Dogs do what works or pays off. If a behavior is rewarded (positively reinforced) in some way, the behavior will be repeated. If a behavior is never rewarded, the behavior will extinguish. All animals are subject to these laws of learning. We use this concept to get behaviors we want and eliminate behaviors we don't want . If Fido sits and we let him out the door, he has been rewarded for sitting at the door. The behavior of sitting at the door increases. Conversely, if Fido pushes his way past you out of the door, pushing pays off, and that behavior will be repeated. If you want to control your dog's behavior, you need to learn how to control the consequences. Reward your dog for behaviors you like, prevent your dog from getting rewarded for behaviors you don't like while you teach an incompatible behavior. For instance, if you prevent Fido from jumping on people and also reward Fido for sitting when someone approaches, you have used management and positive reinforcement to get the jumping behavior changed.

Sometimes we don't realize we are rewarding unwanted behavior. In the jumping example, if we push Fido off, tell him to get down, scold him or otherwise interact, we are giving him ATTENTION. If Fido craves attention, his jumping paid off. Even negative attention is better than none in your dog's eyes as long as he isn't getting hurt or scared.  If you want to control behavior, you must control the consequences of the behavior. By using positive reinforcement to build desirable behavior, you replace annoying behaviors with ones compatible with your lifestyle. This is what effective communication and leadership is all about. Your dog wants you to be a leader. However, he doesn't speak your language, so you must learn how to communicate effectively.

All dogs can be taught using these methods. If your dog is physically capable of a behavior, you can teach it using dog-friendly methods.  Your entire family can learn how to apply positive reinforcement to teach your dog how to be a well mannered canine companion at home and in public.

In addition to rewarding good behavior, we can speed up Fido's learning by using a marker such as a word or sound that communicates exactly what behavior will be rewarded. This marker is known as a "Conditioned Reinforcer". It is "conditioned" because initially it has no meaning to your dog. It is a "reinforcer" because over time it takes on the same value as the reward that comes after and thus increases behavior.

Sometimes we can't get a reward to our dog quickly enough to reward a specific behavior. Say your dog goes and lies down on his bed while you are eating. You can't get a treat to him right at that moment. He could leave his bed before you can reward him. You can, however, use a marker that communicates to him the behavior he just offered pays off.  The marker acts as a "bridge" to give you time to deliver the reward. It allows you to be more precise about what behaviors will earn a reward. Clickers are an easy and fun marker to use, and get amazing results. Initially we have to teach Fido the clicker means something. Once your dog understands that he can do something to earn clicks and thus rewards, he will become much easier to train and more focused on you when you need his attention. The marker is only used to GET the behavior. Once the behavior is learned, you no longer need the marker.

Sometimes people are afraid to use food treats to train their dogs because they don't believe the dog will learn to behave appropriately in the absence of the food. So many times we hear, "my dog will only listen if I have treats in my hand". This problem arises when people don't understand how to use the rewards appropriately and how to fade their use. We use treats and other reinforcers (rewards) in the acquisition phase of a new behavior. In other words, the treats are used initially to show Fido what to do. Once we teach the dog what to do, we slowly fade out the use of the food rewards and just use life rewards. You don't have to worry that you'll be carrying a food pouch with you the rest of your life! 

Life rewards? What the heck is that?  Basically it is using something Fido wants anyway (petting, car rides, sniffing a bush, attention, meals) to reward behaviors we want. Fido gets something he wants for doing something you want. Using life rewards is very powerful. Take some time to figure out what motivates your dog to do what he does, and use these motivators as rewards for behaviors you want.