Training dogs using positive, no-force methods requires planning and careful thought.

Operant conditioning includes the positive reinforcement of a desired response or behavior, and withholding reinforcement for an undesired response/behavior.

A phenomenon to be aware of is an extinction burst, and novice dog handlers should plan for its occurrence and be prepared to deal with it.

In people, if someone gets a soda out of a vending machine every day, he is accustomed to a reward (the soda) when he presses a button. If one day he presses that same button, but no soda appears, he will press the button again, and then again. If the soda still does not make an appearance, the button is pushed harder and with greater frequency — this is the extinction burst — before he finally walks away in disgust.

An extinction burst is the increase or repetition of a behavior that was at one time, but no longer, strongly reinforced.

Sometimes the extinction of a behavior is the desired goal — a dog jumping up on the sliding glass door to gain access to the house is a good example. But the extinction of a desired behavior — a dog going down on cue, perhaps — can be frustrating and should be avoided.

An extinction burst should be expected when extinguishing an undesired behavior from a dog's repertoire. If a client wishes to stop her dog from jumping on the sliding door to gain entrance into the house, I usually will start by recommending the behavior be ignored, rather than directly addressed or punished.

To be effective, care should be taken to emphasize the desired behavior — not jumping up on the door — by frequently opening the slider and allowing the dog access to the house when he is not jumping.

The criteria can be raised further by catching the dog in the act of sitting at the slider and rewarding that behavior by immediately opening the door.

What the client needs to be prepared for, however, is the inevitable increase in the jumping on the slider before the eventual absence of the behavior altogether. Clients not informed of this process will incorrectly conclude that the practice of ignoring the undesirable jumping and rewarding the standing or sitting at the door "does not work."

The unintentional extinguishing of a desired behavior is equally frustrating for the novice dog handler. I am constantly reminding my clients to continue to acknowledge, or "reward," desirable behavior in their dog, even once it becomes routine.

The danger of taking what they consider "good" behavior in the dog for granted is that unreinforced behavior tends to fade.

Lisa Moore is a pet-behavior specialist in Modesto, Calif. Questions can be submitted in care of LifeStyles, The Modesto Bee, P.O. Box 5256, Modesto, CA 95352.