Dog training has a lot to do with your psychology. The very fact that we are talking about dogs here implies that one of our major psychological problems is that of not being able to train them properly. It is a well known fact that without proper training, a dog can behave badly. Dogs need to be taught how to behave and this requires a lot of patience on the part of the owner. They can be trained to perform many useful tricks like how to play fetch and many such things. So it’s no big deal if you happen to have a dog as long as he or she is properly trained.
If we want to take dog training to the next level, we need to incorporate some other techniques that will aid in reinforcing good behavior and discourage bad behavior. This is where the concept of mixed measures come in. Mixed measures are basically a combination of various techniques that will allow the owner to reinforce good behavior while discouraging bad behavior. There are two ways to go about using mixed measures, the first is completely pure motivational training and the second is a mixed measure with mixed motivational training.
When you use operant conditioning in dog training, you set up a situation in which dogs learn how to respond to certain stimuli in a desirable manner. This is how the dogs learn to react to a bell by walking over it or getting excited about its sound. Operant conditioning does not reward any unwanted reaction on the part of the pet dog trainers. Rather, it treats each response in a desired manner. For example: the dog learns to walk up to a bell by hearing the bell, he gets a treat and then learns another behavior which is to get down and sit beside the bell when it stops ringing. This is how the dog is reinforced in his behavior to go to the place indicated by the bell and sit politely beside it.
Mixed measure is different from operant conditioning in dog training in a way that the positive as well as negative reactions are both given as rewards. Mixed measure is an alternative to operant conditioning dog training, where in the former mode of training the dog the owner uses audible commands and the dog hears positive responses such as: “Sit,” “Stay,” “Come,” etc. Instead of giving the dog a treat the owner gives him affectionate or soothing responses to his commands such as: “Good Dog”, “Mmmm… Nice Skin.” Mixed measure provides a more rounded training experience for dogs where they can respond to commands in an appropriate manner whether it is behaviour or non-behaviour. It is therefore more comprehensive obedience training that teaches the dog how to interact better with people and other dogs in the society.
In order to understand the theory behind this type of dog training, we need to study the concepts of operant conditioning and mixed measure. Operant conditioning focuses on a single stimulus as a signal to perform a specific action. Mixed measure, on the other hand, uses multiple stimuli together as a signal to achieve the desired goal. For instance in operant conditioning the dog’s response to a particular stimulus is conditioned with the presence of another one. With mixed measure however, the dog’s response to multiple stimuli is also conditioned with the presence of another one.
So how do you combine the best of both? Well, you have to use mixed measure in a positive reinforcement scheme to train your dog. Mixed reinforcement is not about rewarding a dog just because he has done something good. Rather it focuses on providing a kind of positive motivation that keeps the dog motivated. As long as he performs this he gets a pat in the back, a food treat or maybe some affection.
The same principles that apply to dog training in general also apply to basic obedience training. The reason why basic obedience training is necessary in dog training is because dogs are considered as the best friendliest animal. They serve as our guards and protectors so even if they misbehave sometimes it does not mean they are misbehaving intentionally. In essence what you are trying to achieve is showing your dogs that you care about them.
You can easily begin your dog training using the mirror method where in you ask the dog to sit before you begin to train him. You then tell him to look at you and give a treat or a reward depending on his performance. A great variation of the mirror method is the treat-reward-behavior model. This model is more advanced and is often used when a dog is displaying inappropriate behavior. It basically tries to condition the dog to anticipate the unpleasant consequence of his actions