In the Company of Dog

I thought I would start a series on entries about my experiences with shiba training and the fine line you have to walk to be successful in advancing that training.

Positive Reinforcement vs. Positive Punishment
(and a little negative reinforcement and negative punishment for good measure)

Aversives are a very touchy subject in the world of dog training these days. To some, any correction is looked at as cruel. Also many people do not educate themselves to the psychology behind the training that they swear by. Just because the word “positive” is attached to something, many people think it means “good, happy, nice, etc.”. However this is inaccurate.
Positive reinforcement is an increase in the future frequency of a behavior due to the addition of a stimulus immediately following a response. (Wikipedia 2008)
Therefore “positive” is in reference to the addition of stimulus, not something kind or caring. Meanwhile punishment is not inherently the cruel monster that many turn it into.
Punishment is the reduction of a behavior via a stimulus which is applied (”positive punishment”) or removed (”negative punishment”). (Wikipedia 2008)

Now that we are all on the same page when is comes to lingo I can move on to my system.
Note: This is my personal system and theory for training my dogs. If you don’t like it, don’t try it, its that simple.

I walk a very fine line with my dogs. Positive Reinforcement got us quite far on its own. Luring and shaping are the foundations of everything I train my dogs to do. Food or the promise of a toy are my stimulus. I only lure to periodically speed up the process or clarify something. Also if I hit a loop shaping I will try to steer the dog in the right direction via luring. Sits, downs, drops, stands, ect were all taught with a lure. Heeling was not. It was trained strictly with shaping and a verbal cue when the dog is in position. After the dog has learned heel position I randomize the treats and only give them a moment to notice and take it otherwise they lose out. This increases their precision and keeps them attentive.
Once my dog knows the command and the behavior I begin to fade the shaping. I will periodically shape if my dog looks lost, but I will not if the dog is choosing to ignore the command.
This is where my positive punishment comes in. I will leash correct with an upward pull (not a pop) to correct an ignored sit. I will leash correct a down or drop with a downward pull (not a pop). I only do this when the dog is clearly ignoring the command. If the dog is simply distracted I will not leash correct but instead I will run in the opposite direction of my dogs attention (negative punishment/negative reinforcement). This causes them to want to watch me in case I take off again. This technique has worked so much better then a leash correction due to the fact that too much correct seems to turn off the shiba. If they are not sure of what you are asking for they quickly give up and turn off.

Good luck to anyone training a shiba or any other primitive, free thinking or independent breed.
I will continue to elaborate on our training experiences when the moment moves us.

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