What Is the Best Way to Train a Dog? Positive Reinforcement, Corrections & E-Collars Explained

Should you use treats to train your dog?

Will your dog only listen when you have food?

Should you correct your dog when they don’t listen?

Can you use corrections and still have a happy, confident dog?

And what about e-collars?

With so many different opinions about dog training, it’s easy to become confused.

Most dog owners aren’t trying to win an obedience competition.

You just want a happy dog that listens when it matters.

So how do you get both?

Should You Use Treats to Train Your Dog?

Yes—but how you use them matters.

At Breyers Canine Academy, we use positive reinforcement to build motivation, engagement and confidence.

One of the ways we do this is through shaping, where the dog is given an opportunity to discover the desired behavior rather than simply being told or physically directed into it.

Why is the discovery part so important?

Because we don’t just want the dog to get the reward. We want them excited about figuring out how to earn it.

Let’s say we’re teaching a dog to Sit on a mat.

We have something the dog wants, such as food, but we don’t immediately show them the answer.

The dog starts searching.

They think.

They experiment.

They offer different behaviors.

And they begin anticipating:

“What can I do to earn that reward?”

That anticipation and pursuit of a reward involve the brain’s dopamine system. Part of what makes the process motivating isn’t simply receiving the food—it’s the pursuit and discovery that lead to it.

Then the dog discovers the answer.

They Sit on the mat.

Reward.

Through repetition, we’re pairing that rewarding learning experience with the behavior itself.

That’s what we’re trying to create:

A dog that doesn’t just know how to perform the behavior—a dog that’s motivated and excited to perform it.

Once the dog confidently understands the behavior, we can put a name to it.

Now when the dog hears “Sit,” we’re putting a command onto a behavior that already has a history of discovery, anticipation and reward behind it.

We don’t just want the dog to know the behavior. We want the dog to feel good about doing it.

But Won’t My Dog Always Need Treats?

That’s one of the biggest concerns owners have about positive reinforcement.

And it’s why we don’t keep the reward system the same forever.

Early in training, rewards are frequent because we’re building motivation and teaching behaviors.

As the dog’s understanding and reliability increase, food eventually becomes intermittent.

But we don’t simply take the treats away.

First, we teach the dog that listening also comes with an expectation.

When Is It Fair to Correct a Dog?

Before introducing a correction, we ask an important question:

Does the dog clearly understand how to perform the behavior?

At Breyers Canine Academy, the behavior comes first.

The pressure comes later.

Only after a dog clearly understands a behavior do we introduce leash pressure.

During that introduction, the pressure is light enough that it does not cause discomfort.

We’re not correcting the dog.

We’re giving them information.

Think about a mom holding her young child’s hand while they’re walking.

She can use a gentle movement of her hand to communicate:

“Come this way.”

She’s not trying to make the child’s hand uncomfortable. She’s simply using touch to provide direction.

That’s how we initially want the dog to understand leash pressure.

Using Sit as an example, the dog already knows how to Sit. We can now pair that known behavior with gentle directional leash pressure.

The dog Sits.

The pressure disappears.

Reward.

Through repetition, the dog learns what that new communication means.

Only after the dog clearly understands both the behavior and the leash communication do we begin using leash pressure for accountability.

First teach the behavior. Then teach the communication. Then build accountability.

How Does a Dog Learn to Listen the First Time?

Once the dog understands both the behavior and the communication, the expectation can gradually increase.

Initially, the dog learns:

Listen the first time. Avoid the correction. Earn the reward.

If the dog knowingly doesn’t respond and a correction is required, the dog still performs the known behavior, but doesn’t earn the food reward for that repetition.

Once the dog has developed a strong history of responding successfully, the expectation increases again:

Listen the first time and avoid corrections if you want to keep playing the game.

If the dog knowingly ignores a command and requires a correction, the training game can end and the dog is put up.

They’ve lost access to both the reward and the opportunity to continue playing.

This is an important part of our methodology.

We don’t jump from teaching a behavior directly into high expectations. Accountability is gradually introduced after understanding, confidence and repetition have been established.

