Should You Ignore Your Dog’s Mistakes? The Truth About No Reward Markers

Do “no reward markers” really work? photo: AdobeStock

As any good trainer knows, a pup’s mental and emotional health is equally as important as his or her physical state. When training, it is vital to understand whether the dog is actually enjoying training. Just like humans, a dog who isn’t engaged in the process is much less likely to learn and retain the information provided. 

One of the most controversial training issues today is the use of the No Reward Marker (NRM). A NRM is typically a word or sound that tells your dog that whatever they just did is a mistake and that now there is no possibility of positive reinforcement, such as a treat. NRMs are supposed to be delivered in a neutral tone without disapproval. In short, they mark the moment of a dog’s error, rather than simply ignoring the error. 

Some well known trainers, such as Jean Donaldson and Victoria Stillwell, make use of the NRM method while others, such as Ken Ramirez and Denise Fenzi, do not. Both camps have raised good points, and I myself have used NRM in the past. But I pride myself on using training techniques that are proved by data, rather than opinion. Rather than risk subjective interpretation, I looked at the science. Here’s what I found. 

Research shows successful training depends on marking the behavior the second it happens. This is fairly easy with positive reinforcement, but are you confident that you can mark every error at the exact moment it happens? If not, the dog may end up confused. Moreover, the dog might not understand what the right behavior is or how to do the right thing instead. All of these factors are elemental in successful learning, humans and dogs included. 

Further, a very sensitive dog may experience emotional harm with NRM. I have personally known dogs who understand and respond well to the use of the NRM, but I’ve also known dogs who are so sensitive that the lack of reinforcement causes them to lose motivation and shut down. 

Dogs are also sensitive to our emotional state in training. Can you promise that your emotion will not play into the type of marker used? We get excited when our dogs succeed, which is great because all animals are motivated by the positive reinforcement of a happy response. But an unhappy response can have an equal impact. Can you promise that you can always deliver the NRM in a neutral manner? Also, how do you know that your dog is not simply noise sensitive or confused by your gestures with NRM?

A 2015 study by Naomi Rotenberg showed that dogs trained with the NRM method were significantly less successful at providing correct behaviors than dogs whose mistakes were ignored (abbreviated as IG). Rotenberg Study What is also interesting about this result is that both the IG and the NRM groups showed equal stress behaviors in the learning process. This suggests that the novelty of the training itself elicited a bit of stress, which could be seen in the dog’s body language. When Rotenberg subsequently removed stress behaviors from the equation, the dogs whose mistakes were ignored still performed more successfully and in less time than the dogs who were trained with the NRM method. Of course, further studies are needed to understand exactly why both groups experienced and displayed equal stress initially, but the use of the NRM clearly lessened the likelihood of the dog learning the task. 

So, if you want your pup to learn with the most ease and comfort, do not acknowledge unwanted behaviors with any sort of body language or verbal communication. Simply ignore the unwanted behavior and give the pup a huge celebration when successful. In other words, cut out the counterproductive middleman. 

This rule of thumb goes for any and all unwanted behaviors. Any sort of negative response on your part may potentially confuse and upset your dog, undermining your positive training. Even if you are not in a formal training moment, but, for example, you want your pup to stop jumping on the friend on the street, the same holds true. Use your positive reinforcement techniques to stop the jumping. 

Teaching your pup what you do and don’t want is a complex process involving many different factors. But on the subject of NRM, my research has convinced me that this technique actually impedes the learning process, making it more difficult for dogs to learn. If you’re wondering whether to let your dog know he failed versus ignoring his mistakes, simply ignoring his errors will be more successful. 

So that’s the lowdown on No Reward Markers. Even as a previous NRM user myself, I’m now fully converted to the ignoring camp. For the health and well being of your pup, I hope you are, too.