Positive dog training is based on the proven fact that dogs will repeat behaviors that are rewarded, and stop behaviors that are not rewarded. It’s as simple as that. If you make appropriate behaviors rewarding, your dog will perform them more often. If you remove the things rewarding your dog’s inappropriate behaviors, the unwanted behaviors will gradually disappear.
Positive dog training methods boil down to Redirect, Praise, and Reward.
1. Redirection = Move the dog’s attention from the problem behavior, to a better behavior he can perform instead.
2. Praise = Indicate the desired behavior to your dog – the simpler the praise, the more quickly he’ll connect it with his good behavior (“Yes!” “Good!” or the click of a training clicker are all great Praise you can use)
3. Reward = something the dog LOVES that he gets once he’s performed the desired behavior.
Using Positive Dog Training in Real Life:
Dog exhibits a problem behavior -> Owner redirects the dog to an appropriate behavior -> Dog performs the desired behavior -> Owner praises and rewards the dog to let him know that this behavior is a Good Thing for the dog.
Principles of Positive Dog Training:
Reward behaviors you like – Behavior that is rewarded will be repeated.
Ignore behaviors you don’t like – Behavior that is ignored will disappear. Use “no” as a sign that no reward is coming – not as a punishment!
Redirect your dog from undesired behavior…
• Catch the behavior quickly
• Make yourself more interesting than the behavior
• Reward the dog once he’s redirected
Replace undesired behavior with a good behavior – If you can teach your dog to do something you like to get something he likes, he’ll WANT to do what you like! Make good behavior more rewarding than undesired behavior – Make the “right” choice the rewarding choice for your dog!
Why Punishment Training is Not the Answer:
Dog training that involves punishment introduces negativity into the dog-owner relationship, which damages your bond with your dog. Punishing your dog introduces fear and anxiety that your dog will connect back to you, and possibly to training sessions as a whole. This fear and anxiety exacerbates your dog’s existing behavior problems and can even create new ones.
Dogs trained using punishment are also less likely to offer new behaviors, because when they guess incorrectly, something bad happens. This discourages imagination, problem solving, and creative thinking in your dog, areas in which Pit Bull Terriers naturally excel. Discouraging these intellectual gifts through needless punishment is especially tragic for an intelligent breed that wants to be a human’s partner in all things, like your new Pit Bull Terrier will.