What should you do immediately after the dog sits?

What should you do immediately after the dog sits?

• A. Ignore when the dog sits.
• B. Praise when he sits.
• C. Move to another activity.
• D. Stop training.

Answer: (B)

Immediate positive reinforcement is what solidifies a desired behavior. When the dog sits, praising him right away tells him that the sit earned a happy, rewarding response, so he’s more likely to repeat it. The timing is crucial: the praise should come within a second or two of the sit so the dog makes a clear link between the action and the reward. If you ignore the sit, there’s no positive signal guiding him to repeat it. Moving to another activity too soon can interrupt the reinforcement window, weakening the association. Stopping training ends practice and slows progress. So praising when he sits strengthens the behavior and makes it more likely to recur.

Immediate positive reinforcement is what solidifies a desired behavior. When the dog sits, praising him right away tells him that the sit earned a happy, rewarding response, so he’s more likely to repeat it. The timing is crucial: the praise should come within a second or two of the sit so the dog makes a clear link between the action and the reward. If you ignore the sit, there’s no positive signal guiding him to repeat it. Moving to another activity too soon can interrupt the reinforcement window, weakening the association. Stopping training ends practice and slows progress. So praising when he sits strengthens the behavior and makes it more likely to recur.