Image Source dog training: FreeImages
Dog training should never involve any punishment. Punishment is a big word, and it’s not just for grade school teachers. Punishments can be good when used as a last resort to make sure your dog understands what it did wrong. However, most of the time it’s unnecessary and in many cases will just create more problems than it solves. Dogs don’t understand why they are being punished or why they should be scared of doing something again. Instead of trying to figure out what your dog understands or doesn’t understand, you should use positive reinforcement instead. Punishment won’t train your dog; it will only teach them that certain actions are not allowed and that they shouldn’t repeat those actions again.
Training without punishment is one of the best ways to get your dog on board with learning new things and understanding why they are being told no in certain situations. It also helps stop dogs from repeating unwanted behavior as much, which makes training easier in the long run. Knowing how to train your dog without punishment will also help keep you sane and prevent frustration from getting out of hand. Here are some great tips on how you can start training your pup without using any negative reinforcement methods at all!
The show, Don’t Tell
Punishment is usually a form of negative reinforcement, and as we’ve already seen, it won’t work for training your dog. If you’re going to use punishment, you need to make sure you do it only when absolutely necessary. Punishment will only make your dog feel confused and scared about what’s happening. They may also associate the punishment with the activity it’s in relation to, so it may even become a conditioned response in their mind. When you use punishment you are essentially telling your dog they are doing something wrong and they need to get punishment for it. This is a dangerous mindset to have. Instead of using punishment, show your dog what they have done wrong and how they do it next time.
Be Consistent
When it comes to training your dog, consistency is key. Punishment will only work when your dog understands why they are getting a punishment and it works the exact same way every time. This is why punishment often doesn’t work out. If you’re inconsistent, your dog won’t know how to respond. They won’t know what to do when they do something wrong. Whenever you reward a certain behavior from your dog, they will then expect to get something for doing it. If your dog jumps on the couch, they may expect you to give them a treat every time. If you punish every time your dog jumps on the couch, they may then stop jumping on the couch because they associate punishment with that action and may even become scared to do it again.
Use Positivity while Training
Training your dog to behave the way you want them to is all about positive reinforcement. In order to have good training results, you need to act as if your dog is already trained. Consider using some of its behaviors as praise. When you catch your dog doing something right, make sure to praise them and show them what they did right. This will help them associate the act with something good so they want to do it again.
If you want to teach your dog to sit, teach them to sit on something they don’t have a right to, like the floor. Then when they sit on the floor, praise them and show them what they did right. Once your dog gets the idea of sitting on something they are not to use as a reward, you can move on to training them to sit on chairs and furniture that you want them on.
Teach Your Dog What’s Okay
Training with positive reinforcement can be a little tricky at first. You have to teach your dog what’s okay and what’s not okay to do. One can decide to ignore the rules, but you have to teach your dog that it’s okay to do so. For example, you don’t have to let your dog walk on furniture or eat off the floor if that’s not what they are always eating. However, if your dog has never walked on a chair before and you want them to learn to walk on a chair, they can. You just need to teach them that this is okay and not a bad thing they did wrong.
Stay Flexible While Training
Training without punishment will always feel a little strange at first because you won’t be feeling any negative reinforcement. This could make training feel a little awkward, but it’s nothing a little practice won’t fix. When you first start training with positive reinforcement, you may need to make some adjustments for your specific situation. If your dog has the tendency to eat out of the garbage or jump on the furniture, you may need to place it a few steps higher. You can also make this training a little easier on yourself by using a training treat instead of food. These treats will help your dog associate good behavior with something positive. They will always want to repeat it again and again.
Final Words
Training without punishment is a great way to get your dog familiar with new things and understand why they are being told no in certain situations. It also helps stop dogs from repeating unwanted behavior as much, which makes training easier in the long run. Knowing how to train your dog without punishment will also help prevent frustration from getting out of hand. Punishment can never train your dog. It will only teach them that certain actions will not allow and that they shouldn’t repeat those actions again.