About Pawsitive Pet Solutions

If you just need the basics or if you have a serious behavior problem, we can help. We are so glad that you have decided to learn more about your dog and how to communicate with him. Clicker training is a great way to facilitate learning and plus it’s a lot of fun! Our goal is to increase the bond between you and your dog while teaching you how to communicate with each other using dog friendly, humane methods.

What is Positive Reinforcement Training?

Positive Reinforcement - one of the quadrants of operant conditioning, relies on a good consequence when a behavior is performed. Example: You ask your dog to Sit, he sits, you give him a treat. This is positive reinforcement. By using positive reinforcement to train your dog, you will clearly communicate with your dog by letting them learn "how to learn". It is NOT being overly permissive. Good behavior is a result of the relationship you develop with your dog. Positive reinforcement is the foundation for rewarding behavior you want your dog to repeat. What do we use to reinforce the dog? Attention, freedom, toys, food, play and anything else that motivates the dog. It is vitally important that you use a variety of reinforcers to reward behavior. A common mistake is using ONLY food. This results in the dog doing the behavior only when the food is present.

What is Operant Conditioning?

Operant Conditioning is when the dog learns that his behavior has a good or bad consequence. Positive and Negative Reinforcement increase the likelihood that a behavior will increase. Positive or Negative Punishment increase the likelihood that a behavior will decrease. A dog can learn that he can make good or bad things happen as a result of his own actions.

What is Classical Conditioning?

Ever heard of Pavlov's Dog? This is classical conditioning -- learning by association. You pick up your leash or your keys and your dog runs to the door in anticipation of a walk or a ride in the car. Events that go together (leash = walk) become very strong associations for your dog. First, your dog learns that walks are very fun time with you, then they see that before EVERY walk, you pick up the leash. Pretty soon, through repetition, your dog gets excited when they see the leash because they know the walk will follow.

Pawsitive Pet Solutions, LLC was founded on increasing the bond between you and your companion. We prefer to use dog-friendly training methods to achieve this relationship of trust and respect.

Read about the pitfalls of positive punishment to learn more about how we train and why this isn’t the best way to learn, for us or our dogs.

Karen Pryor, author and dolphin trainer is credited with creating the term “clicker training” and utilizing the method with dog training. There are several reasons why clicker training is so effective. With clicker training we establish a clear communication between you and your dog. The clicker is used to “mark” or isolate the behavior. Think about taking a snapshot of the exact behavior you want. The “click” isolates an instant in time causing the dog to associate that specific behavior with a reward. We do this by always pairing the click with a reinforcer, like a treat. We practice lots of successful repetitions and then start associating the verbal cue with the desired action. Now we can use the cue “Buster, Sit” and he puts his bottom on the ground because he is associating the word “Sit” with his bottom on the ground, which then gets him a click and finally a treat. The clicker is used to teach this association of verbal cue and action in a rapid, and fun way. After your dog learns the cue, the clicker can be phased out and used for only new behaviors.

Locations

• Centerville
• Kettering

Contact Information

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