Oy, Enough with the Treats Already!
Oy, Enough with the Treats Already!
Go to any training facility, watch any YouTube video, or read any article on teaching a dog to do any task; and each step in the process will most likely end with “….and then give the dog a treat.”
Treats are wonderful, most dogs love them, and, they can be an effective form of rewarding behavior. But, using only one form of reward is not very creative, nor does it put you into the mindset of your dog. I have taught dogs for decades to perform tasks from competitive obedience to hunting to agility to Shutzhund to parlor tricks, and there is one fact I have come to realize: Treats are not the end all and be all of telling a dog he did well.
Every dog is as different in individual personalities as we humans are. That means each dog has individual likes and dislikes, their own set of personal priorities. That is not to say they may have similar behaviors or interests in common with other dogs, but dogs are not the cookie cutter images we have come to assume. Yep, just like us, dogs are as different as snowflakes. I have also learned from my experience that dogs even have different learning styles just like we do - some dogs learn by watching (visual learners), some learn by doing (tactile learners), some are astute listeners (audio learners). For more on this, I cover the learning styles of dogs in another blog post as it deserves it’s own recognition and merit. For now, know that choosing the reward that resonates or connects most strongly with your dog can impact his or her learning and give you much more satisfying results.
So how do you chose the most effective reward to enhance your dog’s learning?
Ask yourself one question: What does my dog absolutely love most, more than anything else?
For some dogs it will be play, and they’ll have one or more favorite games to play like fetch or tug-o-war. They may have a favorite toy.
There are four basic rewards dogs enjoy:
Treats
Toys and play
Praise
Physical affection
They are not necessarily in that order. Each dog has their own order of priority.
*Tip to know: The reward your dog enjoys the most is a signal to his learning style which can be really useful to know. Remember that for the Learning Styles blog!
Try each of the four rewards with your dog at random times, both during times you are training and with casual everyday happenings. Your dog will tell you which reward he values the most. For example, when you come home from work or running an errand, what’s the first thing your dog does after greeting you? Does he grab a toy and want to play? Does he sit perfectly as you’ve taught him with ears up and eyes on you waiting for his treat? Does he rub up against you, either saying his hello or leaning into you, maybe bumping your hand with his nose, hoping to be petted? Or does he follow you around with his ears perked up, maybe prancing, listening to everything you say? (If he wants a good, long sniff of your shoes or legs after his greeting, that’s a whole other topic.)
Often a dog will have more than one meaningful reward and it may be close in preferences, but there should always be a favorite. A dog that grabs a toy, loves play. Play is his first thought, his go to for excitement. If your dog is sitting perfectly, especially if you’ve used treats as a reward, either he loves treats as his number one reward or he has learned to love them most by attaching his love of time spent with you and getting treats. A dog who’s rubbing against you loves to be touched, the physical feel resonates with him and excites him. If he’s following you with his ears up, he’s an audio dog who’s attentive and listening to the inflections of your voice - Are you happy? Are you angry? Are you stressed? Are you busy and distracted? He’s hoping for a happy voice. Like his joy of seeing you, he’s hoping you’re equally happy to see him, even if you’ve only been gone five minutes.
For a moment, let’s think like a dog…. “Omg, she’s back!! I thought she’d be gone ALL day! *grab what makes him feel joyful in the heart (because that’s what he’s honestly feeling), and show it to MOM!!” Because dogs live in the moment and are just that honest.
In a short time, you should be able to rank your dogs preferences, regardless of how few or how many, in order of to 1 - 4, making the favorite #1. That is what I call the “Big Damn Deal” (BDD) reward. The BDD reward is what I give for the toughest task to teach - the task they had a hard time understanding or were most afraid to do, or the task they hated the most. For my dogs, it is the Down command they hate more than any other. Understandable as that is the command of submission without question (a whole other blog subject). Given the fact that I love high intellect performance dogs and working with them, it’s really no surprise. It’s a hurdle I’ve come to expect and get my BDD reward ready for. And by the way, I address the reasons for hurdles and difficulties in teaching a dog to perform any task in my blog, The 5 Simple Reasons for Disobedience.
I usually save treats as the reward for teaching my dogs to do tricks. Tricks are low pressure and fun, catching a treat fits in perfectly as a reward. Teaching the more serious, critical commands such as down, sit, come, heel, etc. is more intense. Most of my dogs love play time, so teasing them with a toy to chase or tug at the end of each accomplishment in learning makes it all the more exciting to learn. Sometimes I reach down and hug them up close or rough them up with a playful petting. My male lab, Will, loves being rubbed and scratched under his neck. He doesn’t ever mind getting that reward! Even then, I change it up: pets and rubs, a toy and play, showering praise, or of course, a treat. Regardless of what I’m teaching or how I teach it, I always end the session on a high choosing a task they did well on, old or new, and giving the dog a big boost of what they love: tossing a treat in the air, a boisterous Atta boy! of praise, a robust play session…. That’s my personal rule when teaching my dogs anything - give them whatever keeps them coming back happily for more. Learning should always be something to look forward to and come away from feeling successful.
Changing up rewards stops training sessions from becoming predictable, giving you more control. It keeps the dog guessing and makes the session more exciting. All of this results in a dog more eager to learn. Rewarding with only one method creates a uniform, predictable session that can lead to monotony and predictability which lowers results by creating a routine. Don’t be boring and predictable. Instead, keep your dog’s learning session on a high by escalating the elements of surprise and joy. Remember, above all else, regardless of what we call it, the goal is to teach, not train.
