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Positive Reinforcement vs. Punishment

Dog Training Elite Frisco

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Positive Dog Training Techniques

Positive Reinforcement Dog Training in Frisco, TX

Research shows that focusing on positive reinforcement when a desired behavior occurs and not worrying about correcting bad behavior in dogs is more effective and has longer-lasting results than training that incorporates punishment for bad behavior.

Positive reinforcement dog training in Frisco, TX works because dogs are inherently eager to please. Rewarding your dog for good behavior helps create a deep, loving relationship with your dog built on trust, as opposed to one built on fear of punishment. The difference between a dog who has been trained to obey out of fear of being punished vs. a dog who learns to obey through a positive, loving bond with their owner is huge.

Dog Training Elite Frisco trainers use treats as an initial reward for puppies and dogs learning commands. When the trainer is absent, or you’re in between obedience classes, you can continue to use treats as a reward for your dog when they exhibit a desired behavior. Dogs tend to be highly food-motivated, so this is an extremely useful tool. You can also reward your dog with a play session, take them to the dog park or anything else you know your dog enjoys. After all, you know your dog best!

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Dog Training Elite Frisco

Your Questions Answered

Positive reinforcement training is a widely used and highly effective method for teaching dogs new behaviors while strengthening the bond between you and your pet. Below, we've answered some common questions about how this training approach works and why it's beneficial for all dog breeds.

Positive reinforcement training rewards dogs for good behavior with treats, praise, or play, encouraging them to repeat those behaviors. It focuses on creating a positive association with desired actions, making training enjoyable and effective for your dog.
Positive reinforcement builds trust and strengthens the bond between you and your dog. By rewarding desired behavior, your dog is more motivated to learn and respond willingly, whereas punishment can create fear and anxiety, hindering learning and damaging the relationship.
Yes, positive reinforcement training is effective for all dog breeds. Since it relies on rewarding good behavior, dogs of all breeds, sizes, and temperaments can respond well, making it a flexible and universally beneficial training method.
A white poodle smiling at one of our Frisco positive reinforcement dog trainers.

Frisco Positive Reinforcement Dog Trainers

Dog Training Elite Frisco

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As for not worrying about bad behavior – it may feel strange to act like everything is fine when your dog chews on your shoes, or goes to the bathroom inside your home. But focusing on rewarding good behavior and forgoing punishment for bad behavior is more successful in the long run.

Relying on punishment for errors and “low value” rewards, such as praise or petting are long held “traditional” methods for dog training. Punishments like flicking a dog’s nose, shocking them with a shock collar, or anything else that may cause a dog pain are unfortunately still in use today by many dog trainers.

Not only is it inhumane, but using punishment as a tool can actually backfire. For example: punishing a dog for going to the bathroom inside a house won’t teach them to go outside instead. Often, the dog only understands that the mess makes their owner mad. Instead of going outside, the dog is likely to continue to make messes indoors — where the owner can’t find them.

Punishment training also damages the relationship between dog and owner. Dogs do not understand right and wrong. Instead of associating punishment with a specific behavior they learn to avoid, as with the bathroom example, they instead learn to live in constant fear of punishment. This prevents owners from bonding with their dogs in a meaningful way.

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The Dog Training Elite Frisco Difference


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Dog Training Elite Frisco uses modern training methods focused on positive dog training using reinforcement and bonding you and your dog. Our trainers in Frisco, TX never resort to punishment to help dogs unlearn behaviors. Through a combination of commands and an electronic collar, dogs learn to follow commands at once. The electronic collar is not a shock collar and never used to punish bad behavior. Instead, it produces a sensation like the gentle tug of a leash, and is used to help recapture the attention of a dog who gets distracted.

Dog Training Elite Frisco’s method of focusing on positive behavior reinforcement nurtures a dog's loving and naturally obedient nature. The method is the same regardless of the situation, whether training a puppy, an older dog or a service dog. The positive reinforcement dog training in Frisco, TX ensures training is a success no matter what your dog’s behavior. If you have a brand new puppy who is stubborn and smart, or an older dog who has slipped into bad habits – or perhaps never learned – after proper conditioning and working with Dog Training Elite Frisco, when you say “sit,” your dog will automatically sit without thinking about it.

Dog Training Elite Frisco offers specialized in-home training services so your dog gets the attention and training he or she needs, and you learn alongside them so training continues when the trainer leaves. Dog Training Elite in Frisco, TX also offers group classes for dogs who are ready to take obedience training to the next level, and service training programs for a variety of needs.

If you’re looking to train a service dog, or just looking for a loyal four-legged companion, Dog Training Elite in Frisco, TX will help you get there with our positive dog training. You can get started today. Find a trainer near you and schedule a free in-home consultation!

