Positively Negative

Unfortunately, there are serious negative consequences for all the negative thinking out there about negative reinforcement.  The consequence is that a lot of dogs are not being trained properly because their owners are relying heavily on dangling pieces of meat and cheese in front of a dog's face or clicking them to insanity.  Positive reinforcement has its proper place in dog training, and for many, it is the primary mode of operant conditioning when working with their dogs.  This is all fine and dandy; however, a few myths about negative reinforcement need to be dispelled, so one can make an educated decision about using (or not using) negative reinforcement as one mode (of the four primary modes) of operant conditioning.

One reason to try negative reinforcement techniques is because a dog's motivation can quickly go down the drain, as their attention is distorted from the task at hand.  See Smartdog's blog on motivation.

What led me to writing a brief blurb about negative reinforcement is Smartdogs' Weblog about negative reinforcement in dog training called... Stop It!  Stop what?  Stop it!  Stop confusing negative reinforcement with punishment - a completely different task, attempting to acquire a completely different result!  Stop believing that negative reinforcement is cruel and abusive.  Like Smartdogs states, "Negative reinforcement is a fair and natural part of the way animals communicate with each other."  


Take notice that Smartdogs provides a link to dog training columnist Lori Drouin's video, The Collar Pressure Conversation, which may take a few moments to load.  What is this coversation?  It's simple, and here's the first step.  First, a pressure is applied to the dog's collar.  No, you are not choking him, and no it does not hurt, but he would probably rather do without it.  Command, "Sit."  As soon as the dog sits, you release pressure and praise (or reward).

What just happened?  A stimulus was removed.  The collar pressure was removed, as soon as the dog sits.  This removal of the stimulus (where the term "negative" is derived - negative means "to remove") reinforces, or encourages a dog to sit more often when asked to do so.  Duh!  It's a very simple and natural concept, as the sense of touch is the most primitive of all senses. 

 

By combining negative reinforcement with positive reinforcement, we can start communicating with our dog about  what we like them doing instead of what we don't like them doing.  Take Smartdogs advice, "Don’t fall into the trap of believing the propaganda that using negative reinforcement to communicate with your dog (or, for that matter, your toddler) is cruel and abusive. Negative reinforcement is a fair and natural part of the way animals communicate with each other. Practice it. Learn how to use it well. Your dog will thank you."  There is a lot of intelligent stuff on Smardogs Weblog, so check it out!  And...while you're at it, check out Lori Drouin's website.  Don't forget to think positive when it comes to negative reinforcement while training, and you may be surprised at the quick results!