Dog Training using Reward and Punishment Methods
There are several different methods that are used to achieve desired behavior of a dog, while most commonly used methods are in form of reward and/or punishment. The majority of dog trainers do not approve use of punishment in dog training and all most strongly oppose to physical punishment to correct unwanted behavior.
The majority of dog trainers uses solely the form of reward. When the dog does what he is expected to he is being rewarded with something that makes him happy. The majority of people like to reward their dogs with special food treats but in reality dogs are often happy already when the feel their owner is happy. However, the form of a reward is not that important. The most important are the signals dog receives from his owner when he obeys required commands and when he disobeys or misbehaves. If the dog does not receives the reword when he receives the signals that he has earned a reward or he is rewarded when signals are telling otherwise the reward gradually losses its value and dog training using the method of rewarding desired behavior losses its meaning.
Training dog using punishment to decease bad behavior is mostly being abolished
because punishment make many dogs fearful, unwilling to cooperate and in some case
even aggressive. For that reason punishment method should be used only under
professional supervision and guidance, and administrated according to the dogs age,
emotional and physical state, and personality.