive Reinforcers - can be anything that the dog finds rewarding - special food treats, or the owner's attention. The more rewarding a dog finds a particular reinforcer, the more work he will be prepared to do in order to obtain the reinforcer.
No Bribery - It is important that the dog is not "bribed" to perform. In dog training, the term "bribery" means that the dog is aware of the presence of the reward before he is asked to complete the command. The risk with bribery is that the dog will refuse to comply with commands when he cannot see the reward, since he knows from experience that he will only be rewarded when he can see the reward.
Positive punishment is probably the consequence that is least used by dog trainers, as it must be used very carefully. A dog is generally only given this type of punishment if it is willfully disobeying the owner.
Punishing a dog who does not understand what is being asked of him is not only unfair to the dog, but can make the dog a fearful or unwilling worker.
Type of Punishments
Punishments are administered only as appropriate for the dog's personality, age, and experience. A sharp No works for many dogs, but some dogs even show signs of fear or anxiety with harsh verbal corrections. On the other hand, certain dogs with 'harder' temperaments may ignore a verbal reprimand, and may need a physical punishment such as a quick tug on a training collar.
Punishment should only be used if the dog performs something unwanted and you catch the dog in the act or within a very short time of it. A dog who ate the remote in the morning, will not understand why it is being punished at night. Punishment avoidance techniques can be used to control the dog's behavior while unsupervised.
Keeping a puppy on a leash in challenging situations or in his crate or pen when not closely supervised prevents the puppy from getting into situations that might otherwise invite an owner's harsh reaction (such as chewing up a favorite pair of shoes).
To reinforce the command, the dog always gets some kind of reward or reinforcement when it performs the action correctly. This helps the dog to understand that he has done a good thing. It is important not to give treats everytime, because the dog will only learn to complete a command when you have a treat in hand and will not be reliable when no treat is present.
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