03/16/2026
This is a great post by Canine Connection that I had to share!
Balanced Training: Good Thing or No?
Sure sounds like it should be a good thing, right? I mean, when we think about the term, balanced, what comes to mind? I think of a balanced diet, balanced wheels, and work/life balance. But, when it comes to dog training, the term is a bit of a misnomer.
I will have to review the "four quadrants" of operant conditioning to explain. First some definitions.
Operant conditioning means learning by doing, learning from consequences, basically. So, if we teach an animal to do something and we give a food reward afterwards, the animal will be motivated to repeat the behavior due to the consequence of positive reinforcement.
We can manipulate behavior, or train an animal - or a human - with consequences. Those consequences can be positive or negative, and in this context, positive doesn't necessarily mean something good; nor does the word, negative necessarily mean something bad.
Positive means to add a consequence, and negative means to take something away or withhold a consequence.
In order to fully understand consequences, we need to consider whether that consequence is "reinforcement" or "punishment."
By definition, reinforcement refers to a consequence that serves to increase the likelihood a behavior will be repeated.
Punishment is a term that refers to a consequence that results in a decrease in behavior.
Putting these terms together, we have four basic possibilities for consequences in training or modifying behavior. These four options are often depicted as a square divided into four small squares of equal size. Hence. the term, "four quadrants."
1. Positive reinforcement - adding something, such as food, attention, or praise that increases the likelihood of the behavior it follows being repeated.
2. Positive punishment - this refers to adding something that stops an unwanted behavior, e.g., shock or some other form of "correction." There are numerous problems with this, but that is beyond the scope of this post.
3. Negative reinforcement - this involves the removal (negative) of something to cause a behavior to increase (the behavior is reinforced through the removal of something unpleasant), e.g., the cessation of shock. Another example would be taking Tylenol for a headache. If it works to relieve the pain, you're likely to take it the next time you have a headache.
2. Negative punishment- removing something that results in a behavior stopping.
Notice I say the result is the behavior stops. If a behavior does not stop (or increase) as a result of the consequence, then we cannot accurately refer to the consequence as reinforcement or punishment. Individual animals determine what is reinforcing or punishing to them. Some dogs do not like to be petted, so petting is not reinforcing to them. It can actually be punishment!
Similarly, if a dog doesn't like the treats I'm using, and it has happened, with my own dogs and others,' then those treats are not reinforcing!
An example of negative punishment is removing my attention from a dog who jumps on me. If I consistently avoid reinforcing the dog who jumps on me by removing my attention, the dog will stop jumping. The humane thing to do here is to teach the dog an alternative behavior to get the attention he wants, and that is usually sit or stand.
So, with that background, what is "balanced training?" What is a "balanced trainer?"
Balanced trainers boast of their use of all "four quadrants" in training as if that were a better or more complete way to train. It is not. There is nothing in behavior science that suggests all four quadrants of the operant conditioning model need to be used in a "balanced' way. All four quadrants don't even need to be used! This is a theoretical model, not a rule book.
Animal trainers, including but not limited to dog trainers, who ascribe to the full scope of behavior science-based training methods use primarily positive reinforcement, but they also use negative punishment, e.g. when withdrawing attention from a biting or jumping puppy. But there's so much more!
While animal training has traditionally relied heavily on behaviorism and operant conditioning to train animals, good trainers also incorporate concepts from cognitive and social learning science.
Even within the field of behaviorism, there is so much information beyond the infamous "four quadrants" to apply to dog training.
It is a principle in the medical and animal training communities to use the least intrusive, least aversive, least inhibitive interventions to achieve the most functionally effective outcome.
There are probably other descriptors that could be added, but the overarching goal is to use non-aversive means to train and modify behavior in dogs and other animals. The reason is that this is the evidence-based (scientifically-proven) best way to train!
The Humane Hierarchy (https://www.ccpdt.org/.../Hierarchy-of-Behavior-Change...) has been adopted by leading dog training organizations as a basic guideline for starting with the least intrusive interventions.
Again, this is a model. Trainers in the best practice (practices shown by evidence to result in the best, least harmful outcomes) rarely, if ever, get to the positive punishment option.
It has been my experience that I never have had to use positive punishment or negative reinforcement to train a dog or modify behavior, particularly since graduating from the Karen Pryor Academy. It just isn't necessary if you have an adequate knowledge and skill base.
I will admit that, before I became a professional dog trainer, I tried various aversive methods to get a struggling rabbit away from my German Shepherd, including spraying water at her with a hose. Nothing worked until I went into the house and took a steak out of the freezer to give her in exchange. Unfortunately, for the rabbit, it was too late.
The four quadrants, positive reinforcement, positive punishment, negative reinforcement, and negative punishment, were never meant to be used in any sort of "balanced" way. The graphical representation of these quadrants as four squares of equal size is simply a way to depict these basic concepts in relation to one another.
Don't be deceived! Balanced tires are good, a balanced diet is good, work/life balance is good, but "balanced" dog training is misleading and is NOT good!
© 2026 Cindy Ludwig, M.A., B.S., R.N., KPA-CTP, CPDT-KA
Owner, Canine Connection LLC Willard, Missouri USA
