Positive reinforcement training is a fun, loving, humane method favored by many modern animal behaviorists and dog trainers. It’s a pretty simple concept: dogs discover for themselves that positive behavior = good stuff. The role of the human is to help guide furry students along by marking desired behaviors (either vocally, with hand gestures, and/or with a clicker.) Combined with consistent human leadership, most dogs feel a natural motivation to succeed and look forward to training sessions, eager to figure out what they can do to win their “fabulous prizes” (supercool things like treats, praise, affection, & feelings of accomplishment.)

As a professional trainer, positive reinforcement techniques are the ONLY techniques that I use in training, and I have found them wonderfully effective.

In the past, traditional training techniques relied heavily on “forcing dogs to obey…” primarily using physical manipulation and/or fear (which would include using choke collars, shock collars, “alpha rolls,” or dominance-heavy curriculum.)

What really sets modern positivity-based training apart from more old-fashioned methods is that the animals involved are actually making the decision to perform a specific behavior of their own free will. Rather than simply subduing dogs, you are guiding them. You are encouraging them to think, and empowering them with the tools that they need to the make wise choices you will approve of.  This creates a strong, loving, truly respectful bond.

Positivity-based training requires consistency, and a great deal of patience on the part of the humans involved, however, the benefits are well-worth the effort. These techniques have been proven to work, not just with dogs, but with exotic animals such as lions, bears, dolphins (and even goldfish!)