NEW: THE BACK TO SCHOOL EXPERIENCE IS HERE. New year. Fresh start.
Training a pet can sometimes feel like an ongoing list of things we’d like them to stop doing. Stop jumping. Stop barking. Stop scratching the sofa. Stop pulling on the leash. Stop stealing socks.
But behavioral science suggests that one of the most effective ways to change our pets’ behavior begins with a different question: What would we like them to do instead?
Positive reinforcement is hardly a new idea, but our understanding of how and why it works has become considerably more sophisticated. Today, major veterinary behavior organizations recommend reward-based methods because they effectively teach new behaviors while protecting something equally important: an animal’s emotional welfare and relationship with the humans doing the teaching.
What Positive Reinforcement Really Means
In behavioral science, positive reinforcement means adding something the animal values after a behavior so that the behavior becomes more likely to happen again. A dog sits and receives a piece of chicken. A cat steps voluntarily into her carrier and gets a favorite treat. The consequence helps teach the animal which behavior worked.
The reward doesn’t have to be food. Depending on the animal, reinforcement can be a toy, a game, praise, access to something desirable or physical affection. The important point is that the animal determines what’s rewarding. A dog who would choose a tennis ball over a biscuit may work beautifully for a game of fetch, while a cat who doesn’t enjoy being petted isn’t being rewarded simply because we intended our touch as praise.
Timing matters, too. Rewarding immediately helps an animal connect a behavior with its consequence; a clicker or consistent marker word such as “yes” can identify the exact moment the animal got it right.
Why Negative Training Can Make Everything Harder
Aversive training uses something unpleasant, frightening or painful to suppress or change behavior. Techniques can range from shouting and intimidation to shock, prong or choke collars and leash corrections. While these methods may interrupt a behavior in the moment, stopping a behavior and successfully teaching an animal are not necessarily the same thing.
The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior recommends reward-based training and advises against aversive methods. Research reviewed by the organization has associated aversive training with stress-related behaviors and longer-term welfare concerns, while reward-based methods offer advantages for welfare, training effectiveness and the human-animal relationship.
There is also a practical problem with punishment: it may tell an animal that one answer is wrong without teaching the correct one. If a dog jumps when someone enters the house, repeatedly saying “no” doesn’t explain what we want instead. Four paws on the floor? Sit? Go to a mat?
Positive reinforcement gives the animal an answer.
Decide What You Want to Teach
One of the most useful changes a pet parent can make is replacing “How do I stop this?” with “What do I want my pet to do instead?”
If a dog jumps on visitors, perhaps the goal is four paws on the floor. If a cat climbs onto the kitchen counter during dinner preparation, perhaps a nearby perch can become the more rewarding option. If a puppy grabs a shoe, an appropriate chew or toy provides an alternative that can then be reinforced.
Management matters, too. Training a puppy not to steal shoes is considerably easier if fifteen irresistible shoes aren’t scattered across the floor. The objective is to create opportunities for your pet to succeed and then make those successes worthwhile.
Your Pet Is Learning All Day Long
Formal training may happen for five minutes, but learning doesn’t stop when the treats are put away. Dogs and cats constantly form associations between what they do and what happens next.
If your dog barks and you respond by throwing the ball, barking may become an effective way to initiate play. If your cat wakes you at 4:47 every morning and breakfast reliably follows, you’ve created another remarkably successful training program. The only difference is that your cat may be training you.
This is also where animal intelligence becomes fascinating. Intelligence isn’t synonymous with obedience. Research has shown, for example, that cats can distinguish their own names from other spoken words. Another study found evidence that household cats learn associations between the names and faces of other cats simply through everyday life with their human families.
Our animals may be absorbing considerably more information than their response to a command suggests.
Why Positive Training Takes Practice
Reward-based training asks quite a lot of the human. We have to decide exactly what we’re teaching, notice small steps toward that goal, reinforce them at the right moment and remain consistent.
We also have to recognize when we’ve made the assignment too difficult. A puppy who sits beautifully in a quiet kitchen may appear to forget everything in a park filled with dogs, bicycles, children and fascinating smells. Rather than assuming stubbornness, reduce the difficulty, increase the value of the reward and gradually add distractions.
And remember that not every behavior problem is a training problem. Pain, illness, sensory changes and anxiety can alter behavior. A previously house-trained pet who suddenly begins having accidents or a friendly animal who becomes irritable when touched deserves a conversation with a veterinarian.
Five Ways to Make It Work
Choose one specific behavior rather than a broad goal such as “behave better.” Make success achievable and reward small steps rather than waiting for perfection. Find something your individual pet genuinely values as a reward. Keep sessions short enough that neither of you becomes frustrated. And make sure everyone in the household is reinforcing the same rules.
Above all, watch the animal in front of you. Body language can tell you whether your pet is engaged, confused, frightened, tired or simply finished. Good training is a conversation, and listening is part of it.
Your Five-Minute Homework Assignment
In this month’s Back-to-School Experience, we’ve included a simple five-minute positive-reinforcement exercise. Choose one behavior, remove the distractions and reward the smallest steps in the right direction. Notice your timing. Notice your pet’s response.
And pay attention to yourself. Are you being clear? Are you asking for too much too quickly? Are you rewarding the behavior you actually intended to reward?
Remember, you’re training yourself every bit as much as you’re training your pet family. Give it five minutes. It’s worth it.
Sources:
AVSAB: Humane Dog Training Position Statement
AAHA: Canine and Feline Behavior Management Guidelines
AAHA: Who’s a Good Dog? 5 Expert Dog Training Tips
Saito et al., Scientific Reports (2019): Domestic cats discriminate their names from other words
