How to Use Positive Reinforcement to Train Your Dog
If you want to properly train your dog to perform the desired obedience tasks and tricks, you can rely on positive reinforcement techniques to guide the way. With positive reinforcement, you are simply rewarding the action you want while ignoring the other attempts. By skipping the corrections, you can keep all training sessions positive and fun for you and your dog. Here’s what you need to know.
Find the Best Reward
The reward you use will highly depend on your dog’s drive and outlook on life. Your dog may prefer to receive treats and praise while others may like to play a quick game of tug for a job well done. You have to experiment with different reinforcers to find the one that works best for your canine. If you have trouble finding a high-value reward, talk with your animal hospital team and veterinarian in Pensacola to receive help with this task.
Avoid Reprimands
Although it may be tempting to correct your dog after a misstep, practice ignoring those attempts instead. Quietly and patiently wait for your dog to make the right moves, and then reward like crazy when the action is made. Always skip the correction to avoid tainting your cues or discouraging your dog from trying to fulfill your commands.
Work Slowly
With positive reinforcement, you will always need to break down your obedience tasks or tricks into multiple small steps. Work on one step a week to teach your dog how to move in a way that brings the reward. As your pet progresses in training, you can up the ante and make the tasks more difficult to complete complex tricks.
Visit Your Pensacola Veterinarian to Learn More About Caring for Your Dog
If you would like to help your dog stay in great condition along the way, give your Pensacola veterinarian team at The Brentwood Animal Hospital a call at 850-434-2646 to schedule your appointment. Your vet in Pensacola will help you rule out health issues that could impact thinking and performance as you focus on training your dog.
You can also receive emergency pet care for any illness or injury that arises as you move forward with your training tasks.