Pablo Luna
It is not surprising that about 53% of American households own at least one dog. With training their dogs, however, most dog owners get overwhelmed trying to figure the best training methods.
No matter how you love your dog, not every moment will be enjoyable when a dog is not trained to behave right. Here, we will look at three important methods to train a dog based on the science of dog training, and some tips and tricks to help you and your furry companion.
Common Dog Training Methods
Reward-based Dog Training
Reward-based dog training is also known as positive dog training. This type of training focuses on rewarding a dog to bolster the desired behavior (also known as positive reinforcement). When you train your dog this way, it tends to repeat the behavior because an appealing outcome followed.
Reward-based dog training is about committing to avoid methods that are harsh or intimidate to the dog. Although, you can use negative punishment, which in this case means removing something that encourages a behavior as a way to discourage it.
Several studies have shown that dogs trained with reward-based methods show a high success rate in learning the new tricks.
Aversion-based Dog Training
This type of training involves the use of positive punishment and negative reinforcement, or in other words, through the use of pain, discomfort, and intimidation.
Thorndike’s Law of Effect claims: “responses that produce a discomforting effect become less likely to occur again in that situation.”
Positive punishment comprises giving the dog he perceives as unpleasant to stop an unwanted behavior (punishment). While negative reinforcement entails removing something to make a behavior increase. For example, a dog that won’t sit is pushed down on his or her rump to force a sit. Now, most dogs don’t like this kind of pressure. So if upon sitting, the pressure is removed, the dog soon may learn to sit more to avoid the pressure.
Aversion-based training methods are often not successful and come with repercussions.
Electric Training
Although this falls under the category of aversion-based training, it is the use of electronic shock-collar for dog training.
We can use these electric dog collars for corrections by shocking the dog when it doesn’t perform an instruction or the desired behavior. If you would like, you can check them out, electric collars can take the stress out of training your dog. And don’t worry, shock collars are proven to be safe for dogs.
Having looked at the common dog training methods, now let’s look at some tips and tricks.
Balanced Dog Training
Balanced dog training often features the best of “both worlds.” It employs both reinforcement and punishment, depending on specific circumstances.
For example, your dog may be given a collar correction when he or she pulls and a treat when they don’t pull, or he or she may be continuously shocked with a shock collar until they stop chasing a cat and receive praise when they see a cat but don’t chase it.
Dog Training Tips And Tricks
Listen To Your Dog
When you learn to listen to your dog, you can tell when it is uncomfortable around another dog or a person, or when he doesn’t like certain things. Dogs usually have a reason for feeling this way too, and respect that, because forcing the issue may cause bigger problems later on.
Some dogs are choosy about what they like to eat. So keep your eyes open for what he enjoys.
Be Consistent
Consistency is vital for most things in life, and so is it for your dog’s training too. Imagine telling your dog “off” when he jumps on the couch and someone else is saying “down,” while someone else is letting him hang up there.
Do you see how inconsistency can impede your efforts there? That’s why it’s important to get family members involved as possible, so everyone’s doing the same thing.
Give Your Dog Time To Learn
You need to understand that changing behavior takes time, so set realistic expectations for changing your dog’s behavior and the time it will take for him to change.
Keep in mind that usual dog behaviors like barking, digging, and jumping will take the most time to change.
For instance, if your dog has been used to jumping on people to say hello for the last four years, changing that behavior will take longer than if you addressed it when he was a puppy. Although, it’s never too late to change the behavior, remember that it may just take longer depending on the situation.
Dog Training Can Be Fun
Training should be fun for you and your dog. When you adopt reward-based training, it makes it fun to teach your dog basic behaviors like sit down, come, stay, and tricks like shaking hands, waving, or spinning.
That said, remember to reward yourself and your dog after a good training session because you both have put in your best.
