Are You Being Positive or Just Permissive?

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Using positive training methods to train your dog is the only way to ensure that the behaviors you train are predictable and repeatable.  However, there is a big difference between being positive and letting your dog get away with just anything.  Read Gillian’s article to learn more.

Why is a Positive a Negative?

March 10th, 2010 by Gillian Ridgeway, Dog Star Daily

Why is it that the word “positive” can strike such a chord in a dog owner’s mind? Having been involved in the dog world since 1972 and spending the great majority of my adult life working with dogs, it has been an uphill battle to increase awareness in the theory of learning for dogs. There has been a vast increase in awareness of this theory for children, but the dog owners are still lagging behind. Although, giving credit where it is due, it is leaps and bounds better than in the middle 1980’s, when dog training took a surge from being a novelty to a necessity.

Positive doesn’t mean permissive. That sentence, while not originated by me, is a powerful message and one that all dog owners can relate to. Positive means helpful and constructive, and a positive response from a dog owner to his canine companion means that the dog will receive something pleasurable after he does the desired behavior, which in turn will increase the likelihood of the behavior re-occurring. Sounds simple? The more you give your dog positive feedback for what you want, the more likely it is that he will repeat that exact behavior.

Permissive is not the same at all. The term permissive implies something far more tolerant and liberal. When dog owner become permissive with their pets, we find they are giving consent to their dog to do a certain behavior and permission with no guidelines is when the problems can arise.

Rewarding a dog for a job well done is positive dog training. It does not mean that we want dog owners to allow their dogs to take charge or to call the shots.

Read the rest of Gillian’s article.

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