Most people don’t want to learn too much about the science of training when they take a beginners agility class – they just want to run around and have fun with the obstacles. A good instructor will distil their knowledge down into easy training “recipes” to teach each skill – easy steps for you to follow which will get your dog performing the obstacles without hurting your brain too much.
As with cooking though, recipes will only get you so far. If you want to progress, eventually you will need to understand the basic concepts of dog training. One of these fundamental ideas is “operant conditioning” – the use of reinforcement and punishment to change the dog’s behaviour.
