What Is Positive Reinforcement?

Training is important for all dogs, but can be frustrating – after all, you and your dog speak different languages! Learning to communicate is one of the basic lessons you will need to learn in order to be able to train your dog effectively. That being said, positive reinforcement can be explained in basic terms through looking at human-human interactions.

Think about if you are being instructed on how to act by another person. If you have to act a certain way or face a punishment, you may do that action, but you won’t feel very kindly to the person putting you in that situation. You also might feel frustrated, or even angry. If you know that if you act a certain way you might get a reward, or praise, you are likely to feel much more positive about doing that action. You might try to do it better, in order to increase your chances of being rewarded, and your general feeling would be enjoyment and engagement. This is positive reinforcement, and it works really well for dog training too!

Whenever your dog performs and action or a behaviour that matches how you want them to behave, give them a reward. This can be treats, praise, play, a favourite toy or something else that make them feel good – usually, food gets the fastest result! Importantly, the reward has to be given in conjunction with the action or behaviour being done – dogs will associate things that happen to them with the action they were performing at or around that time. If you wait until too much later to give the treat, you’ve missed you opportunity and your dog might instead associate your praise with what they are doing now instead, which could be completely different!

Your dog will soon learn that behaving well (e.g lying quietly in a certain room, going into their crate at night, asking to go out to the toilet, sitting in response to your cue) means a reward! This encourages co-operation and reduces the ability to perform unwanted behaviours. After all, why would you bark if you get a reward for being quiet?

Working together, rather than using the out-dated ‘pack/submission’ training mentality, makes a stronger bond between you and your dog, and helps you have a dog that behaves well because they want to, not because they are forced to.

All puppies will make mistakes while they learn – this is completely natural. It is also natural to feel upset or dismayed yourself when your puppy seems to regress, or miss the point. What is important is how you deal with these errors.

Firstly, telling your dog off is never useful – if your dog has done something you don’t want them to, this is because they weren’t sure of the correct behaviour, or they had an opportunity where they shouldn’t have done. In cases where your dog’s misadventure is in the past, it is especially pointless - dogs associate the feedback from you with the action they are performing at that moment.

Telling your dog off for a toilet accident that occurred while you were out will make no sense to them; they will not be able to associate the action with your reaction. You may, however, think that your dog does know they have ‘done something wrong’ by looking at the way they are behaving. In reality, this is usually a behavioural response to your reaction. 

This type of behaviour includes lowering ears, looking away (which can mimic cringing), and putting their tail between their legs. What is important is not to see this behaviour as guilt – your dog is just responding to your body language. This appeasement behaviour may be stronger if you have told your dog off in the past while exhibiting the same body language; your dog will learn that frustration or anger signals from you result in a negative interaction for them, even though they don’t know why. This means that punishment is not only useless but it is also likely to make the problem worse.

It is also important to consider how your dog will interpret your signals, even if you are witness to the unwanted behaviour taking place. A good example of this is during toilet training. If you tell your dog off while they are toileting in the house, they won’t to understand that the issue is the location – instead, they will associate being told off with toileting. This is sure-fire way to end up with a puppy who hides around the house, trying to toilet when you aren’t looking because they are afraid of your reaction. Instead, praising your puppy when they toilet in the correct location, and quickly and quietly clearing up indoor accidents, will soon teach your pup that toileting outside is much better!