By Dale McCluskey
From Mind and Body Kinetics – Dog Training Guide
The issue of praise and reward is one of the ideological fault lines which runs straight down the middle of certain training models. While this issue can be difficult for many to get their minds around the main point to remember is that what you do and how you think has deeper meaning based on what this shared connection represents. While many dog owners can seem to get away with petting and rewarding their dogs whenever they want and still come out on the other side with a balanced dog what this connection represents for others takes on a entirely different meaning. This is where we need to go a little deeper at the relational level to understand what is happening beyond the surface. Petting, reward and praise need to be packaged together as it relates to the type of parenting style on display.
The type and frequency of certain interactions provide relational clues as to where the owner stands when it comes to meeting the relational needs of the dog. As with the human parenting model a person would need to have the ability to observe how the parent interacted with the child to make a determination as to the parenting style. The same holds true to determine the leadership criteria of the dog owner. Does petting and praise align with permissive and weak connection or is it happening within the proper relational script ? The script it is happening within determines whether it is a problem when it comes to creating relational change.
Dale McCluskey's Dog Training 