W hen it comes to training your pets, there is not a “catch-all” for solving every challenge. However, there is one universally accepted concept that is both humane and effective. This concept is positive reinforcement.

Positive reinforcement is the process of introducing something enjoyable immediately following a desired behavior.

Your pet’s “something enjoyable” may be food, a toy, a game, verbal praise, gentle touch or any unique combination of these. It’s up to you to know your pet’s “something enjoyable”. Treats are usually a good place to start. Make certain the treats are small (about the size of a kibble of dry food), soft and irresistible.

Whether you are trying to achieve basics like housetraining, sit, down, stay and come, or more complex tasks like those performed by animals trained to assist people (police dogs or dogs for physically challenged people), you will find you can rely on positive reinforcement to accomplish your goals.

There are two necessary components to the effectiveness of positive reinforcement. These are timing and consistency.

Timing
This can be tricky. It is crucial to offer the reward immediately following the desired behavior. For example, if your dog is just learning sit, you may find him or her achieving only a brief sit. You have to reward Spot before he stands up. If you reward him when he stands, he will think that the standing is the desired behavior.

Consistency
To achieve maximum results with positive reinforcement you must also be consistent. At first you will need to reward Fluffy every time she sits. Additionally, the whole family should be familiar with the commands you will be using to train her. Sit, down, stay, come and off are some common commands.

You will not have to carry around little bits of hotdog in your pocket for the life of your pet. When your pet can reliably perform a sit, for example, you may begin to intermittently offer the reward. Maybe three out of five times you will reward your pet for successfully performing a sit - then two out of five - then maybe only once in a while. This is not to say that the “good boy” and “good girl” should not continue to generously flow!

Whew! This sounds like a lot of work, and it is. Training a pet to be a good citizen and companion does demand commitment on your part.

If you have a question related to a specific behavior, please refer to the other links in this section. However, if you do not find the answers you need within this website, please feel free to contact us by phone at 541-757-9000 or by e-mail. Our staff is knowledgeable in both behavior training and resources available to you. Our goal is to help you and your pet develop a strong bond therefore reducing the tragedy of homeless in our community.