Training Style
Like the U.S. Army, Pawsitivity leads the way in increasing working dog reliability through positive reinforcement training.
Training Style
GOALS
Reliability
Like the U.S. Army, we need our working dogs to be reliable, and we “proof” their training in all sorts of environments and distractions.
Gentleness
In some ways, we go further because we have the added need for the dogs to be gentle and easy to live with (these are not criteria that are very important for Military Working Dogs).
From the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, as reported in the article,
“Military Working Dogs: Guardians of the Night,”
Linda Crippen TRADOC, May 23, 2011, U.S. Army.
"All of the dog training is based on positive reward or feedback"
Advantages
Dogs will offer behaviors
An advantage of using positive reinforcement is that a service dog trained this way will offer lots of behaviors. With use of adversities, one runs the risk of the dog “offering fewer and fewer behaviors” because “not behaving is not the same from the dog’s perspective as exhibiting improved behavior.”[15] In other words, if a dog isn’t afraid of being punished for doing the wrong thing, the dog will feel uninhibited to try various approaches to getting rewarded until the dog finds the right one. Positive reinforcement works faster than other training methods because it increases the odds of behaviors being offered. That gives the trainer more behaviors to mark and reward, which, over time, evolve into the targeted behavior.
Less stress
A study from Applied Animal Behaviour Science looked at two classes of dogs being trained to sit. One group lured its dogs into a sitting position with a treat, and the other group pushed down on its dogs’ behinds to force them into position. The study showed that with positive reinforcement, the dogs were 15 times less likely to cower or slink away from their owner. Additionally, the dogs trained with positive reinforcement were more likely to look their owner in the eye. Because we want to encourage a service dog to look at his/her handler and to initiate social interactions, this study’s conclusions dramatically demonstrate how much richer the handler/dog relationship can be with positive reinforcement.[9] Positive-reinforcement training is also much safer[10] (and presumably less stressful) for the handler and their family, as well.
Much less risk of side effects
One of the big advantages to using positive reinforcement is that there isn’t the same risk of side effects. Simply put, "animals become afraid, either of people in general or of specific individuals as a result of aversive handling".[11] Not only is it unpleasant for the dog, but it also can be damaging to the handler's relationship with the dog.
Dogs look forward to working
Most dogs will sell their soul for a tiny bit of hotdog (or, for high-drive dogs trained for police work, a rousing game of ball throwing). We can also use praise, and we can build in real-life rewards, such as getting to walk through a door. The dog doesn’t just get to run through—by sitting and waiting for the release word, the dog is rewarded by getting to go outside for a walk. Or when out for a walk, the dog is rewarded by getting to cross the street after sitting. There's many ways to reward a dog for doing what you want him to do, which also helps to keep up his training. The dog doesn’t know it’s work—it’s like a game! This way, both the dog and handler are winners.
Copyright Pawsitivity
Proof
There are plenty of results-based studies that provide scientific justification for using this training method. The following are just a few examples.
A 1996 study confirms that positive reinforcement produces results more quickly.
The Canine Department of the Netherlands National Police Agency reported the following:
“[With] the first dog, [it] took me eight months to train him to follow a laser. With operant conditioning, it now takes me four weeks.” [4]
The largest guide dog organization in the United States also reports that positive reinforcement is faster.
As Pawsitivity staff learned (in our 2017 positive training workshop in Portland, Oregon), Guide Dogs for the Blind, the largest guide dog school in the United States, used to train with the old-school aversive methods,[5] but upon switching to modern positive-reinforcement methods they not only increased their pass rate, but also, "the dogs can become full-fledged Guide Dogs in half the time."[6]
Note that when Guide Dogs for the Blind needed a picture of positive reinforcement training, they came to Pawsitivity. We were honored to help!
More
A 2014 study in the Journal of Veterinary Medicine concluded that there were often side effects (fear) when dogs were taught using aversives. Thus, “There is no consistent benefit to be gained from e-collar training but greater welfare concerns compared with positive reward based training.”[7]
A 2013 study published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science found that owners who used methods based on positive punishment and negative reinforcement were more likely to report their dog was aggressive toward family members or strangers outside.[8]
A 2013 study published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science found that owners who used methods based on positive punishment and negative reinforcement were more likely to report their dog was aggressive toward family members or strangers outside.[8]
