Understand why it is your dogs behaving in a certain way and learn how to address these sometimes unwanted behaviours using reward based training methods


Those of us who love dogs know what an important part of our lives they share. That is why as pet dog owners its our responsibility to help create healthier, more balanced relationships between us and our dogs. Its also our responsibility to spread the word about positive reinforcement training. We all know dogs need and want us to provide effective leadership, and I firmly believe that the only way to truly ensure that we are successful in achieving the balance with our dogs is by using positive reinforcement and treating them with the same respect that we ask of them. Dogs are dogs, and since they don’t speak our language, the only way we can effectively communicate with them is if we learn to talk and think dog – Positively.

The use of positive reinforcement methods when teaching your dog has been universally endorsed by the behavioral scientific community at large as the most effective, long-lasting, humane and safest method in dog training. Basically, positive reinforcement means that if you reward a behavior you like, there’s a better chance of that behavior being repeated. When paired with negative punishment (the removal or withholding of something the dog wants like food, attention, toys, or human contact for a short period of time) or using a vocal interrupter to redirect negative behavior onto a wanted behavior and the guide a dog into making the right choices, these methods, combined with an awareness that most dogs are not trying to be dominant, are what I call ‘positive training.’

Traditional (old school) trainers often argue that positive training shows weakness and a lack of leadership, but the truth is that the most respected and successful leaders are able to effect change without the use of force. Positive is not the same as permissive. Of course I believe in effective leadership, but dogs know we’re not dogs, so it’s silly for us to try and act like one by calling ourselves ‘pack leaders.’ In fact, the very scientists responsible for defining so-called ‘pack theory’ have since renounced their own findings as well as clarifying that there is a huge difference between the behavioral tendencies of wolves and dogs. Remember that dogs and humans are very different species, and we should no more try to act like a dog than we should treat dogs like humans (a situation that happens all too frequently and leads to all kinds of problems).