Let's start by being sure of what we are talking about.
When a dog's behavior is reinforced, it is likely to happen more. What is reinforcing is determined by the dog himself. Reinforcers can be provided by another individual (a dog X responding to a call to play, for instance, encourages Y to reproduce his call to play) or be found in the environment itself (the ball sliding down the slope encourages Doggy to put it back up to be able to pursue it again).
In learning, it is possible to have a behavior reinforced positively or negatively. It is mathematical and not qualitative, which means that we add or remove an element.
Dogs emotional state is the level at which their emotion is risen. An emotion is a physiological reaction (therefore of the body), of short duration, spontaneous, involuntary, in the face of a stimulus.
The six primary emotions are found in dogs : disgust 🤢, sadness😭, joy 😁, surprise 😳, anger 😡 and fear 😱.
Doggy's emotional state can be characterized by his emotion coupled with the physical energy deployed when he expresses this emotion.
Reinforcing positively is the essence of the "positive" movement.
Yet more and more - and my dogness how delighted I am ! - the emotional state of the dog matters. Indeed, adding an element (remember, it's mathematical) to encourage the repetition of a behavior does not mean your dog is emotionally comfortable (as for the quality).
Positive reinforcement and negative emotional state
Let’s consider the example of the dog who is asked to sit or stare at his human when something puts him in a negative emotional state. Depending on the element, your dog may then prefer to opt for flight ; however, by ordering him to sit down, we take away this option, and do not treat the underlying emotion. If he sits, he receives a reinforcer (a pet, a treat, or something else) ; it is positive reinforcement if he is motivated to sit down again when cued to.
Let’s consider the example of ear care. You touch your dog's ear, then give him a treat. He maintains the position because he likes his treats very much. If the addition of those elements motivates him to repeat the behavior of not moving while you take care of it, you have positively reinforced it. However, it may also be that he moved his body in many directions, went into hiding and you called him back, held part of his body back, or took other postures indicating that he does not consent to being handled at all. You have practiced positive reinforcement with a dog in a negative emotional state. Aside : for care, sometimes the choice is not left to the carer depending to the need.
Negative reinforcement and positive emotional state
Let's consider the example of the game "tag". I renamed it "playing dog". Some of my students may have issues cohabiting with children. Most of those latter ones know that game for practicing it in the playground. To create a serene environment for Doggy, I sometimes suggest playing this game. As much as possible, it is preferable to initiate him first with beings with whom he feels most comfortable. The goal is to designate a place where it is no longer possible to reach Doggy ; this location is most often a place that he himself appreciates and where he does feel comfortable. This place becomes his refuge, as in the game. As the dog is invited to play, or the exercise is practiced during a game, he is in positive emotion (qualitatively). Once he reaches the designated place, everyone stops trying to go towards him. This teaches him that if he needs or wants breaks from certain individuals, his behavior of going to that location is reinforced by their removal from the interaction ; we are therefore reinforcing it negatively. If the game was taught with pleasure, Doggy will still be in positive or neutral emotion.
Rather than focusing solely on the reinforcement perceived by the dog, I consider it matters to ensure that a positive emotion is maintained in him.
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