Positive Reinforcement in a Nutshell
There is a newer modern way of training animals and their owners which has become established over the last two decades as a way to teach and learn new behaviors. Positive Reinforcement Training, also known as clicker training or marker training, uses one of four quadrants of learning theory for animals and people when learning behaviors.
Behaviors are responses to stimuli that are experienced in the immediate environment. If these behaviors are rewarded, then they will be repeated. These behaviors will stop if the animal is punished, but will only remain stopped if the punisher is present. The problem with punishment is that it causes fear, and fear can lead to aggression or aggressive behaviors. Our goal as positive reinforcement trainers is to teach new behaviors that can replace the unwanted behaviors, and then we reinforce or reward the new wanted behaviors. Unwanted behaviors are exactly as they sound, unwanted by the observer (humans). It is useful to ask ourselves what we would prefer the animal do instead of the unwanted behavior and teach that replacement behavior. If this replacement behavior is highly reinforced, then it will be chosen over the other behaviors.
Using positive reinforcement takes practice. We come from a culture that defaults to punishment, because it provides instant relief in a busy moment. If we train ourselves to look for the behaviors that we like and reward those while not engaging in the unwanted behaviors we find the world to be a more pleasant place.
An example of an unwanted behavior that you may want to modify could be your dog barking at the knock on the door. First, we train a behavior we like such as “lie down on your bed for one minute.” We choose a “cue” which most of us may know as “command” but “command” demands the behavior while a cue invites the behavior, cueing is more pleasant. We teach the cue of “place” which the dog begins to know as the dog bed through a series of short training exercises over a few days. Now we have a behavior of lying down on the bed for a minute that we can cue when someone knocks on our door. Barking at the door does not get the reward BUT lying down on your bed does! Most of us are operating in a world where we did not teach the wanted behaviors and are now training to change behaviors. Unfortunately, this is much more difficult. If you are considering getting a dog or have a new puppy, it is never too early to reach out to a trainer. We can help you train those wanted behaviors and coach you in the skills needed to continue to train your animal before a behavior develops that needs to be modified or replaced.
If you’d like to incorporate positive training reinforcement, click below to view Chipper’s Board & Train packages.
