Why Positive Reinforcement

Dog training methods vary, but all boil down to a simple choice; do you train dogs primarily with punishment or with reinforcement?

Let’s say we’re going to play a game, and I give you a choice between Game A or Game B. In Game A, I’ll tell you the rules and all the ways you can earn valuable prizes. In Game B, there are no prizes, and I won’t tell you any of the rules. I’ll just tell you that if you break a rule, something unpleasant will happen to you. Which game do you want to play? It’s a no brainer!

Positive reinforcement training is like Game A. We treat the dog as we would any young learner, whether child or dog: with kindness, making sure to progress logically in baby steps, set up each lesson to maximize success, patiently show them how, allow them lots of practice, and warmly reward successes.

Tradition training relies on punishment or “corrections.” Examples are jerking on the collar, yelling or hitting, and physically forcing the dog. Dogs will learn this way – children do too – but not very well, and often with unwanted side-effects like avoidance and escape behaviors, and fear or aggression. Plus, corrections can become abusive when repeated over and over in anger and frustrustration.

Modern training has been revoluntionized by the proven science that learning is maximized with it’s injoyable and reinforcing. Today, dogs don’t behave out of fear, but because they want to earn our attention, food, toy, and walks!

Pat Miller, trainer and author, explains why she uses positive reinforcement:

"Positive trainers believe that it is our challenge, as the supposedly more intelligent species, to get our dogs to voluntarily offer the behaviors we want without force. When they offer the desired behavior, we reward it. Eventually, we add a cue so that our dogs will do it when we ask for it. Finally, when the behavior is rock solid, we can reduce the use of food as a reward. So the question is: Would you rather hurt your dog to train him – or feed him treats?"


Dog sport such as Rally Obedience, Agility and Musical Freestyle all require teamwork and the dogs’ ‘willingness and enjoyment’. But willingness can’t be forced! And unrewarding work isn’t fun! Dogs that are punished often show stress behavior in the ring like lagging and sniffing, and disobey once they’re out of arm’s reach.

Especially in heeling, teamwork is paramount. So make a list of all that your dog loves – treats, toys, games, scratches anything! Then be ready to patiently teach your dog and reward her with her favorite things.

Some people worry that food can become a crutch. It’s true…and so can punishment. Appropriately used, however, food is given generously during the early learning curve, and gradually faded to occasional treats as behaviors become solid.