R+ dog training is shorthand for positive reinforcement training, a method where you reward your dog for doing something right rather than correcting them for doing something wrong. The “R” stands for reinforcement and the “+” (positive) means you’re adding something the dog enjoys, like a treat or a toy, the moment they perform the behavior you want. It’s the approach recommended by the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, which states there is no role for aversive methods in dog training or behavior modification, including with aggressive dogs.
How Positive Reinforcement Works
R+ is rooted in a concept from behavioral science called operant conditioning, which describes four ways a consequence can shape behavior. Two dimensions are at play: whether you add or remove something, and whether the behavior becomes more or less frequent as a result. Those two dimensions create four quadrants.
- Positive reinforcement (R+): You add something the dog likes (a treat, praise, play) to make a behavior happen more often.
- Negative reinforcement: You remove something unpleasant to make a behavior happen more often, like releasing leash pressure when the dog walks beside you.
- Positive punishment: You add something the dog dislikes (a leash correction, a loud noise) to make a behavior happen less often.
- Negative punishment: You remove something the dog likes (turning away, ending play) to make a behavior happen less often.
In this framework, “positive” and “negative” don’t mean good and bad. They mean adding or subtracting. R+ trainers focus primarily on the first quadrant, rewarding wanted behaviors, and occasionally use negative punishment (withdrawing attention or treats) to discourage unwanted ones. They avoid tools and techniques designed to cause pain, fear, or intimidation.
The Marker Signal: Why Timing Matters
One of the most important pieces of R+ training is a marker signal, a short, distinct sound that tells the dog “that exact thing you just did is what earned you a reward.” This is often a clicker (a small plastic device that makes a consistent clicking sound) or a short word like “yes” or “yep.”
The marker needs to happen at the precise moment the dog performs the behavior. Reaching into a treat bag is too slow and too vague for the dog to connect to what they did right. The marker acts as a bridge between the behavior and the reward, buying you a couple of seconds to deliver the treat. Ideally, the reward follows within 2 to 3 seconds of the marker. Every marker must be followed by a reward. If you click but don’t deliver, the dog stops trusting that the sound means anything, and the association breaks down.
Luring vs. Bribing
A common early technique in R+ is luring: using a treat to physically guide the dog into position. To teach a sit, for example, you move a treat over and behind the dog’s head so they naturally rock back into a sitting position. The treat led them there, and they get it once they sit. This is different from bribing, where you show the dog the treat before giving a cue for a behavior they already know. A dog who only responds when they see food first has learned to wait for the bribe, not to respond to your cue.
The goal with luring is to fade it quickly. After a few successful repetitions, you switch to a hand signal (the same motion, just without food in your hand) and deliver the treat from your pocket or a pouch after the dog performs the behavior. Over time, you add a verbal cue, and the lure disappears entirely.
Reinforcement Schedules: When to Reward
When your dog is learning something new, you reward every single correct repetition. This is called a continuous schedule, and it makes the connection between behavior and reward crystal clear. A dog learning “down” for the first time needs to be rewarded every time they lie down on cue.
Once the dog understands the behavior reliably, you shift to an intermittent schedule, rewarding some repetitions but not all. Dogs actually maintain behaviors longer under intermittent reinforcement because the unpredictability keeps them engaged. Think of it like a slot machine: the occasional payoff is more motivating than a guaranteed one. The key is that the transition happens gradually. If you stop rewarding too abruptly, the behavior can fall apart.
Building Reliability With the Three Ds
A dog who sits perfectly in your kitchen won’t necessarily sit at the park. Dogs don’t generalize well, so R+ trainers use a framework called the Three Ds to systematically raise the difficulty: duration, distance, and distraction.
Duration is how long the dog holds a behavior. If you’re teaching a stay, you start at one second and build from there, adding time gradually. You can also reward during the behavior itself, popping a small treat every 20 seconds during a long stay to keep the dog engaged.
Distance is how far away you are when the dog performs the behavior. A dog who sits reliably with you standing right in front of them may struggle when you’re across the room. You increase distance in small increments, starting in front of the dog and eventually moving to their side, behind them, and eventually out of the room.
Distraction is everything else going on around the dog. A quiet living room is easy. A park full of squirrels and other dogs is hard. You introduce distractions slowly, starting with mild ones at a distance and working closer over time.
The critical rule is to work on only one D at a time. When you increase distance, drop your duration back to one second and keep distractions minimal. When you start adding distractions, keep yourself close and the duration short. Combining all three before the dog is ready is a recipe for failure. Only after the dog has mastered each D individually do you begin layering them together.
What the Research Shows
A study of 92 companion dogs compared those trained at reward-based schools with those trained at schools using varying levels of aversive methods (corrections, leash jerks, and similar techniques). Dogs in the reward group reached learning benchmarks in about 25 trials on average, while dogs in the aversive groups needed 29 to 30 trials. The difference was statistically meaningful, though the study authors noted that the broader scientific literature on efficacy is still mixed, with some studies finding no difference and most favoring reward-based approaches.
What the research is more consistent about is welfare. The same study found elevated stress indicators in dogs trained with aversive methods during training sessions, while dogs in the reward group showed lower signs of stress. On non-training days, stress hormone levels were similar across all groups, suggesting the training itself was the source of the difference. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior’s position statement highlights that aversive methods can cause stress and that reward-based training better promotes the bond between dog and owner.
Basic Tools for Getting Started
R+ training doesn’t require much equipment. A clicker or a consistent marker word, a treat pouch that keeps rewards accessible, and a variety of treats are the essentials. High-value rewards (soft, smelly treats like small pieces of cheese or cooked chicken) work best for new or difficult behaviors. Lower-value rewards (regular kibble or dry training treats) are fine for well-established behaviors in low-distraction settings.
Beyond food, rewards can include anything your dog finds motivating: a tug game, a thrown ball, access to a sniffing spot on a walk, or praise. The reward needs to matter to the dog, not to you. Some dogs will work enthusiastically for a piece of carrot. Others need something far more enticing when the environment gets challenging. Knowing what your dog values most, and saving those rewards for the hardest tasks, gives you a powerful training advantage.