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Learn Why Dog owners choose Dog Training Elite

  • Courtney Russo
    Dec. 8, 2024
    Tori Severance from Dog Training Elite Frisco was my dog’s trainer for all 6 of her training appointments (Gold Obedience package). Our last appointment was today and I am so incredibly grateful for Tori - she changed my life & my dog’s life! My Goldie is an ~2 year old Shar Pei rescue and had such terrible anxiety before. Goldie not only learned “come”, “sit” & “place” with an implied stay, to “heel” / have good leash manners but she is also no longer afraid of her crate (no more ocean of drool after being crated). Goldie’s confidence has grown so much & I am sooo proud of her!! I cannot recommend Dog Training Elite Frisco or Tori enough! Worth every penny and then some! Thank you so much, Tori, for being so incredible! Goldie & I are looking forward to seeing you again in the future :) We’ll also be at Saturday group trainings soon!
  • Mary Miller
    Oct. 31, 2024
    We had an amazing experience with Dog Training Elite. All of the trainers were great but our dogs, Theory and Newton, really took a liking to Felicity. She is very knowledgeable and you can tell that she really cares about the training that your dogs receive. All sessions were thorough, she made sure that we were confident with the commands and answered all questions that we had before leaving. The Saturday sessions are also a good opportunity to get some more practice with distractions. It was worth our money and we would recommend.
  • Alex Baptista
    Oct. 26, 2024
    Small dogs can be headstrong and tough to trainer. But that didn’t slow down Tori from getting Ellie to be the best pup she can. We started with with puppy in home private sessions at 3 months old and saw such great results we continued with the platinum package and couldn’t be more thrilled. Tori helped bring out her confidence, improve behaviors, and thrive with obedience training all with patience while we asked for help. Now a day short of 6 months, Ellie is better trained than most dogs 4x her age. It is critical for the owners to take an active role and continue to the great work of the trainers, or the dog will regress. We can wait to see what Ellie learns next!
  • Justin Parker
    Oct. 3, 2024
    What can I say about dog training elite? The trained our first two dogs together at the same time & I have to say from the very first training session with Trey our dogs behaviors already began to change. We had the pleasure of Jordan really commanding the room with atlas & helping so much on distractions our dogs if they are in command they stay at attention. Felicity when I say our dogs can place on command & even have my dog ignore a cat in a bush.. I was like whoa! Kyler helped with heel & this command definitely isn’t easy but literally within ten minutes our dogs now can stay off leash & heel without breaking command. With all this being said we now have two new ones & with so much of DTEs initial help we have been able to train our two from the continued training that we kept with our first two. They all are amazing trainers & such a great company!
  • Lindsey Johnson
    Sep. 12, 2024
    Have to complement Megan on her work. She has done fantastic working with biscuits and teaching me how to work with her as well. I was so proud of this video, I had to share. Biscuits is 17 weeks old Shar-pie, Basset Hound & Pug Blend. Thanks Megan for all your help!
  • Patrick Murray
    Aug. 14, 2024
    Tori and Jordan have been working with my Malinois Max for 3 weeks now. Within that time we brought a newborn baby home. We have been so amazed with the progress that Dog Training Elite and the trainers have done with Max. He is a completely different dog already. Best investment we have made in a very long time. Thank you so much for your help and patience. -Patrick J Murray Sergeant USMC (Ret)
  • Melanie Domen
    Jul. 30, 2024
    😬Animal control was called out to my home . My Bernadoodle tends to take his job of protecting our home a little, (well, maybe a lot) too seriously. So, we hired some trainers out at dog training elite to come and give us some new tools in our training (or lack there of.) 🤗We have a new dog! He is so much fun to be around. A HUGE 🗣️shout out to Tra, Felicity and Yuni Who helped making the dog of our dreams a reality!
  • Elinor Albin
    Jun. 20, 2024
    Tori has an amazing way of helping both me and my Winnie. She is so knowledgeable and great with our girl.
  • Laura Riggs
    Jun. 19, 2024
    Tori was an amazing trainer with my dog Clark!! We learned so much together! We really appreciate her expertise and patience!!
  • Kelly Bell
    Jun. 7, 2024
