How and why, this does not work, and the misconception brought on by those in the public eye. From a psychological point of view, purely positive dog trainers use treats, play, toys, and praise to train a dog. Nothing wrong with that, I start every dog with that, the issue comes when a competing motivator comes along and your dog does not want to work for a treat. A great example of this is a dog with a high prey drive that loves to chase small animals, its DNA says chase the bunny, and at that point chasing the bunny is a higher motivation than a treat. Guess what happens? The dog chases the bunny and does not listen. The dog will not learn without the other side of the operant condition circle of negative punishment and positive punishment the dog will not learn.
Even those like Victoria Stilwell who claim to be a purely positive dog trainer do not know what positive punishment is. The true definition of positive punishment is adverse the dog does not like; that can be as simple as pressure from a no-pull harness under the dog from the armpit (just like the one Stilwell sales on her site click here to see) to hitting the dog with a stick both are positive punishment. Positive punishment is a spectrum, getting a speeding ticket is a positive punishment, and lethal injection is a positive punishment. See the spectrum? Be careful of what people’s real motivations are. Purely positive dog training is not all what is sold to be.
I am not saying you cannot get good results purely positive dog training you can, what I am saying is you cannot have true obedience. Purely positive at its best is bribery, and at its worst suppressing the real issue and giving people a false sense of obedience. If you want to find out more contact us today