Postive -vs.- negative reinforcement

Question
Hello Patt,

We recently permitted our daughter to save up, work for, beg, and sell off toys in order to scrounge the money to buy a pure bred German, German shepard.

I have raised wolves and regular domestic dogs, and my own methods use a combination of positive and negative reinforcement. I have found that what works tends to vary between breed and individual animal.

But that's just my experience.

The breeder has recommended that my daughter use only positive reinforcement with the German shepard. What are your thoughts?

I'm resisting getting involved with training the puppy (9 wks) because I want it to bond to her as she intends to train and show it at events.

One item that seems to have been universally successful in my experience is to train the dog to correctly respond to the word "NO." The only way I've seen work (to date) is mostly negative reinforcement. The consequence of the bad behaviour must be immediate and consistent - I usually bark NO in a very commanding voice and firmly grab the loose skin/fur around their jowels and flip the dog onto its back. With wolves, bearing your teeth is necessary as well.

So how would one go about "positively" reinforcing a dog to stop doing what it's doing? Your thoughts and consideration are appreciated.

Answer
Mike,
No positive training is certainly not ever flipping a dog on its back for I teach my pups to love their backs, etc.
One thing I use it to grab a hunk of hair on back of its neck, lift up on it and as lifting pinch the skin hard as she can and shake back n forth look into the pups eyes and say a loud firm NO NO MORE OF THIS DO U HEAR ME, STOP IT NOW?
I talk to my dogs like they are my kids and they are in a fact my kids in fur coats.  I change my body posture in being angry to the extent I must be in a training mode to do this and it works, my dogs listen up so quickly when I just  holler:  HEY DOGS U HAD BETTER QUIT THE BICKERING OR I AM GOING TO EXPLODE.
My dogs are to the point in training and time that they cannot stand me being upset or angry and they know exactly when I am when I holler loudly  NO NO STOP NOW OR TAKE MY PUNISHMENT FULLY, HEAR ME?
I talk to them like kids for they are in fact my kids, your girl must learn to be the total BOSS AND LEADER and every dog one or more must have this to learn right from wrong and i can put down two bitches with two litters in about a month out on grass and they share their pups.  I have had BREEDERS CALL AND SAY:  ARE U FREAKEN NUTS?  I ASK, WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM PLEASE EXPPLAIN FOR I AM VERY BUSY?
I tell them I just think like a dog I spend countless hours watching my bitches raise their pups each one and the ones that have none that pitch in on helping.  It teaches me so much as I am so interested in just how dogs think, do things with pups, during whelping I take notes doing it alone each pup myself.
I do know a dog or two must have a LEADER OR BOSS AND BE IN TOTAL CONTROL AT ALL TIMES, TAKE NO SHIT FROM THE DOG AT ALL, BE IN CHARGE AND MEAN EVERY WORD U SAY FIRMLY AND LOUDLY AND BE IN A BODY STANCE THAT THEY RECOGNIZE THE DIFFERENCE.
one day I have been asked to write a book and when I can get my brain to work quitely and done breeding I might do this to help people like u and many othrs for its all about knowing your dog, knowing when and what to do and how to and mean it firmly and let the dog no shit will be taken on from you from one second on.
Excuse the FRENCH but when I run a pack of dogs this is just how I deal with them in just plain French firmly and I get angry but never to the point of hittting my dogs or doing anything negative only POSITIVE METHODS WITH VOISE, SIGNALS FOLLOWING WITH HAND OR FINGERS AND POSTURE OF THE BODY.  look into that dogs eyes and mean every word u tell it and I mean that to be so.
If u need further help, let me now for I have my own way or raising successfully many many puppies to be wonderful adults to share food, puppies and each other with me as the BOSS AND LEADER AND THEY LOVE AND RESPECT ME FULLY, YES THEY DO AND I ADORE MY DOGS AND I RUN A PACK, MY SITE IS A MESS RIGHT NOW, BUT GOING TO GET IT FIXED U MIGHT WANT TO VISIT THE PLAYFUL PAGE, MIGHT BE DOWN NOW.  JUST KEEP AN EYE ON MY SITE AND VIST IT TO LEARN AS I AM GOING TO POST MANY NOTES OF INTEREST AND HELP.


KIND REGARDS
PATT
WWW.SCHREKNHAUS.COM