Abc's Of Positive Training. Miriam Fields-Babineau

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       The positive-reinforcement way to stop a dog from digging in the trash is to divert his attention, have him sit and then click/reward.

      There are other ways to handle the trash-digging pup, and that is through positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement. If you were to divert the dog’s attention from the trash can, have him sit instead and then give him a treat, you’d be offering positive reinforcement. If you were to have a leash on your dog and gave it a yank when he went near the trash can, this would be considered negative reinforcement. There are two types of negative reinforcement: avoidance and escape. In avoidance, the dog would steer clear of the trash can when walking in the same room due to the threat of being yanked. In escape, he would run from the room when he even sees the trash can.

      Which do you think would be most effective in teaching Buster to stay out of the trash? Actually, it’s a combination. Using just one method might cause the dog to get the wrong idea or to become overly frightened of you. The type of conditioner you use depends largely on the dog’s personality, the situation in which the behavior is performed and what your ultimate goals are for your pet.

      There are several things to consider when using operant conditioning to train your pet. First of all, you have to make certain that you reward the behavior that you want. For example, if your dog is growling at someone due to fear, the last thing you should do is pick him up and speak in a soothing tone of voice. This reinforces the growling behavior by positive reinforcement and encourages the dog to continue. Instead, negative punishment would be more effective. Using this method, he does not receive attention for his growling; instead, he is not allowed to be with you. Positive punishment might also be more effective. Let’s say that when he growled, you squirted him with water. Buster learns that growling earns him a squirt in the face instead of the rewards of being picked up and spoken to in pleasant tones. This will extinguish the behavior.

      Another thing you must be aware of when using positive reinforcement is timing. Timing is everything. If you reward your pet at the wrong moment, you will be reinforcing the wrong behavior. For example, you ask your dog to sit. He sits, then gets up. You have not yet taught him to stay and you haven’t rewarded him for doing what you asked. He’s not sure what to do to earn his reward. If your timing were correct, he would’ve been bridged (signaled at the moment he sat) and given the reward before he got up. This way, he would correlate the sit action with his reward and the behavior would be repeated. Otherwise, he would correlate the action of getting up with his reward and you’d have a dog who has learned to not sit. The bridge and following reward need to be done at the very second that the dog does what you’ve asked of him.

       It’s the rare dog who is not motivated by food, although it does happen. Most dogs have a good food drive and will perform for a tasty reward.

      Another factor to consider is the value of the reward. Dogs differ in the values they have regarding what motivates them. Some are happy with a touch or kind words, while others need pieces of hot dog or liver. You’ll need to discover what motivates your dog prior to beginning any training. If your dog likes a number of things, you can vary his rewards according to how well he performs. Let’s say you are teaching your dog to sit in heel position. When he sits at your side, but not in heel position, he receives verbal praise but no treat. When he sits a little closer to your side, facing forward, he receives a piece of biscuit. As he learns that better things come to him the closer he sits, he’ll sit straighter in proper position. As he achieves his goal, his reward is a piece of freeze-dried liver or hot dog. Buster has learned how to achieve without your having to force him into it. It would be similar to your getting a better raise at work due to putting in more hours than normal versus a regular raise for merely consistent performance.

       The Round Robin game is a great way to involve all family members in the training process, as the dog goes from one person to the next and performs what is asked of him.

      A problem with training in this manner is that the animal can learn to associate the reward with only the trainer. He will only listen to or work for this one person. In order for the animal to respond to the entire family, everyone will need to work with Buster. This way, he learns to listen to everyone because anybody in the family has the possibility of being a reward-dispenser. However, when teaching something new and complex, it’s a good idea for just one person to be the key trainer so as not to confuse Buster. Once the behavior is learned, others can join in.

       Teaching targeting with a target stick.

       This hopeful beggar seems to ask, “Do I get a treat now?”

      If your pet is being rewarded with food, he can become sated. Once sated, he’ll no longer be motivated to perform. In order to avoid this, very small pieces of treats should be used, or he can learn to perform for his regular meals. This way, you’ll be able to maintain his proper eating habits and weight while he “works for a living” just as he would in the wild. This would so closely resemble his natural instincts that the dog would feel very fulfilled with his learning process.

      Some dogs tire of the same type of food reward, so it would be a good idea to vary the types used. If using freeze-dried liver, try different flavors. If using hot dogs, try different brands or substitute some bacon once in a while. Popcorn is usually a favorite, as are small bits of pizza. As with any treats, dispense in moderation and make sure you choose something that doesn’t irritate your dog’s digestive system. Inflamed bowels can cause extinction in the behaviors you’ve achieved, because the dog might learn that the more he performs, the worse he feels.

      In order to control when your dog performs, utilize only positive reinforcement when teaching a new behavior during a training session, otherwise your dog will constantly be bugging you by throwing out behaviors until he receives his reward. At first, the behaviors will be those previously taught, but when he sees that he isn’t rewarded for them, the behaviors will turn to negative ones that will ensure him of attention of some kind.

       Puppies have short attention spans and are easily distracted. You will need a reward with high value to the pup to keep his attention focused on the lesson; even at that, you should СКАЧАТЬ