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Positive reinforcement
- Providing something enjoyable to increase the likelihood of the behavior eg. at pat or a gentle word
- You go to work and you get paid
This is very good for teaching a dog to do something not so good to teach a dog NOT to do something

Negative reinforcement
- Is a decrease in a consequential behaviour by adding an aversive stimuls eg leash correction
This is very good for teaching a dog what not to do but not good for teaching a dog to do something

The dog has a choice of what to do.
Avoidance conditioning where a behaviour prevents an aversive stimulus happening or start to happen
or
Escape conditioning where a certain behaviour will stop the aversive stimulus after it has started

We use all four of these things in our training hence i can confidently say we are very balanced in how we train.

For example, the best police dogs should have some prey drive (so they will chase the bad guy), some territoriality (so they will guard the squad car), some natural protection (so they will guard their handler), and no inappropriate aggression. They must not be mean or unpredictable.

These are some of the types of aggression we have seen at dog training in adelaide :

Prey Drive: the desire to chase movement. Dogs high in prey drive will bite when guided/excited/stimulated by movement. These are classic hunting dogs. Prey drive causes a dog to chase a ball .It also cause a dog to chase a person

Territoriality/Resource: guarding — the home, the yard. Won’t let intruders into back yard, for example. This does not include guarding people. Most dogs have this in them hence the reason so many dogs bark from their backyards as people walk by. On the other hand having a resource guarding dog is one of the many reasons people especially children will get bitten. Eg … trying to take a toy or bone or food from a dog.

Natural Protection: guarding one’s human. Does not include the yard/house. . These dogs are few and far between if it occurs naturally.

Defense (Not the classic “schutzhund” definition): guarding the dog’s own body. This is based in fear and/or weak nerves, and can be seen in dogs that go into total panic when the vet needs to roll them over, for instance. Defensive aggression is different than dominance, as dominance is not based in fear but rather in the dog’s will. A dog with defensive aggression likely will “curl” his lip to bare his teeth, try to “tuck” his legs towards his abdomen (if on his side) and become very stiff. If standing the dog may tuck his tail and “lash” out to bite without warning. This is a dangerous type of aggression, and one considered “inappropriate” as it cannot be controlled. Unlike guarding, defensive aggression has no useful purpose. Breeders should try to eliminate this type of aggression in their breeding programs.

Dominance: the dog that decides when and what he will do is dominant, and this is linked in some breeds to aggression. The dog may choose to use his teeth to prevent you from rolling him over. The dog may growl first, but there won’t be the “curling” of the lip and teeth-baring associated with defensive aggression. Even the most dominant dogs generally can be made more tractable through effective obedience training. Dominant dogs usually have stable nervous systems.

Redirected: a dog who is in one mode of aggression, say, guarding his yard, when another dog or person walks too close, will “re-direct” his aggression towards the interfering person/dog. Terriers have high prey and re-directed aggression,

Sibling: this is when littermates, or dogs of similar age/dominance level, fight. Two females, two males, or three total dogs in a household, unsupervised, provide an opportunity for this type of aggression. Obedience training can help, but unsupervised, the potential for fighting between the dogs, and subsequent injury is present.

Same-Sex: sometimes two females or two males will vie for dominance in the household. As above, effective obedience training can help. Sometimes a pair of dogs will get along, but the introduction of a third dog can upset the “balance.” While same-sex aggression usually resolves itself through effective obedience training and proper management of the dogs, there are rare instances in which the dogs cannot be made to co-exist peacefully.

There are many more forms of aggression, and the one that should be singled out is

Inappropriate Aggression: This is any form of aggression that is not provoked/warranted. In my book, a dog should never, ever bite or threaten a child. To me that is inappropriate aggression. (And I have been around some very high-powered dogs that were gentle beyond belief with children.) Where aggression is concerned, I use this as a rule of thumb: If I cannot guarantee that this dog will never, ever deliver an inappropriate bite, no matter the circumstances, I must consider the dog to have inappropriate aggression.

Then depending on the nature, type and level of aggression, as well as the nervous system make-up of the dog, plans can be made to effectively train, socialize, rehabilitate and re-home the dog. Or the dog must be euthanized. This is an alternative we all try to avoid whenever possible, but one that is a reality, especially when dealing with Rescue dogs.

