Pet Training With Positive Reinforcement

Pet training has many advantages. It allows animals to exercise their intelligence in constructive ways, stops them from engaging in destructive behavior and keeps them under your control. Learning to perform actions or tricks on command can be fun for pets if they get plenty of affection and encouragement in the process. This is why the most successful form of training uses positive reinforcement.

Animals are naturally keen to perform actions that they know will lead to positive outcomes. Positive reinforcement means rewarding your pet for good behavior, rather than punishing him for bad behavior. The rewards most commonly used in training are enthusiastic praise and a tasty morsel of food.

At some point you may have unintentionally trained your pet with positive reinforcement. If your dog or cat claws at a door to a room and you open it, they will associate their action with the reward of being let out of a confined space. The next time they want a door to open, they will repeat the clawing behavior in anticipation of the same reward.

Before beginning a formal training session, you will need to determine the precise action you want your pet to perform and think of a command or cue word which will initiate the action. Single syllable cue words such as ‘come’ or ‘stay’ are easiest for the animal to recognize and for you to remember.

Each time your pet displays the desired behavior in response the cue word, you should praise him and immediately feed him a treat. Speed and consistency of reward are important to learning. If you are teaching a dog to lie down, reward him while he is still on the floor in the right position. If you wait until he is sitting up to give him his treat, he won’t know which action to associate with the cue word ‘down’.

To teach an animal to get off the bed or sofa, chose a simple command like ‘off’. When you find your pet sitting on the furniture, get a food treat and hide it in your hand. Stand over the animal, loudly and clearly say ‘off’ and gently push her to the floor. Immediately praise her and hold the treat to her mouth. Do this every time you catch her sitting where she’s not allowed. Eventually, she will jump off the furniture in response to your command, without the accompanying push.

When your pet has learned to consistently perform an action in response to a cue word, you can begin to substitute the treat reward with praise and affection alone. Most dogs take pleasure in pleasing their owners. An enthusiastic ‘good dog’ and a pat on the head is all the reward they require. Some cats and birds will also continue to obey a command without the food incentive, depending on how well they have bonded with their trainer.

Pet training requires a degree of patience and some sessions will go more smoothly than others. When an animal is excited, distracted or tired, he may not perform at his best. Avoid the temptation to chastise your pet if he refuses to cooperate. It could lead him to associate the action you are trying to teach with negative consequences. If your pet gets only positive attention during dog training Kelowna, he will be eager to learn new commands.

Training a puppy can be frustrating, dog training requires discipline and consistancy. When experiencing problems, consult a professional. Bark Busters offer a reliable and affordable service for house puppy training.

September 8, 2010  Tags: , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Dog

Leave a Reply