This is copy/pasted from an email newsletter and Tip Of The Week from The Whole Dog Journal. © 2010 Belvoir Media Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

Why We're Positive About Positive Training Methods

We've come so far since those dark days just over a decade ago when virtually all dog training was accomplished through the use of force and compulsion. We know those days well; we were quite skilled at giving collar corrections with choke chains and attained several high-scoring obedience titles with our dogs using those methods.

Trainers, behaviorists, and dog owners are realizing that this is more than just a philosophical difference, or a conflict between an ethic that says we should be nice to animals versus a more utilitarian approach to training. While both methods can produce well-trained dogs, the end result is also significantly different. With positive training, the goal is to develop a dog who thinks and works cooperatively with his human as part of a team, rather than a dog who simply obeys commands.

One criticism of positive training is that the dogs are spoiled and out of control because, while the dogs are highly reinforced for doing good stuff, no one ever tells them what not to do. "Dogs," the critics say, "must know there are consequences for inappropriate behaviors."

We don't disagree with this statement. Positive does not mean permissive. We just have different ideas about the necessary nature of the negative consequence. When one is needed, positive trainers are most likely to use "negative punishment" (taking away a good thing), rather than "positive punishment" (the application of a bad thing). As an adjunct to that, we counsel the generous use of management to prevent the dog from practicing (and getting rewarded for) undesirable behaviors.

The result? Since all living things repeat behaviors that are rewarding, and those behaviors that aren't rewarded extinguish (go away), the combination of negative punishment and management creates a well-trained dog at least as easily as harsh or painful corrections and without the very real potential for relationship damage that is created by the use of physical punishment.

One of the most significant reasons for not using physical punishment or force with dogs is the potential for eliciting or exacerbating aggressive behaviors from them.

The most rewarding and exciting part of training for us is watching the dawning awareness on a dog's face that he controls the consequences of his behavior, and that he can elicit good stuff from his trainer by offering certain behaviors. We never, ever, experienced that in the "old days." We used to take "sit" for granted, because if the dog didn't sit when we asked, we made him do it.

Today, we never get over the thrill of that moment when the dog understands, for the first time, that he can make the clicker "Click!" (and receive a treat) simply by choosing to sit. It keeps training eternally fresh and exciting.