Rewarding
One of the biggest keys to success with positive reinforcement training is rewarding your dog properly. This means giving him something he loves at exactly the right moment.
Your first task is to figure out what kind of reward will best motivate your dog. For initial training, I highly recommend using a food treat as the reward. It’s the easiest to work with and gets the fastest results, just make sure your dog likes it.
Your first task is to figure out what kind of reward will best motivate your dog. For initial training, I highly recommend using a food treat as the reward. It’s the easiest to work with and gets the fastest results, just make sure your dog likes it.
Types of Reward
Food Treats
All dogs are unique individuals. Most dogs are motivated by food that tastes and smells good to them. Food treats can be very small, which is handy for keeping them in your pocket or a pouch to use during training. Be sure what you’re giving your dog is good for him. Instead of feeding the whole quarter-sized treat, rip it into smaller pieces. It's important to maintaining your dog’s caloric intake to healthy level.
Strong-smelling meat and cheese treats are usually winners. Many store-bought treats are made primarily of other ingredients. Your dog may not appreciate the artificial colors, tastes or smells. Small morsels of cooked chicken are a popular home-made treat. But keep in mind that what motivates other dogs may not motivate yours. Experiment and find out what he loves to eat.
Non-Edible Rewards
Some dogs aren’t motivated by food, if your dog is one of those dogs you’ll have to find something else that motivates it. You may think a couple of pats on the head are a great reward, but your dog may not. Try scratching his belly or some other form of petting. Another form of reward to consider is play. Tossing a ball, throwing a flying-disc, playing tug-of-war, or playfully chasing your dog for a few minutes. Again, experiment to find out what your dog loves!
The Best Reward
Let your dog show you what he truly loves by paying attention to how he responds. Just because it accepts a piece of kibble doesn’t necessarily mean it loves it. Watch it carefully when you’re experimenting with different rewards. If he looks away or walks away, he probably isn’t all that thrilled about what you’re offering. But if he gets excited, stays close and begs for more, he’s showing you that he loves it and will be willing to work for that reward in the future.
All dogs are unique individuals. Most dogs are motivated by food that tastes and smells good to them. Food treats can be very small, which is handy for keeping them in your pocket or a pouch to use during training. Be sure what you’re giving your dog is good for him. Instead of feeding the whole quarter-sized treat, rip it into smaller pieces. It's important to maintaining your dog’s caloric intake to healthy level.
Strong-smelling meat and cheese treats are usually winners. Many store-bought treats are made primarily of other ingredients. Your dog may not appreciate the artificial colors, tastes or smells. Small morsels of cooked chicken are a popular home-made treat. But keep in mind that what motivates other dogs may not motivate yours. Experiment and find out what he loves to eat.
Non-Edible Rewards
Some dogs aren’t motivated by food, if your dog is one of those dogs you’ll have to find something else that motivates it. You may think a couple of pats on the head are a great reward, but your dog may not. Try scratching his belly or some other form of petting. Another form of reward to consider is play. Tossing a ball, throwing a flying-disc, playing tug-of-war, or playfully chasing your dog for a few minutes. Again, experiment to find out what your dog loves!
The Best Reward
Let your dog show you what he truly loves by paying attention to how he responds. Just because it accepts a piece of kibble doesn’t necessarily mean it loves it. Watch it carefully when you’re experimenting with different rewards. If he looks away or walks away, he probably isn’t all that thrilled about what you’re offering. But if he gets excited, stays close and begs for more, he’s showing you that he loves it and will be willing to work for that reward in the future.
Timing After you figure out the form of reward, the second key is good timing. It's critical that you mark the exact moment your dog does a behavior (with a word, treat, or clicker), you must give the reward immediately after your dog performs the correct action. Do this consistently, and you’ll be amazed at how quickly your dog learns.
Here’s another important tip: don’t make your training lessons too long. Like humans, dogs can become bored by repetition. Bored students don’t learn very well. Try for a 10-minute session and see how that goes. Shorten it if necessary. Don’t exceed more than 15 minutes. Repeating two or three times a day will be much more effective than having one long session a day. |
Primary and Secondary Reinforcements
The instant reward you and your dog choose will be your primary reinforcer. A primary reinforcer is something your dog was born loving (treats, toys).
Another form of reward is known as a secondary reinforcer. A secondary reinforcer is something your dog must learn to love and be motivated by. Take a phrase for example, puppies are not born loving a phrase such as “Good girl!.” It started as just noise to them. But thy later learned that "Good Girl" is associated with love.
A popular form of secondary reinforcement is clicker training for dogs. A clicker is a handheld device that makes a distinctive clicking sound. That sound is basically a substitute for verbal praise. When used properly, your dog will learn to associate the clicking sound with a treat.
Another form of reward is known as a secondary reinforcer. A secondary reinforcer is something your dog must learn to love and be motivated by. Take a phrase for example, puppies are not born loving a phrase such as “Good girl!.” It started as just noise to them. But thy later learned that "Good Girl" is associated with love.
A popular form of secondary reinforcement is clicker training for dogs. A clicker is a handheld device that makes a distinctive clicking sound. That sound is basically a substitute for verbal praise. When used properly, your dog will learn to associate the clicking sound with a treat.