Dogs are very sociable creatures – it’s part of the reason why we love dogs so much. The problem is that when a dog becomes too sociable they can be become agressive and get out of control. That’s why it’s important to train your dog from an early age to make sure that you can control their behavior and prevent this type of behavioral problem.
The most worrying type of agression from any dog is biting as this can have disasterous consequences on both the dog and its family. Current statistics shows that over 70% of dog biting incidents happen within the dogs family. Some of these lead to the dog in question being put down to prevent it happening in future – especially where young children are involved. This is the most tragic possible outcome that could have been prevented by some effective training in the first place.
Proper dog training, from an early age, helps prevent these habits developing in the dog. The training will also allow your dog to remain more in control of their feelings towards other humans and animals. This will give them a better “social life” and allow them to integrate more quickly with their family and their new surroundings.
Actually training the dog is another story. It’s not always as easy as some people make it out to be. Certain things need to be in place for the training to be truly successful. One of the most critical aspects of training any dog is something called “positive reinforcement”. This is simply the system where the dog is rewarded with treats or praise (or sometimes both) when the dog obeys commands or shows positive behavior in their environment. Positive reinforcement shows the dog that they’ll be praised and/or receive a treat when they obey new commands or exhibit a certain behavior that their owner requires. It’s a matter of the dog associating certain good feelings (treats or praise) with obeying a command from his owner. This type of association can quickly become instinctual for the dog.
What if your dog doesn’t immediately obey these new commands or shows a negative behavior? Do you punish the dog? Absolutely not! This sends the dog mixed signals i.e. that the same verbal command or request could just as easily being punished as rewarded. If your dog begins to doubt you in relation to praise or punishment then the training can become very difficult; if not impossible.
Another major mistake to avoid is training the dog into a bad habit – instead of in the opposite direction. For example, when dogs bark, it is usually because they’ve seen or heard something strange or unfamiliar. When dogs continue to bark, even if it includes barking at a familiar person, that becomes a problem. How do most people deal with their dog barking? They yell at the dog to shut up. Unfortunately the dog could take this action as their owner joining in the “barking experience” and the dog will then just continue to bark every time they’re yelled at thus making matters worse for everyone involved.
Any dog training performed without some form of positive reinforcement is a waste of the dogs and the owners time. The sooner you adopt this technique into your training program for your new pup or older dog the sooner you’ll see positive results.
Niall Roche
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/positive-reinforcement-in-your-dog-training-126504.html
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Using positive reinforcement when training not to bite?
Reading through some of the questions regarding biting and the topic of bitter apple and deterrents like that, many people said positive reinforcement is the best kind of training.
I agree with that statement – but how are you supposed to teach a dog not to bite hard using positive reinforcement?
Usually you give the dog a reward right after good behavior, but in the case of biting, theres only 2 types of situations, he's either not biting, or he's biting. Wouldnt it be easy for them to misinterpret the reward?
hold there mouth for 10 seconds and say no
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thats how i thuaght my dog
In my opinion – yes! There is a difference between re-directing and rewarding. If a puppy is chewing on something it shouldn't, redirect to a toy, then praise. If the puppy is chewing on YOU, yelp in a high pitched, loud voice, then ignore the puppy for 10 minutes. Giving the puppy a toy after biting you is rewarding it for biting!!!
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If positive reinforcement doesn't work, put the leash on and have the dog wear it constantly. If he bites, pick up the leash, SNAP IT, and say "No bite!". Then calmly stand up (If you're sitting) and walk away. This is saying to the dog: "If you're going to be mean, I'm not going to play with you."
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You are right!!! I am not a proponent of any of that new positive only crap…dogs still need to be corrected when they do wrong and learn from their actions, just like we do.
When a dog learns to make a choice and understands the cause=equals effect system in life, he also learns that his actions, positive or negative, will have a good or bad result.
When you speed and get pulled over and get a ticket, you learn, you have that option to learn by your mistakes..why can the dog not have the same opportunities?
When the dog THINKS about biting you, not after he does it, correct the dog hard enough with a leash and a prong to leave a lasting impression in his mind that doing it that again, will only make things worse.
The only problem I have here with this is people who are cruel and UNDER-CORRECT and fuel the dog to keep trying stupid crap.
One offense, one SERIOUS correction. Hope I helped!
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Personally, I feel that the terms "positive reinforcement" is overused and misunderstood by so many people that the idea itself is convoluted. Many people use what they believe is "positive reinforcement", when it is actually a "negative reinforcement."
There is positive reinforcement, positive punishment, negative reinforcement and negative punishment." Understanding the difference between the 4 is interesting.
Instead of trying to decide what is "positive" and what is not. I find it's easier to focus on what the dog best understands.
http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2002/punishment.htm
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Bite inhibition should be done at an early age, so as to avoid this (puppy bites, make loud yelp sound so puppy learns it hurts you and not to do it. They also learn this in litters with littermates, this is why it's so crucial to keep them with their littermates/mom until at least 8 weeks). Basically, you need to simply distract the dog from biting. Dog starts mouthing, shake a can full of pennies. Dog stops mouthing, give the dog a treat. It's like jumping. Dog jumps on you, you turn around until all four paws are on the ground, then you can give (calm) attention.
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