    After rescuing a very large and VERY REACTIVE Labrador we knew we needed help getting his reacitvity under control before any training would be effective. After trying a standard 6 week program elsewhere, it was clear our dog's reactivity needed some expert focus. After significant research there was a clear standout option - Dog Training Elite Frisco. I reached out and spoke to Kelly who was very knowledgeable, listening to all of my concerns carefully and answering all of my questions specific to our needs. We immediately signed up for the free assessment. From the initial free assessment with Tra we knew we were in the right place. Through Tra's demostration and work in that 90 mins, we learned so much about our dog and witnessed the professional expertise we knew was needed. We did not hesitate to sign up then and there. Most of our training sessions were with Kyler who was excellent in ever way! Very knowledgeable, very quick to think of alternatives approaches if something wasn't working. Always had a solution or a tweak to the process to meet our dog's specific challenges and forthcoming with feedback for me as the owner/trainer for my dog. Dependable, patient, focused, clearly expert and professional all the way! We also had a couple of sessions with Felicity when Kyler was not available and she was awesome as well! Super nice, very knowledgeable, fun, and again, always had a solution or tweak for our dogs specific needs. We needed help with integrating our dog with our son's dog as they were very reactive to each other and both Tra and Kyler made it happen! This was a game changer for our family ! We now go every week to group sessions led by Kyler which are fun and extremely beneficial to our dog's ongoing socialization, focus, and perfect for reinforcement of training with distractions. Kyler makes it fun and is always challenging the dogs each in the way he knows they need to be challenged. Overall I can't say enough about this program and all of these trainers! Highly recommend this team - they are worth every penny!
  • Michael Connors
    May. 16, 2024
    Great staff with a ton of knowledge and our experience couldn’t have been better. Ive had the pleasure of working with Felicity & Kyler. Both very knowledgeable and fun to work with. I cant thank the team enough. Special shout out to Kelly. Kelly wears many different hats. From receptionist, scheduler, trainer and yes videographer lol. Got some great videos that will last a lifetime. Tra & Yuni are okay too. Only teasing! These two run an amazing operation and I’ve had the pleasure of meeting both of them. Couldn’t ask for a better team! Brandon says hi!
  • Laura Iglesias (Lozano)
    May. 16, 2024
    When your dogs best friend, other than his parents, is his trainer,Kyler…, you know you are working with the right company. Dog Training Elite and Kyler came into our lives and not only did amazing with Senna’s puppy training. Kyler also observed and knew that Senna was meant to have a greater job in life, Therapy Dog. We continued Senna’s training with Kyler and Senna now goes to work with Mama, as a Therapy Dog for children with Autism and other developmental disabilities. Thank you Kyler for helping us have the Bestest Boy!!! Not only have you taught us how to work with him to reach his highest potential but you and Dog Training Elite have become part of our family.
  • sam
    May. 16, 2024
    I’m a first time dog owner and came across dog training elite on google. I saw Kyler was a veteran like myself and I highly recommend him. He’s and excellent trainer and explained everything well for me
  • Angel G.
    May. 16, 2024
    I highly recommend Kyler W., he’s amazing, good with communication and it’s great seeing a fellow veteran handling dogs!
  • Jenni Lee
    May. 15, 2024
    Kyler Wittwer has the heart to work with dogs. Gentle. Yet, firm. My 5 dogs are ranch dogs and don’t really take to people. Kyler is amazing with them. I have 1 dog that’s frightened of storms, Kyler soothed her little soul. Kyler is amazing! And I wouldn’t trust anyone to train my dogs than him.
  • Ashley Nagy
    May. 15, 2024
    I worked with Kyler from Dog Training Elite and he was amazing. My dog was very reactive towards other dogs and scared of people. Since working with Kyler, her confidence has grown immensely. Kyler was very patient with my dog while working with her. He also helped me a ton on how I should be interacting with her and expectations. Not only did he help in Katie’s training, but mine as well! She went from barely knowing sit to now knowing all the basics and how to heel. It’s like night a day and I am so appreciative! Definitely worth working with him and dog training elite! She is a much happier, confident, well behaved dog!
  • Anika Martin
    May. 15, 2024
    Kyler was so helpful with my little Sofia! As a German shepherd she was reactive and almost impossible to walk around the neighborhood. Now with Kyler’s persistence and determination I can take my sweet girl anywhere I go. Thank you Kyler for your kind help and patience as we navigated these issues!
  • Uptown Window Cleaning
    May. 15, 2024
    "Kyler at Dog Training Elite Frisco deserves every bit of a 5-star review! His expertise, patience, and dedication truly shine through in his training methods. Our furry friend has made remarkable progress under his guidance. Highly recommend!"
  • Carly DuCharme
    May. 15, 2024
    Kyler and Dog Training Elite has made a huge difference in our Doberman puppy. We learned the skills we needed to make sure that he could have a safe and happy with our other dogs. He is such a big dog and so friendly. Sometimes he would get too excited and cross the line to being dangerous for the other dogs (who are little). Our puppy both loves and respects Kyler. We continue to take part in the group classes and our puppy is so excited to be there. It continues to give us the consistency of training and support if we have any questions.
  • Nicole Benker
    May. 15, 2024
    Elite dog training is the best place to take your dog. Kyler has trained 2 of our dogs. I like that he focuses on rewarding good behavior rather than punishing bad behavior. Kyler can address a wide range of behaviors. We will not take our dogs anywhere else.