Positive Rewards

I chose the name Positive Rewards to reflect my training philosophy; the use of positive reward (reinforcement) training. Achieving success is always rewarding – whether it is the individual learning or the trainer observing comprehension on the part of the student. For people not familiar with the concept of reinforcement training, the idea of being able to effectively teach without using physical or verbal correction seems impossible or improbable. I train by using the motivational desires of the individual.I think of it as a “Fair Trade” agreement between myself and the animal I am working with. If it is a behavior which I am trying to promote – some action which I’d like the animal to perform more frequently, I’ll highlight that particular behavior through use of a marker followed by some form of a reinforcer which the animal desires. If the behavior is not one which I ‘want’, I’ll choose not to reward the behavior. My lack of response communicates ” try something else”. And that is what will occur. “But what happens when he misbehaves?” Misbehavior can be a reflection of lack of understanding, lack of motivation , or inadvertent reinforcement on our part! Many ‘bad’ behaviors work because we have inadvertently rewarded the behavior in our ignorance. By understanding how the learning process occurs, I demonstrate to owners how to change their animal’s behavior without the physical use of force or intimidation.