Bringing clarity to clickers and positive reinforcement

You hear the words "Clicker training", "Clickers", "Positive Reinforcement" etc... but whats it all mean? Let me try to help clarify some points:

1. Using a "Clicker" doesnt mean a person doesnt use "punishment" (hopefully not at the same time)... 
2. Positive Reinforcement doesnt mean a person doesnt use punishment.
3. Positive reinforcement doesnt mean a person doesnt use physical force to get what they want! 
4. Using "punishment" doesnt mean a person uses physical force or inhumane methods to teach. 
5. There are two types of "punishment":

• "Negative Punishment": Taking the good thing away
• "Positive Punishment": adding something the animal wants to avoid - a smack, shock, choke, prong in the neck, citronella spray, loud noise, being pinned, etc...

Why do I bring this up? A couple of reasons. There are some trainers out there that say theyre somewhere between "A clicker trainer" and a famous trainer who uses physical force, flooding, fear tactics, and downright "old fashioned" training methods. (Sorry, name withheld to protect privacy and CMA)...

I wanted to say to this person: "What does being a clicker trainer mean to you?" It certainly isnt exclusive to causing no harm to an animal - its just another tool in your trainers toolbox, as it is mine. It "marks" the behavior you wanted your dog (or any animal) to perform...not much more. 

I use a clicker as one of my training tools. I also use "punishment". As a matter of fact I spoke about it today in my Manners Class at the Inquisitive Canine studio. However, the type of punishment I use and teach has to do with "reward removal" -  not hitting, beating, shocking, spraying, coercing, forcing, or bullying! 

No animal learns that way without resulting in some nasty (usually "emotional") side-effects. Do animals learn through beating and force techniques? Sure they do - or should I say, "we" do... But what else are they "learning" besides what the owner/parent wants? - which is usually not the first or main thing they learn... 

My final example: I was coming home from a run, heading in the opposite direction of a man and his dog. Im sure I looked "weird" to the dog...hat, sunglasses, water bottle belt, running right towards it. This can be perceived by dogs as "threatening", right? Something weird running at it... So the dog did the most logical thing it could do in its little canine brain - it started barking at me - I didnt blame it at all. Unfortunately the owner did - and proceeded to smack it repeatedly on the head! The dog looked at me, barked, got smacked and yelled at. I cringed! I think I yelped myself! Then screamed at him to please not hit the dog!!! Why is he hitting him! it doesnt teach him what you want! 

I know, that can be pretty punishing to someone - being yelled at it public. As for "positive punishment" towards humans - of course Im against it (unless its self defense) - However, I did have a secret desire to smack the owner and take the dog... Hopefully they will end up in one of my classes - either at the studio or Ventura College, so I can supply an education in positive reinforcement, learning by both association and consequence, proper ways to get rid of unwanted behaviors, and clickers (or not). 

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Positive Reinforcement and dog training what is is

The term "Positive Reinforcement" is such the "in thing" to say nowadays when it comes to training your pet dog - but what exactly does it mean? In a very small nutshell, it means adding something, or giving something, to an animal they find pleasant after a behavior is performed in order to increase the frequency of that behavior. For example: you ask your dog to sit, she does, you give her a cookie. With consistency, she will probably start offering this behavior (sitting) more frequently because of the pleasant outcome. As you can see, it is the consequences that drive the behavior. 

So how can those folks who use squirt bottles when punishing their dogs, or jerking the collars, or rolling them onto their backs call themselves "positive reinforcement" trainers...? As far as I can tell by reading the dogs body language, being squirt, rolled over with force, or jerked and yelled at is not the most pleasant thing...and certainly doesnt tell the dog what you want. 

My philosophy and methodology at the inquisitive canine is centered around positive reinforcement. Which means I like to motivate the dogs with anything and everything they find pleasant and rewarding... food, petting, praise, toys, belly rubs, tug of war, and all sort of other fun and games... Life is full of enough aversives...why add to it - especially when it distorts learning, yes? 

