Tuesday Training Byte: Shaping behavior with negative punishment

Right now some people will be confused because I often say I use positive reinforcement and force free methods mostly. While this is true, punishment as I use it is probably not what you think. In classical conditioning, there are four options: positive reward, negative reward, positive punishment, and negative punishment. Much of what I do falls under positive reward. In these cases, positive means giving the dog something (like a +, adding) and negative means taking away something (like -). So positive reward means I give the dog something he wants like treats or petting. However to create a thinking dog, I also use negative punishment but this doesn't look like punishment. For example, when a dog jumps up on me generally seeking attention, I take away any eye contact, speaking or touching my dog. When the dog puts all four feet on the floor, then I mark the good behavior with a "Yes!" followed by treats. First I am taking away that very thing my dog is wanting (negative punishment), which is attention, and when my dog behaves, I give him attention (positive reward). If an owner misses rewarding their dog when he makes good choices without being asked, he will often start using unwanted behaviors. For example, if you are waiting in a long line at PetSmart with your dog, if he waits nicely at your side without being told, be sure to praise him, or perhaps give him a gentle pat and treat. If he gets impatient and jumps up on you, do not engage him (negative punishment). As soon as he settles on his own, reward the good choice (positive reward). If you do this consistently, your dog will choose the good behavior without you commanding it to "stop it, no, get down, sit, sit sit!". You may ask, why don't I just tell my dog to sit in the first place? Well, when I tell my dog to sit, he should sit in the perfect heel position and keep focused on me for the next command. Clearly, waiting in a long line my dog doesn't need to do that, and it works better that he can choose what position he wishes to wait in and chill out. It makes no matter if he changes position and does not focus on me. This creates a thinking dog. Happy training. In the first picture, I commanded my dog to sit. Notice his position and intense focus. In the second picture, my dog is just relaxing by my side until I am ready to go.