I speak a lot about positive training for my business, it is largely behind the products that I have designed. I definitely don’t know everything but I find it’s important to make owners aware of such a wonderful and fun way to teach your dog and vice versa.
Positive reinforcement training is the process of encouraging or establishing a pattern of behaviour by offering reward when the behaviour is exhibited. This reward can be a number of things. Most commonly treats, toys, physical praise, anything that your dog loves.
I’ve learnt myself through my time working in a doggy day-care and owning Nava that this really is a method that works time and time again and you never need to resort to any other method.
Over the pandemic 3.2 million households added a new pet to their home meaning there are now around 16 million dogs just in the UK. This means that a whole new wave of pet owners have joined the incredible experience and journey of owning and caring for a pet.
With the new generation of dog owners also comes a new world. Dogs are now living in a very different time to their ancestors. Parks and streets are busier, houses are smaller with most likely no garden and there are more people and dogs than ever before.
All of these triggers can be very unsettling for any aged dog so understanding these and rewarding any wanted behaviour (positive reinforcement) and helping transition any unwanted behaviour to a better experience is key.
High and low value treats are your friend when out and about or in the home and perfect to reinforce the positive rewarding even further
A low value treat such as a dry cookie or kibble can be used as a reward for things your dog already knows (like a sit or shake) whereas high value treats such as cheese or meat are for learning new things, challenging situations, or difficult tasks.
Always ensure that you are taking a bag of treats with you and not just their usual dinner kibble. Mix it up every now and then, this keeps your pup always wanting to find out what they have for this walk, session or playtime.
If you haven’t tried this method yet, give it a go and use the sources below!
Please note that when I post my sources for these blogs I may not necessarily agree with the entire opinion or method on their website or source. I have selected the sections that I agree with and am happy to share. All of the blogs I write are personal opinions influenced and inspired by things I have read or listened to. It is not a training platform, I only intend to share wonderful information on multiple topics. You should always get professional advice if you need some help.
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