The training methods employed at Big Apple Dog School are the most up-to-date and humane available. Generally called non-aversive (or positive reinforcement) training, our methods rely on rewarding dogs for the behavior we want to see more of (see Nutshell). The reward should be whatever THE DOG thinks is valuable (a treat, tug with a toy, a good scratch from her owner), not what WE think is valuable. It is most effective when used in combination with a reward mark (a clicker, for example).

This does not mean that you continue to reward the dog for response to a command for the rest of its life — you reward when the dog is learning the behavior and then fade (slowly withdraw) the use of the reward when the dog knows the behavior.

And what about behaviors we don’t want to see? That depends on the behavior. If we’re teaching a dog to respond to a command, we can ignore all the behaviors that are not the proper response to the command. Better yet, we can give the dog a signal that the behavior she offered is not the one we’re looking for. (In dog-training lingo, this is called a “no-reward mark,” and the dog must be trained to recognize what it means. It’s a lot easier than it sounds!) If the behavior is something that’s more intrusive to us humans, like excessive jumping up during greeting, ignoring the behavior can work eventually but it’s much more effective to replace that unwanted behavior (jumping up) with a desirable one (sitting).

If positive reinforcement is the foundation of effective dog training, you might ask why some people continue to use aversive or punishment-based methods. Well, many people, including trainers who have been training for a long time using the methods they learned 20 years ago, just don’t know about all the advanced work and studies that have taken place on the issue of dog behavior and how dogs learn.

At Big Apple Dog School, both Jennifer and Randall studied training in the behavior department of New York’s ASPCA (see Bios). We worked with dogs that had been taken by Humane Law Enforcement out of terrible situations and, not surprisingly, had some significant obstacles to adoption. We learned the most humane and effective ways to train these dogs, and they were made more adoptable in the process. In addition, membership to the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) and certification as a Certified Pet Dog Trainer (visit the CPDT Web site to learn why you should look for a trainer who is a CPDT) requires adherence to “dog-friendly” training methods.

According to the APDT, “dog-friendly training is training that utilizes primarily positive reinforcement; secondarily negative punishment, and only occasionally, rarely, and/or as a last resort includes positive punishment and/or negative reinforcement.”

Some quick definitions:

Positive reinforcement is giving something the dog thinks is good in order to increase the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. Example: flipping him a treat when he sits on the Sit command.

Negative punishment is removing something the dog thinks is good in order to decrease the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. Example: withholding said treat when he lies down on the Sit command.

Positive punishment is giving something the dog thinks is bad in order to decrease the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. Example: a jerk on a choke chain when he lies down on the Sit command.

Negative reinforcement is removing something the dog thinks is bad in order to increase the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. Example: releasing a tightened choke collar when he sits on the Sit command.

In these scenarios, positive reinforcement and negative punishment do not employ either pain or discomfort to your dog, while positive punishment and negative reinforcement do. Another point of consideration: If you were being trained, which methods would you prefer and respond to the most?