Why positive reinforcement doesn’t work in dog training
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Do you think positive reinforcement dog training takes longer?
Is your dog in first grade or sixth grade? 😅
THANK YOU! I am so glad that people like you are breaking this work down and showing people that positive reinforcement is the way.
My younger dog is in a higher grade than I expected. I discovered that she followed “requests” that my older dog knew but I hadn’t taught her! She shocks me often with the things she knows and how good she is.
That’s definitely something I’ve learned! My dog is still some days in 1st grade and some days she’s in maybe 4th grade 😂 But we are working together everyday and some day she’s gonna be in 2nd grade some days and 5th grade most other days 🐕
So true ! And there have been times our puppy has been ahead of us in what she has learnt , it was us needing to open our eyes to see it
I don’t know HOW to break it down, can you make a video about it?
Sure! But I promise you if you watch my videos you’ll understand what I’m talking about as I have to demonstrate this with dogs all of the time.
@Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution Thank you so much for responding! I love your videos and own both your books! I have such a hard time getting my pup to come when called, I swear he ignores me, especially when on leash. I think he’s in preschool, not first grade LOL He’s 4 and I wonder sometimes why he doesn’t listen to me but listens to others quite well.
“It doesn’t take longer” while YOUR 8 month puppy still pulls on the leash 💀
It doesn’t take longer when you consider the lack of future issues you are contributing to. It is true that I am very tolerant of leash pulling for the first year of life. That doesn’t mean I don’t work on it consistently of course. But it’s a fine line between allowing a dog to explore and socialize and understand the world Think about the expectations we put on dogs at ridiculously young ages. I agree that it’s very easy to get a dog not to pull instantly if you’re willing to compromise their mental welfare and risk creating associations with the things you’re correct them for that could easily backfire such as correcting them for barking at a dog. Instances like this are likely to create negative associations with dogs unintentionally which is a major risk. That’s just one of thousands of examples.
F@ck no! Takes longer when your dog doesn’t understand what you want. Dogs are clever, but they are not built to understand very complex demands. Break it down, step by step.
Spot on Zak, I honestly think part of the problem is that some dogs are smarter than their humans. People can be very presumptuous and lazy
I love your videos Zac, and I have found that I feel better knowing I do not have to use aversive methods. It makes me more confident while training & my dog is able to sense that. One thing I will say though is my dog also listens to sternness. When I say he is not allowed to do something, he has to know I mean it. Similar to how a mother would tell a child not to do something. A mix of this stern, confident voice & positive reinforcement when my dog behaves correctly has been the most successful for me.
I can’t stop watching your videos, I really want a first dog and I’m learning all I can from your methods! I can’t wait to create a strong bond with my future dog to make the training super enjoyable!
I appreciate your approach Zak and I think you’re a quality dog trainer. However, positive reinforcement does take longer because it only uses one side of behaviour modification principles. It does require more patience but I think it can be worth it in the end.
That said, you can see how only positive reinforcement training reaches its efficacy threshold when dealing with dogs with severe behavioural problems. I also think the scientific literature on positive reinforcement is tenuous at best.
Love the videos, just my opinion 👍
Please allow me to clarify. When a dog is in a situation that they are unprepared for, management substitutes for aversive punishment. It is a scientific fact to say that aversive dog training is not required for any known instance when it comes to building a dog training or behavior modification plan. Furthermore, we are aware of many many potential side effects from using physical aversive’s in dog training. Particularly dogs with severe behavioral issues should not be treated with aversive dog training methods as they are very clearly linked to making issues worse long-term despite the illusion of short term immediate compliance. Not trying to convince you, this is true for every animal that we have studied, not just dogs. It is also understood and well accepted that all animals learn through the same laws of learning.
@Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution Thank you for the response. I think it is also important to not conflate using methods that are not purely positive reinforcement with aversive training methods. I think there are many ways to train a dog outside of positive reinforcement that do absolutely no physical and emotional harm to the dog. Imagine taking a toy away or a simple no. If anything it sets more clear boundaries for the dog and makes learning more straightforward. I’d like to know what you think
It only takes longer if you don’t make it more enjoyable for both you using random opportunities during those daily play sessions or walks. Which some of us don’t do as often as we should.Then we treat it as something to check off the daily to do list instead of being in the moment and enjoy the dog.
I have had my new puppy for only a month and I am basing my training specifically on your video series with Inertia, because she is a border collie – appenzell mountain dog mix and has a similar temperament. I already have an 8 year old service dog and 2 elder cats. I was really worried, if I could train a puppy on top, especially with my disability, but it is working a charm and she is making great strides. When I stick to your advice closely she just flies through everything I want to teach. She now sits, lays down, uses a puppy litterbox, retrieves items on command and goes in and out of her crate on command. She is also making big steps in her leave it and stay. So yeah positive reinforcement works very well and quick if you find the right pace for you and your dog or cat 😅
Even if it did take longer, I see it as kind of a “quality over quantity” thing or in this case “quality over speed”. I believe dogs do learn things better with positive reinforcement, it sticks better. So even if it took more time Id say its worth it for the dog understanding things more throughly.
Positive reinforcement is the gentle parenting of the dog world.
If you never let the dog know what you don’t want it to do how will it ever know?
YESSS! It’s called scaffolding and starting where your dog is AT not where you think they “ought” to be! Thank you! 🙌🙌🙌
Zak, I need help with my sweet two year old Havanese. He has decided that he must bark at other dogs and people while we are taking our walks. He is not aggressive, just very vocal and excited. I am lost. Do you have any suggestions as I now dread taking him for a walk. He loves people, dogs, and cats. It appears that he just is so happy to see anyone, he must alert the media!