Dog Training - Reward and Punishment

By Regybelle Fuentes


One of the most common practices in dog training is the reward and punishment method. Most of the time, training establishes some consequences for the dog's behavior or reaction towards a certain prompt or situation.
Basically, there are four types of consequences involved in dog training: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment.
First, positive reinforcement calls the trainer to add a special treat for the pet to the situation, to encourage the dog to exhibit the same behavior or response again. Most of the time, trainers use the positive reinforcement to increase good behavior. Food treats, tug toys, interactions with other dogs, or special play time with the owners are common rewards given to pets.
Second, we have negative reinforcement, which removes something from the pet to increase the exhibition of a negative response or behavior. Alright, now some of you might get confused. It means that you ought to take away something that your dog doesn't like. Say for example, he hates being on the leash for a long time, so you can lessen his leash time. Or say, he doesn't like eating a particular food you keep adding to his diet, then take that away.
Third, we have positive punishment. Asking, "how can punishment be positive?" is a good question, but yes, it can be positive if administered correctly. Positive punishment means that you add something to the present situation, so as to decrease the chances of exhibiting the same response or behavior. Now, with this consequence, make sure that you aren't too harsh on your pet that he becomes traumatized.
Lastly, we have negative punishment, which is the direct opposite of positive reinforcement. This means that you take away something from him to decrease the exhibition of the same behavior or response. Like taking away his favorite chew toy or favorite food.
Most trainers use the positive training methods, which is a reward-based training for your dogs, instead of the punishment-based training. If you have no ideas on what method to persue there are a lot of dog training review sites out there and try checking them out.
Regybelle Fuentes
Dogs do give us joy and company at all times. Giving them the right dog training will bring out the best in them and you will benefit more from them. Here are several dog training review sites that will surely help you in decide what is best.

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