Dear Chewie: What's the best way to teach my dog a new behavior, such as coming when I call him?
Who wouldn't much rather do something when there's a good reason? Training your pet with positive reinforcement means rewarding him immediately following a positive behavior in order to encourage that behavior. Positive reinforcement is one of the most powerful tools for shaping or changing your pet's behavior.
Correct timing is essential when using positive reinforcement. The reward must occur immediately, or your pet may not associate it with the proper action. For example, if you ask your dog to "sit" but reward him after he's already stood up again, he'll think he's being rewarded for standing up.
Consistency is also essential. Everyone in the family should use the same commands. The most commonly used commands for dogs are "sit", "stay", "down" (meaning to lie down), "off" (meaning off a person or off the furniture), "watch me", "come", "heel" and "leave it." Consistency also means always rewarding the desired behavior and never rewarding undesired behavior.
Positive reinforcement may include food treats, praise, petting or a favorite toy or game. Food treats work especially well for dogs. A treat should be enticing and irresistible to your pet. Small pieces of soft commercial treats, hot dogs, cheese, cooked chicken or beef all work well. You may have to experiment to see what works best for your pet. Each time you use a food reward, couple it with a verbal reward, such as "Good sit" said in a positive, happy tone of voice.
When your pet is learning a new behavior, he should be rewarded every time he does the behavior. Intermittent reinforcement can be used once your pet has reliably learned the behavior. You can begin to reduce the number of times a food reward is used, although verbal praise should continue. By using a variable schedule of reinforcement, your pet will learn that if he keeps responding, eventually he'll get what he wants.