Q: What is the difference between obedience training and effective obedience training?

A: Obedience training is the labeling of certain behaviors and positions: sit, heel, down, come, etc. The dog has an understanding of what these positions are, and might even remain in them until given another command. Many “obedience-titled” dogs earned their titles while remaining at the level of having been “obedience trained.”

Effective obedience training actually changes the dog’s perspective on life…a truly “trained” dog will not make his own decision about whether to jump on a guest, or whether to bite a “suspicious” person. A truly “trained” dog will look to his human master to collaborate and take direction regarding what to do in any situation.

Q: What is the difference between a dog with weak nerves and one whose nervous system is “sound”?

A: A dog that has weak nerves will react to less stimulation, and often the reaction is excessive. These dogs appear more tense, flighty, often are gun-shy or storm-shy (but not all gun-shy dogs have weak nervous systems). Dogs with weak nerves can be trained and socialized so that they appear “normal.” But when faced with a new, startling situation, these dogs revert to their “genetic” program. A dog with any form of aggression and weak nerves is a potential liability, as the dog might react with a bite when startled.

A dog with a stable nervous system will appear more calm, although he may still be busy (or not). This is a dog that takes new places, new people and startling situations in stride. These dogs benefit from socialization, but don’t require it to the extent their weaker counterparts do. These dogs are better able to survive having a “bad start” in life, as some Rescue Dogs have.

1. Bored Dogs – these dogs can be quite troublesome, including digging, barking and even chewing.

2. Nervous Dogs – these dogs may have come from a rescue center and may exhibit abused dog behavior – this may lead them to cower, hide and even display submissive urination. Try not to intimidate your dog by leaning over him – and crouch down when you pet him.

3. Pack Leaders & the Alpha Male Dog – if you are weak and are not a strong leader your dog may become the dominant member of the house and even the pack leader.

4. Jealous Dogs – If you have a new puppy, partner or baby your dog may display some jealousy. Play some games with your dog and remain normal and try and include your dog with as many family activities as possible.

Responsive & Cooperative – these dogs are without doubt the easiest dogs to train. They have a natural curiosity and want to learn.

Confident & Dominant - even the best dog breeds may be less responsive if they are too confident – gender can also make a difference.

Insecure & Submissive – these dogs are quite difficult to train as they may feel insecure and even overwhelmed by your dog training commands. If you are having significant problems either try dog or puppy training classes.

Use this guide so that you can learn how to train a dog or puppy faster. By understanding a dog or puppy’s personality you will be one step a head in the dog and puppy obedience training process.

Classical Conditioning

When a dog hears the door bell ring or hears someone knocking at the door, your dog knows that someone is at the door.He is associating two events with the other – the door bell ringing and someone wanting to come in.
When your dog hears you preparing the dog’s dinner and your dog realizes that it is his time for his food
That seems straightforward enough but how does your dog know this? This is what is called classical conditioning – when a dog sees or hears something happening more than once your dog will start to associate one event with the other.

For example when a dog hears the door bell ringing your dog will learn that this will lead to another event i.e. the person coming in.

This ‘classical conditioning’ and conditioning is the key-word here means that after an event has been repeated a few times (for your dog to learn) eventually your dog will not need the ‘primary reinforcer’ i.e. his dog food to make him excited about the sight of his feeding bowl – the ‘secondary reinforcer.’

Operant Conditioning

Operant Conditioning refers to how dogs learn that their particular behavior has certain consequences -every action will always have a reaction- or cause and effect.

Through Operant Conditioning a dog learns that if he ‘sits’ or ‘walks to heel’ he will get lots of praise and/or a treat.

Also a dog learns that the opposite will happen – if he doesn’t ‘sit’ and understand that sit means sit or ‘walk to heel’ when he is asked he won’t get a treat or praise and or a correction.

If your dog learns that the consequence of his behavior is a pleasant reward then your dog is much more likely to do it i.e. if your dog sits he gets a reward.

But your dog also learns that if the consequence of his behavior is unpleasant (no reward or a correction) then the preceding behavior is much less likely to happen i.e. your dog won’t forge ahead when walking.