What Is The Positive Approach To Animal Training?

In the 1980s, operant conditioning began to influence many animal training techniques, and the shift from dominance training to PRT began. The dominance method is still slowly being replaced by the positive reinforcement method as researchers continue to better understand animals and their behavior (Eberhart, n.d.). Where dominance training uses punishment for its effectiveness, PRT uses rewards and praise to achieve a desired behavior. A behavior is rewarded by giving the animal something it wants or likes in order to increase the likelihood that the desired behavior will continue to occur (Veeder, Bloomsmith, McMillan, Pearlman, & Martin, 2009). Positive reinforcement trainers most typically use “verbal cues, hand signals, treats, clickers,

A recent scientific study, aimed at testing the effectiveness of positive reinforcement in restraint training, proved effective in 100% of the test subjects. The use of positive reinforcement was effective in acclimating the primates to being restrained in the majority of subjects, and some negative reinforcement was used in subjects that demonstrated initial defiance (Bliss-Moreau et al., 2013). Treats, fun activities, and toys are just some examples of the positive reinforcement used to train

The respect and care that is demonstrated through the use of positive reinforcement cause the animal to want to be around the trainer more often and enjoy being asked to do things (“Behavior Matters,” n.d.). Other training techniques can be effective, but PRT promotes benefits such as “reducing distress, increasing choice and control for the animal, and improving well-being” that other training methods do not (Veeder et al., 2009, para.