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Training Your New Puppy With The Positive Reinforcement Method

Psychologists have been promoting positive reinforcement as a way to change undesirable behavior to acceptable behavior in humans for some time. The method can be described simply as rewarding behavior that is considered acceptable and ignoring behavior that isn’t acceptable. Animal trainers have learned lately that this same method works with non-humans.

Watching a Killer Whale doing a routine directed by two young women, I realized that they had trained the large animal to perform in that manner using positive reinforcement tactics. The same method will enable you to train your new puppy. Positive reinforcement is the choice method for most of the experts in the dog training field today. No other training method is considered as humane or effective.

Some of the popular dog training techniques of the past are completely opposite from today’s preferred method. Some of these outdated methods are now considered abusive and are avoided by all who wish to treat their dogs in a humane manner. Using the more humane positive reinforcement method you can have a puppy that is a well-trained and a loved member of the family.

Your puppy’s natural instinct is to please you, but she has to know what you want her to do. Puppies are easily confused; for this reason it is important that you be consistent in the language you use in giving commands. Before teaching your dog a command, decide ahead of time what verbal cue you’re going to be giving her, and then stick to it. So, when training your dog to not jump up on you, select one word or phrase such as “no jump”, and use it every time. Dogs learn through consistent repetition the appropriate actions associated with a particular phrase.

Use meaningful rewards to facilitate the training process. Dogs get bored pretty quickly with a routine pat on the head and a “good girl”. Most dogs don’t even like being patted on the head; watch their expressions and notice how most will balk or shy away when a hand descends towards their head. If you want to use touching your puppy as a reward we have found that most dogs really like having the base of the tail (the lowest part of their back, just before the tail starts) scratched gently; having their chests rubbed or scratched (right between the forelegs) is usually a winner, too. You can also target the ears: gently rub the ear flap between your thumb and finger, or scratch gently at the base.

Puppies respond to food treats and physical affection, so be generous with these during your training sessions. Use treats she is already familiar with and likes. In giving physical attention be gentle and let her know how proud you are of her behavior.

Use the right timing. When your dog obeys a command, you must mark the behavior that you’re going to reward so that, when she gets that treat in her mouth, she understands exactly what behavior it was that earned her the reward.

Your verbal response can also mark the appropriate behavior and then give her the treat. You must be consistent in this too. If you say “yes” in a happy voice and then give her the treat, you must do this each time she follows a command. Saying “yes” to her response to commands only occasionally will not mean anything to her..

Training your puppy will be very frustrating for you and your puppy if you don’t structure it in such a way to be gratifying for both of you. Be sure to engage in training when you feel up to it and have found the incentive program that works for your puppy.

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