I recommend everyone be inquisitive themselves when looking for a trainer - think about how well you would learn a new skill... being spoken to in a language you understand, being motivated by something you find to be pleasant...not afraid of. Its not just the words, but the actions of the trainer themselves.

Come check us out...sign up for one of our classes... you may be positively reinforced as well. 

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Give Your Dog Positive Encouragement When Training

You want to break out of the tired old methods of dog training, although you have read each of the books and heard all of the advice that dog owners and trainers have provided. This post provides a list of exciting and new methods to train your dog that you may not have access to seen before.

Stay consistent with regards to feeding your puppy. He will become familiar with the best time to expect his meals in case your dog has a schedule for his feeding. Your dog will eventually figure out how to finish their food in a sitting, making feeding a little easier upon you, as a result.

Dogs often become destructive as they are bored and lonely. Look at a house dog that destroys the sofa when you are out of the house. Take into account the larger outside dog that chews up the shrubbery. The reply to alleviating their destructive behavior might be as simple as spending more hours together or buying them a new toy.

Training doesnt only happen during designated workout sessions. Every time you interact with your pup, you will be training him. Make sure to stay consistent within your requests and commands as well as to still reinforce those good behaviors. Dont allow him to jump up there when you are watching a show if you are training him to remain off of the couch. Stay consistent always with what you want him to accomplish and you will probably see the rewards.

At a very young age, puppies can easily learn simple commands. When your puppy is tired, highly excited, or exploring his space, your workout will probably stop being very successful. You need your puppys full attention to assure your workout may be worth your time and efforts.

Dont feed your pet dog food they arent familiar with when house training them. Very rich foods, especially, allow it to be hard to get a dog to manage their bowels. Stick to the tried and true with regards to varieties of food as well as the quantity you feed as well as the house breaking experience will proceed far more smoothly.

When attemping to coach your puppy, always reinforce positive behaviors regardless if youre not actively inside a training session. Its equally as crucial that you reward your puppy for anyone trained behaviors the other time, too, though its simple to remember to reward your pet dog in a workout. This builds a good connection to the dog between your behavior and also the reward.

In case you are attempting to train a dog that seems unresponsive and in many cases aggressive, verify how the dogs basic needs are already met. A pet dog that doesnt get enough attention, by way of example, will likely be grumpy and never

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Here are a few reasons why one shouldn’t use Positive Punishment

Positive Punishment is defined as adding anything that will decrease a behavior (this could mean anything from saying “no!”, “eh eh”, or using physical Positive Punishment- choking, shocking, kicking, smacking etc)

Here are a few reasons why one shouldn’t use Positive Punishment:


1- Without perfect timing, intensity and consistency, the intended positive punishment actually becomes abuse.
2- The dog learns to avoid the punisher in order to do undesirable behavior.
3- It can cause irreversible emotional damage to the dog or human, even irreversible changes in the brain.
4- Positive Punishment is scientifically proven to increase stress hormones, arousal and aggression.
5- Animals habituate to positive punishment – meaning the intensity will have to keep increasing.
6- You cannot make children, dogs or anything for that matter reinforcing for a dog using Positive Punishment, you can only suppress the behaviors punished.
7- Positive Punishment causes dogs to hide their warning signs before a bite.
8- Dogs trained with punishment feel trapped when with owners, as leaving a ‘stay’ or leaving the owners side to escape from a child can cause punishment. Dogs that feel they have no escape tend to bite rather than move away.
9- Intended punishment can actually INCREASE the behavior you wished to extinguish. As attention was provided.
10- - The punisher becomes less reinforcing to be around for the dog. If you use punishment with your dog, there is no way to compete with the reinforcement value of other things in the environment. Your dog will find other stimuli in the environment more reinforcing than you because the dog has a history of punishment with being near you.
11- Dogs who are punished do not offer behaviors as readily, so they are harder to teach new obedience behaviors, sports or tricks.
12- People who use positive punishment will punish more readily in the future as it is positively reinforcing to use. Using punishment causes ones own behavior patterns to change towards dogs and people. Some people will find that they cannot stop using positive punishment even if they want to, and will need to seek help to change their behavior.

-Emily Larlham

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