Training With Treats: Do It Right!
Hey
even Im willing
to learn new things
if theres a broiled lobster
in it for me.
When Im hungry
that is.
If Im not hungry,
or if Im so distracted
that a lobster
wont tempt me, then Ill blow
you off
to continue doing what
I want, not what
you want.
Thats pretty much
how your dog sees
the issue
when you train with food. If hes hungry
at the moment,
and if theres nothing
more compelling going on,
food can be
a great way
to reinforce behaviors you
teach your dog. On the
other hand, if Fido isnt food motivated, or if hes got
something better
to do, he wont be interested.
Nonetheless, training with food
has its benefits when used as
a motivator
and a reward. For those dogs who just
arent normally interested in treats, you
can substitute play with a toy if
that motivates them.
The first thing you have to know about using food in training
is how NOT to use it. The primary rule is not to use it to stop an
unwanted behavior. Instead, use it to create a new behavior you want to teach.
With those rules in mind, you wont teach your dog to stop growling at
other dogs by using food. But you may be able to teach
him to
sit more quickly if theres
something tasty in it for him.
Before I tell how you to deliver food treats when training, let
me tell you
WHY you should not use food to try and stop an unwanted behavior. The answer is because you can
accidentally reinforce the very behavior youre trying to stop.
For
example, lets say Fido growls at other dogs on
his walks. If you tell him to stop growling, and distract him with a treat, what has he
really learned?
Heres what YOURE thinkinghe stopped growling so I rewarded him for that with a cookie.
He wont growl again.
Heres what FIDO is thinkingthis is cool, I growl, then
mom pops me a cookie. Lets see if this
workslets growl more!
Think
of food as a directional reward. How, when and
where you deliver it all determine
whether the
treat teaches your dog what you
intended, or something
else altogether. For
example, you tell Fido to sit, and you
hold a treat six inches
over his head, while pushing down on his butt.
Sound about
right? Wrong! By
holding that treat six inches over his head, youre really
teaching Fido to
sit then immediately break that position in
favor of jumping up to get the cookie.
Instead, start Fido
standing on a
closely held leash. Show him you have a cookie, by holding it at nose levelonly an inch from his
sniffer-- while hes standing
up. Direct his attention, and nose,
slightly higher by raising the
cookie only enough so that he must
tend toward a sit to view it. While hes
focusing upward only a couple
of inches over his nose, use your other hand to
push his
butt down, while your cookie hand keeps the treat only a couple
of inches from his nose as it moves.
As soon as he is sitting, deliver the treat to him just slightly above nose level, and slightly toward his rear. This means that to collect the treat, Fido must actually lean back
into the sit more to reach it.
Mission accomplished! Food hasnt been just randomly
delivered to your dog, leaving him wondering
why he got it. Instead, the food has clearly communicated how he can get this treat
even faster next time, by sitting when you ask.
Anyone getting hungry?
Marc Goldberg is a dog trainer specializing in the rehabilitation of difficult dogs and improving relationships. He is Vice President of the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP) and Editor of SafeHands Journal. The
author also educates professional dog
trainers in his techniques. Visit him on the web at
http://www.chicagodogtrainer.com or
http://www.dogtraininginchicago.com.