How Do You Eventually Stop Depending on Treats?

Eventually, something becomes more valuable than the treat:

Freedom.

Freedom to explore.

Freedom to enjoy a walk.

Freedom to stay out with the family.

Freedom to be around guests.

As the dog becomes more reliable, food rewards become intermittent.

Sometimes there’s a treat.

Sometimes there isn’t.

But making good choices allows the dog to maintain access to the things they enjoy.

The progression looks like this:

Discover the behavior → earn the reward.

Listen the first time and avoid the correction → earn the reward.

Listen the first time and avoid corrections → continue the game.

Listen the first time and avoid corrections → maintain freedom, while food rewards become intermittent.

Eventually, good behavior earns something bigger than a treat—it earns freedom.

Why Does Breyers Canine Academy Use E-Collars?

If your dog already understands commands and has been trained with a leash, you might wonder:

Why use an e-collar at all?

At Breyers Canine Academy, we use e-collars when appropriate for three primary reasons:

Efficiency. Timing. And helping bridge the gap between on-leash and off-leash behavior.

Dogs can sometimes become dependent on the physical information they receive through a leash.

They perform while physically connected to the handler—but what happens when the leash comes off?

An e-collar gives us another way to communicate without physically guiding the dog through a leash.

It also allows communication to occur at the appropriate moment when a dog is working farther away from the handler.

This helps bridge the gap:

On-leash understanding → communication without leash guidance → off-leash reliability.

The goal isn’t to replace the leash with an e-collar. It’s to teach the dog that the behavior still applies when the leash is gone.

How Does Breyers Canine Academy Introduce an E-Collar?

This is where people often imagine a dog immediately receiving an uncomfortable correction.

That’s not how we introduce it.

At Breyers Canine Academy, when an e-collar is appropriate, we begin at a level so low that the sensation does not cause discomfort.

In fact, the sensation can be so subtle that initially the dog may not even appear aware of it.

We pair that very low-level sensation with an opportunity to earn a reward.

Through repetition, the dog gradually becomes more aware of the sensation because it consistently predicts something meaningful:

There’s an opportunity to earn a reward.

Now the sensation begins to have meaning.

We want the dog’s early understanding to become:

“That sensation is information. Pay attention—there’s an opportunity to win.”

Once the dog recognizes the sensation, we begin pairing it with behaviors the dog already understands.

We’re not using the e-collar to teach an unfamiliar behavior.

And we’re not ready for accountability simply because the dog can feel the stimulation.

Before progressing, we want to see that the dog:

Clearly understands the communication, knows how to respond to it, and is happy and confident while doing so.

Only then do we begin using the e-collar for accountability.

When Does the E-Collar Become a Correction?

Only after understanding and confidence have been established.

Because the dog has already learned the accountability system, we’re not creating an entirely new set of rules.

The communication tool changes.

The rules don’t.

The progression becomes:

Listen the first time → avoid the e-collar correction → earn the reward.

Then:

Listen the first time → avoid corrections → continue playing the game.

And eventually:

Listen the first time → avoid corrections → maintain freedom, while rewards become intermittent.

The e-collar begins as information.

Only after the dog understands that information and responds happily and confidently does it become part of accountability.

Understanding first. Accountability second.

Will My Dog Only Listen When the E-Collar Is On?

No.

We don’t want to replace dependence on treats with dependence on an e-collar.

The e-collar isn’t supposed to be the final destination either.

As a dog develops a strong history of listening the first time and making appropriate choices, corrections should become less necessary.

We don’t remove the e-collar because the dog had one good day.

We want to see a history of reliable behavior.

Then we begin giving the dog opportunities to demonstrate that same reliability without depending on the e-collar.

So can a dog maintain these behaviors when the e-collar is no longer there?

Yes.

That’s the purpose of the progression.

By the time we begin removing the e-collar, the dog has already built a history of understanding the behaviors, listening the first time and making appropriate choices.

The goal isn’t a dog that behaves because the e-collar is on. The goal is a dog that has learned how to behave whether the e-collar is there or not.