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Intermittent Reinforcement
The term intermittent reinforcement refers to reinforcing the response or responses targeted for change, only some of the time. As opposed to reinforcing the targeted response every time it occurs, without exception, as is done when continuous reinforcement is employed.
When you are teaching your dog to do something new, he will acquire the new response more quickly if you reinforce the new behavior continuously than he will if you reinforce him for making the new response only intermittently.
Intermittent reinforcement is considered to be a schedule of reinforcement.