Positive reinforcement: what is it?
Educating your dog by favoring positive reinforcement is opting for a gentle method, without violence and that makes sense. Positively reinforcing the good actions of your dog means encouraging him to repeat rewarded behaviors by systematically adding a pleasant stimuli.
Thus, since the dog is an opportunistic animal by nature who only goes towards what gives him satisfaction, he will try by all means to repeat the behavior that allowed him to obtain his reward.
To give you a simple example: when your dog comes back when you call him back and you reward him warmly, you positively reinforce his good deed (R+).Conversely, if he does not return immediately and when he does, you scold him (P+), you negatively reinforce the action of returning home. In fact, you are not in a coherent approach and this will have a direct impact on all the other reminders that you will ask your doggie. “Why come back if I get scolded systematically?” your dog will then say to himself.
From my point of view, positive reinforcement is just a matter of common sense. Wouldn't you think of punishing your child for bringing home a good grade from school? Well for your dog, it's the same thing: to encourage him, you have to positively reinforce his good deeds.
On the other hand, to stay on the analogy of the child and the mark: it is sometimes tempting to suggest to his offspring to do better the next time anyway because well, to have a good mark c is good but having the best is still better.Doing so goes against the principles of caring parenting and positive reinforcement. Let me explain: positively reinforcing the good actions of your dog is rewarding the slightest progress which tends towards the desired final behavior. Thus, this method also makes it possible to respect the dog's learning rhythm and not cut corners.
Positive reinforcement for dogs: what tools?
To educate your dog in positive reinforcement, you can equip yourself or not.
" Let me explain: only you know your dog, so it&39;s up to you to know what will give him the most pleasure as a reward. So you can arm yourself with treats, toys, or just your enthusiasm to reward your pooch."
" Positively reinforcing the good deeds of your dog is simply making him happy so only you can know what will please your dog the most.Some are cans on legs, the food will then allow them to redouble their efforts in the exercises, some will prefer to play when others, very tactile, will be satisfied with a good caress."
But be careful, when you want to reinforce your dog's good deed, it is important that the reward be a little "exceptional" , otherwise it has no value in the eyes of your dog and is therefore not used to nothing.
For example, if throughout the day you give your dog “free” treats, he will not distinguish between “reward” treats and “free” treats. Likewise, if the toy you use to reward him is the one he always has available in the house: the enthusiasm will clearly not be present. Finally, if you spend your time petting your dog, you shouldn't use petting as a reward either.
Furthermore, the cliché would be to say that to adopt the positive reinforcement method, it is imperative to use the clicker-training method.Again, nothing is mandatory, you do as you want and as you feel. Certainly, the clicker allows to reinforce with precision the good deeds, but some masters are not comfortable with this tool and it does not matter! I always start from the principle that education must be a pleasant moment of sharing with your dog: if using a clicker stresses you out or bores you: do not use it! Better not to use it than to misuse it!
Educating your dog in R+ P-: what does that mean?
Educating your dog positively means respecting this principle: R+, P-!
To fully understand how positive reinforcement works and not fall into the excesses and clichés of this method, it is important to fully integrate the following concepts:
- R+ means “positive reward”: we add a pleasant stimuli for the dog to encourage him to repeat the behavior that allowed him to obtain it.
Example: I give my dog a treat when he sits down.
- R- means “negative reward”: we remove an unpleasant stimuli for the dog to reward it.
Example: I stop strangling my dog with his training collar when he is on foot.
- P+ means “positive punishment”: you add an unpleasant stimuli to make your dog understand that he is not acting well.
Example: I take my dog by the neck when he does not adopt the desired behavior
- P- means “negative punishment”: pleasant stimuli are withdrawn until the dog adopts the desired behavior.
Example: I put away the treats or the toy until my dog cooperates.
As soon as you integrate positive rewards and negative punishments into your interactions with your dog: the count is good! And very beautiful things can result from this method.Opting for this educational technique allows you to strengthen the relationship between you and your dog and to focus more on cooperation on his part rather than listening under duress.
Because, let it be said: certainly a dog will end up yielding under the blows of its master, it will end up "cooperating" to avoid sanctions and escape pain: but at what price? Having a dog that obeys the finger and the eye but always with its head down and its tail between its legs: I don't call that the fruit of a good education!
The positive reinforcement method allows the dog to be well educated and to obey the finger and the eye with enthusiasm, joy and motivation!