Glossary
What is differential reinforcement in dog training?
Telling a dog what not to do leaves a gap. The dog still wants the greeting, the attention, the chance at the door, and will fill the gap with its own idea. Differential reinforcement fills it with a behaviour that works for everyone. Here is what the term means, one front-door example, and where it fits in how we train.
Last reviewed October 4, 2026
What it means
Pay the behaviour you want, not the one you have.
The word differential just means some behaviours get paid and others do not. Trainers often split it into kinds. Paying an alternative behaviour (DRA), such as four paws on the floor when a guest arrives. Paying an incompatible behaviour (DRI), one the dog physically cannot do at the same time as the problem, like sitting instead of jumping. In both cases the unwanted behaviour is managed so it stops earning, and the replacement earns more.
Take a dog who rushes the front door whenever the bell rings. First, safety: before any door practice, the dog is on a leash held by an adult or behind a gate, so a rush cannot reach the street. Teach place on a mat a few steps from the door. Then ring the bell, cue place, and mark and reward the dog for staying there. Rushing earns nothing, because the leash or gate stops it, and the mat earns everything.
- Unwanted behaviour stops earning
- Replacement behaviour earns more
- Incompatible beats merely alternative
- Management prevents rehearsal meanwhile
Our approach
Where replacement behaviours sit in our training, and what goes wrong.
This is close to the centre of how we teach. Skills are built with markers and rewards first, and place, sit and a loose leash become the default answers to situations that used to go sideways. Tools are matched to the individual dog and introduced properly, but they support the replacement rather than stand in for it. In our board and train programs and private sessions, owners are taught the replacement behaviour too, so the household knows what to pay.
The most frequent mistake is choosing a replacement the dog cannot yet do under real pressure: asking for place at the door before place holds in a quiet room. Another is forgetting to stop paying the old behaviour, so a jump still earns a pat now and then. A third is skipping management, letting the problem keep rehearsing between practice sessions. If the problem behaviour involves fear or aggression, a professional assessment comes before any replacement plan.
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
What is an example of differential reinforcement in dog training?
Rewarding a dog for sitting when a visitor walks in, while jumping earns no attention, is the textbook case. The sit and the jump cannot happen at once, so paying one crowds out the other.
What is the difference between DRA and DRI?
DRA pays any acceptable alternative behaviour, such as sniffing the floor instead of barking at the window. DRI pays a behaviour that is physically incompatible with the problem, like a down instead of jumping. DRI tends to be the tidier choice when one exists.
Is differential reinforcement the same as ignoring bad behaviour?
No. Ignoring alone removes the payoff but leaves the dog guessing, and the behaviour may temporarily increase. Differential reinforcement adds a clear, well-paid alternative at the same time.
Can differential reinforcement help a reactive dog?
It can be part of a plan, for example paying a dog for looking back to you. Reactivity and aggression need management and a professional assessment first, and the dog should never be brought closer to the trigger to practise.
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