It's Not Wrong, It's Just Not Right!

I've been doing some thinking about training my dogs and I had another AH HA! moment.

In clicker training, there is no wrong, there's only not right and try again. If my dog doesn't do what I'm asking, she's not wrong. She's just not right. So she willingly tries again - and again - and again and again to try and earn that C/T.

So. What does that mean?

It means the dog isn't wrong, she's just not right. Kind of like when you answer an essay question in school. If you make a mistake, it's not an automatic fail. You get partial credit. So you weren't wrong. You just weren't right.

Clicker training is exactly like that. We reward everything that's even the smallest bit right, so the dog continues to try. There is no wrong when the dog does not compete the appropriate behavior. It's just not right, so no treat. There's no punishment, which implies wrong. A lack of c/t does not imply wrong, it implies not right. And the dog has the opportunity to continue trying to get it right.

Once we take "wrong" out of the training equation, we're in much better shape to reward what is right, even partially right. Even if it's not right, it's never wrong.

Now if we could apply that to ourselves, our kids, our parents and spouses and coworkers and even strangers, life might be better.

Imagine a world where you weren't wrong, just various shades of not right. Wouldn't you be more willing to keep trying?