It seems as though our world embraces extreme contradictory perspectives from social and political to economic issues. The dog training industry is caught in the same conflict which leaves the pet owner left in a quagmire of uncertainty. As we consider the learning theories that have evolved over the past 120 years, not much has really changed as far as fundamentals. Generally speaking, the conflict within the dog training community continues to be the issues surrounding rewards/positive reinforcement based training verses discipline/punishment.
 
     Perhaps one of the reasons why these two extreme views persist is that as a nation we have a tendency to be drawn to the most vocal groups. Those who promote reward based training methods have been influenced to some degree by extreme animal rights groups which has resulted in a knee jerk reaction away from the more traditional training perspectives that advocated discipline and correction.
 
     There was once a theologian named Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones that made a profound statement which could be applicable to many aspects of civilization. He said, “There is nothing more likely to lead to error as to begin with the part rather than the whole.” But that is exactly what dog trainers have been doing for years. Positive reinforcement and punishment are just two parts of a four part learning model known as “Operant Conditioning” developed by B.F. Skinner. Skinners’ theory has been around for better than 70 years. This is why I said that not much has changed. However, this theory is an elastic learning model which was never intended to be so rigid as to exclude one part while emphasizing another.
 
     During the 1930’s and 40’s the military did extensive training with dogs and leaned toward the heavy handed side of punishment while neglecting positive reinforcement. The training methods of today tend to do just the opposite. We emphasize rewards and neglect discipline. What I am about to say may sound like a gross over simplification of dog training, but in my 17 years of working with dogs I have found it to be true. I get calls and emails from around the world from concerned pet owners who want only one of two things. They want to stop a bad behavior or they want to teach their dog how to do something. That’s it. Do this and don’t do that.
 
     Although there is a science to dog training it is not rocket science. We reward the good we want to reinforce and we discipline the bad we want to eliminate. It is not one or the other, it is both. You can never reward a bad behavior and expect it to go away any more than you could expect a police officer to give you a hundred dollar bill for speeding and think your speeding behavior would stop. You can not punish a dog into doing something you want. For example, if your dog runs out the front door and you call him to come for 20 minutes and then when he finally comes to you, you discipline him. By disciplining a dog for coming he will learn not to come.

When attempting to train a dog we first need to determine our objectives. If the dog is engaging in some inappropriate behavior such as jumping up on people then the remedy will most likely include some form of correction or discipline. If we are attempting to teach a dog how to do something, such as “sit” or “coming when called,” then the approach will certainly include some form of reward or positive reinforcement. This training strategy could best be defined as balanced dog training

Thomas A. Beitz is a Canine Behavior Specialist who resides in South Dayton with his wife Trish, stepson Adam and their two dogs Kaylee and Rucky. Tom is an Authorized Dealer for the Pet Stop Hidden Fence Company. In addition to offering private lessons and boarding school programs, Tom will be offering several group training programs this fall. For more details on a location near you, check out his web site at www.smartdogsolutions.com or call (716) 628-0651.