Types of Training: Positive vs. Negative & Balanced

Positive and Negative Trainers are a common discussion in the dog world. Today we will look at this a little more closely and break down the differences. We will discuss what types of positive and negative training there are and discuss balanced training methods.  This is an important thing to understand for your dog’s success and will help you choose which trainer or training style is best suited for your dog’s needs or goals.

We often think Positive is good and Negative is bad and to be completely honest it is so much more involved than that. There are four types of training methods. Positive Reinforcement, Negative Reinforcement, Positive Punishment, and Negative Punishment. Let’s look at some definitions.

Positive Reinforcement: The act of giving something to ENCOURAGE a behavior

Negative Reinforcement: The act of taking something away to ENCOURAGE a behavior

Positive Punishment: The act of giving something to DISCOURAGE a behavior

Negative Punishment: The act of taking something away to DISCOURAGE a behavior

Positive and Negative are not the “mean” words in this situation. For example, the use of a shock collar for barking would be considered Positive Punishment, not negative. An example of Negative reinforcement is simply taking away a shoe that your dog is trying to chew.

In today’s world we are misled by the words positive and negative. It is also almost impossible to truly be an ONLY positive reinforcement trainer, most positive reinforcement trainers use negative punishment. For instance, turning away from your dog when it jumps is an example of Negative punishment. Positive reinforcement also does not mean the same thing as clicker training, and most trainers are not even TRULY clicker training they are assisted clicker training, but that is different blog post.

Now that we have a better idea of what the training methods look like let us discuss Balanced Training.

A balanced trainer will use a mixture of some or all four training methods. It allows them a lot more freedom and to be able to customize their training to match each dog and each scenario they encounter. A truly balanced trainer learns the dog they are working with and uses their knowledge to create a learning plan the dog understands and enjoys. They have almost unlimited ways to mix those training methods up and thus can quickly adapt to your dog.

This is why I am a balanced trainers. I have found that it allows us to work with the dog’s personality and its trainability, but also allows us to work with the owner and find a mixture of methods that is designed for them! We aren’t trapped trying to push a dog through a cookie-cutter mold and at any point can switch to a new idea. Using high rewards and patience we can teach the dog in an enjoyable way what we are trying to have him learn. Once the dog understands that behavior we can reinforce it with different methods depending on what each dog needs and responds to best. This gives us the ability to build a foundation of obedience the dog understands and loves, while also teaching the dog there are different consequences depending on the correct or incorrect behavior. Instead of correcting a dog for jumping when it meets someone you are teaching it the correct response is to sit. In this manner if the dog jumps the correction can be much softer and as more of a reminder of what the correct behavior is.

It is just as important to find the right trainer for your dog as it is to find the correct trainer for you.

Here are five great questions to ask your trainer when you are trying to decide:

1. How long have you been training?

2. What are your training methods?

3. What do you do if a dog does not seem like it understands or is responding to your methods?

4. Have you worked with this breed or situation before?

5. What does follow up look like? What resources do you offer to the owner?