Positive Reinforcement Only

It’s a Myth - Here’s Why :

Scientifically, it is impossible to be a 100% Positive Reinforcement Only dog trainer. No matter what we do we are applying positive and negative influence on the dog in order to achieve the desired result.

Relatable Example :

You subject yourself to operant conditioning every day! How? The seat belt alarm in your car! The alarm makes a sound when you are unbuckled; that is a positive punishment (a stimuli - the annoying alarm - has been added (positive) to the situation in order to decrease the frequency or duration of an unwanted behavior (punishment) - your seat belt being unbuckled). When you buckle your seat belt and the alarm turns off, that is negative reinforcement (a stimuli - the annoying alarm - has been removed (negative) in order to increase the frequency or duration of a desired behavior (reinforcement) your seat belt being buckled).

In any training situation you balance many combinations of positive and/or negative reinforcements with positive and/or negative punishments to get your desired outcome.

The “Positive Reinforcement Only” Marketing Strategy

Positive Reinforcement Only training is a marketing strategy used to pull on the heart strings of people who love their dogs (which is you, obviously, or you wouldn’t be shopping for a trainer).

Avoiding “Positive Reinforcement Always”

In the early stages of training a new behavior, at the point when the behavior “clicks” in your dogs head, he will start offering the behavior on his own. It is instinct to want to reward him when he does this because we have spent so long trying to teach him this behavior. Avoid rewarding any behavior that you have not specifically cued, or asked for. This will prevent the creation of an attention seeking or demanding dog.