Couldn't have said it better myself, Cindy!
Yes, "reinforcement" is correct, as counter-intuitive as that seems. I would much prefer re-enforcement, but I'm not Webster.
Positive reinforcement is coming to the forefront now (this last 40 or 50 years) because the science of animal behavior is starting to be taken seriously. The idea that animals' and humans' behavior followed sets of relatively simple rules dictated by genetics and environment--and that these rules were worth studying and understanding--was pretty appalling to the scientific community for a long time. Folks like Pavlov and B.F. Skinner were instrumental in bringing behavioral science into the realm of serious study. More recently, as the field has really taken off, people like Dr. Marc Bekoff and trainers like Monty Roberts and Karen Pryor have helped spread the science through popular culture. There aren't a lot of people who haven't at least heard of "The Horse Whisperer" or "positive reinforcement" or "clicker training". Behavioral science is in a renaissance that was sorely needed by animals around the world. Clicker training is hip and it's just getting hipper. Everyone--from school teachers to zoo keepers--is getting into positive reinforcement as a science and finding incredible results that they just can't get using traditional intimidation and force techniques. It's an exciting time to be a trainer!
I remember my aunt telling me that, "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." I think that statement has a lot more value than we know. It's true that you can teach a dog using punishment and cruelty; people have been doing it for thousands of years. But if you have the choice between your dog doing what you ask because he's afraid not to and your dog doing what you ask because he trusts and admires you, which would you pick? You can bet that a dog trained with positive reinforcement will be quicker and happier to respond in new situations in a way you like. If you terrorize him into doing what you like, he will be a lot more hesitant to do anything at all for fear that it will be wrong. If you had two trainers in front of you, and one had a whip and the other had a popsicle, who would you rather work with? And here's the clincher--
you get a better result with the popsicle!! I personally have a lot more respect for someone who's willing to work with me and answer my questions than I do for someone who's snappy and barks orders.
All behavioral side-effects and emotional damage aside, I don't swat or yell at my dogs because I wouldn't want to be swatted or yelled at. There is a better way to communicate with them. By using positive reinforcement and keeping abreast of the developments in the field of behavioral science, I show my dogs (and cats, and boyfriend, and mother, and employees...) that I respect them and value their thoughts, feelings, and opinions. I respect their right to choose and encourage them to choose correctly, and if a mistake is made I will do everything in my power to correct it and help them to understand why it was a mistake and how to avoid such a result in the future. It is not necessary or even desirable to rule your dog with an iron fist. There is no need to live in an adverserial relationship with your dog. It is easier, more effective, and healthier to develop a relationship based on trust, consistent guidelines, friendship, and respect. You aren't your dog's ruler, you are his leader. Rulers may be resented and rebelled against. A good leader is respected and admired.
There is nothing like a warm house full of good dogs. When you understand each other on both emotional and scientific levels, the utter insanity that our dogs are capable of inflicting on us just melts away. I would trust my dogs with my life, because I know they would do the same. And although they still do things I don't like, I understand why they do them and have learned over the years what is really important and what isn't. I get angry with them sometimes, but because we know each other so well there is no yelling or physical attacks in our house. In striving to understand dog behavior out of a desire to train them, you come to realize that, for all their human qualities, dogs are dogs. I think back on all the things my dogs have done and never once were they being anything but dogs. And dogs are intelligent, beautiful, comical, irritating animals.
