The Complete Guide to Akitas by Erin Hotovy

Author:Erin Hotovy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Akitas; puppies; cub; cubs; dog; dogs; raising dogs
Publisher: LP Media Inc
Published: 2020-12-21T19:14:28+00:00

Using Operant Conditioning

A psychological concept, called operant conditioning, is the theory that your dog will associate behaviors with positive or negative consequences; this is the way most dogs learn. When you train a dog using operant conditioning, you teach him to act immediately when he hears a command. If he successfully matches an action to your command, he is rewarded; the rewards provide incentive to repeat that action. With enough repetition and reward, your dog will automatically follow your command when he hears the appropriate word. Dogs do not necessarily understand the meaning of command words, but they can recognize certain sounds and connect them to a behavior.

A dog’s behavior can either receive a reward or a punishment. A good behavior is strengthened through a positive reward while some theories state bad behaviors can be eliminated through punishment. However, it has been proven dogs learn best through positive reinforcement – not negative.

While a child may learn from receiving a punishment for an action, dogs’ brains are not complex enough to learn from their mistakes in the same way humans do. Granted, a punishment can deter certain behaviors, but it can also cause even worse behavior. For example, yelling at an Akita for having an accident on the carpet is an unpleasant punishment for a dog. Instead of learning from that punishment and only going to the bathroom outside, your dog may completely avoid going to the bathroom around you in general, leading him to hide his accidents around your house.

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