However, when the dog eventually became quiet, the owner said nothing to the dog to reinforce the dog remaining quiet. The dog is often times whining and restless. For the majority of the time, the dog is completely ignoring its owner's nagging negative comments. Yet, after the dog eventually calms down on its own, instead of taking the opportunity to reinforce the calmness, the owner says or does nothing. The result in the cited examples is the dog receiving attention for negative behavior and no attention for desired behavior.
Negative behavior is reinforced and positive behavior is ignored.
As a result, the negative behavior is inadvertently encouraged. Dog owners should realize that they must appreciate and encourage good behavior by acknowledging it through praise. Only then will correcting inappropriate behavior have any meaning to your dog. When you think about it, most of the time your dog is well behaved. It is important to reinforce desired behavior with praise.