The problem with praise

Training dogs is a process of teaching a dog to respond to praise and correction. During the training process, we praise the dog for good and acceptable behavior. We correct dogs for bad or unacceptable behavior. Through this process, the dog learns how to act and respond in a way that makes their owners happy.  

While there are dog trainers that train using only praise. In my experience, training using only praise results in more training of the owner than training of the dog. Praise only training demands that you, the owner, adjust your expectations and your response to your dog’s behavior. Hence, you get trained in addition to, or instead of the dog getting trained.

Please understand, I am not undermining the importance of praise in dog training. It is just not the whole story. And often owners use too much praise and too little correction, because praise is much easier to give than correction.

During our 30 plus years of training dogs, here are some problems I often see tied to praise when dog training.

Bad timing of praise

Praise is highly effective if given at just the right time. When using praise as a training tool, timing is essential. Praise must be given at the exact moment that your dog is doing something correctly.

Example of good timing

You are training your dog to SIT. You give your dog the SIT command and your dog immediately SITS. This would be a good time to say GOOD DOG. This praise should be given immediately after your dog SITS so that he understands that sitting was a good behavior that earns him praise.

Example of bad timing

You are training your dog to SIT. You say the SIT command, and your dog just stands there looking at you, so you say SIT again, and again, and again. Finally, after 5 SIT commands your dog sits, and you praise your dog for sitting. This is an example of bad timing for praise. While you think you have praised your dog for sitting, you have actually just praised your dog for ignoring you four times.

Praise must be used at the exact time that a dog does something right. If you command your dog to SIT, and your dog immediately plants his behind to the ground, that is the time to praise him. Or, if you call your dog with a HERE command and your dog immediately turns and runs to you, this is a great time for praise. The timing of praise must be tied very closely to the correct behavior.

In the same way, correction must also be tied very closely to failure to comply with a command.

Too much praise

Many owners praise their dog too much. They are constantly saying GOOD DOG or petting them or scratching them. The dog doesn’t mind. He loves the attention. But as with everything, too much dilutes the meaning.

Let’s put this in human terms. You show up at work one morning and your boss says, “Good job coming to work!” A few minutes later he comes by your desk and says, “Good job getting to your desk and turning on your computer!” A bit later your show up at the morning meeting, and he says, “Good job coming to this meeting!” And this goes on all day.

After a while, your boss’s praise means nothing. In fact, it becomes a bit annoying. The same is true with dogs. If you are constantly praising your dog, over time the praise loses value.

Unearned praise

This ties tightly to the Too Much Praise section above. When you praise your dog, it should be tied to him doing an action correctly. If you say HERE and your dog runs to you immediately, then praise is earned. Tell your dog he is a GOOD DOG and give him a pet. But if you command HERE and your dog stands there looking around, obviously contemplating whether he should run to you, then you definitely should not praise him.

To make praise an effective training tool, you must praise your dog for doing something right, not just for being a dog. Let your dog earn the praise and then it will mean something and will be something that he wants to earn.

Praise becomes an excuse for poor behavior

Another problem I often see with praise is that some dogs use praise as an excuse to act badly or just become unglued. When you pet your dog or give them praise, do they immediately act crazy, roll around on the ground or want to take off running?  If this is the case, then your dog has begun using praise as an excuse to act badly.

When I teach a newly arrived dog obedience, I say SIT and when the dog sits immediately, I say GOOD Dog and may give them a little pet or scratch. At this point many dogs start moving around, try to jump on me, lift their paws to paw me or try and run off. If these things happen, I immediately know that these dogs were allowed to act badly when given praise.  

This happens because owners often are so happy their dog listened to them that they immediately allow the dog to get uncontrollable. They don’t give praise and expect the dog to remain sitting. This is a challenging behavior to fix and requires a lot of praise followed closely by correction to help the dog understand that praise is not an excuse to act badly.

Final thoughts on the problem with praise

Praise is an important tool in any dog trainer’s toolbox. And it should be used generously and appropriately. But it is not the only tool, and if praise is used with poor timing or used as an excuse for acting poorly, it can cause more harm than good.

If you really want your retriever to grow and progress in hunting and obedience this year but doing the training yourself sounds overwhelming or maybe your schedule is just too busy to get it done, I’m here to help! You can email me ottertailkennels@gmail.com. I would be happy to discuss your goals for your retriever and tell you about the programs I offer.

Until next time happy retrieving.