Operant Conditioning is a useful psychological tool that dog trainers keep in their tool belt. It's not only a way dogs can learn but also a way every thing on this planet learns. You do a good job at work and you get a promotion = Positive Reinforcement You fail to buckle your seatbelt and your car dings at you until you do = Negative Reinforcement You get in a fight at school as a kid you might get a whooping = Positive Punishment You get poor grades on a test and you're grounded for it = Negative Punishment The terms "Positive" and "Negative" don't mean good "Good" or "Bad." What they do mean, is to add something to the equation or to take something from the equation. For dogs, Positive reinforcement can be food, toys, or a good boy or good girl and some pets. Negative reinforcement can be leash pressure when teaching the accountability for a sit, e-collar pressure for the same. Positive Punishment can be a leash correction for lunging, a loud "HEY!" with a clap for catching them in the middle of counter surfing, or a e-collar vibration for being aggressive toward dogs or humans. Negative Punishment can be removing yourself or someone else from the environment if you're working on improving your dog's impulse control and a down/sit stay. It can be removing a toy if they leave or wont do a behavior, or it can be removing your hands from playing with a puppy if the puppy decides your hands are more fun than the toy.