Using Reward Based Dog Training
March 17th, 2009 by admin
If there is one thing all dogs respond to no matter what they are doing or how well trained they are its receiving a treat of some sort. This reward based dog training also seems to be a constant theme for the majority of dog trainers everywhere. A reward does not necessarily have to be a food treat either. The type of training may also dictate the type of rewards given.
For instance there are some forms of training, such as police or guard dog training, that commonly use playtime after the training session to reinforce what was taught. For the majority of people who are more interested in just basic obedience training small treats work best as a reward when the dog is responding positively to the training. Of course the oldest form of rewards training involves lots of spoken praise and petting to let the dog know they are doing what they are supposed to.
One thing that all good dog trainers know and understand is the negative impact yelling and losing ones temper can do during dog training. This type of behavior on the part of the owner generally will lead to less then desirable results. Maintaining control with a firm, yet calm demeanor will have any dog learning and responding much quicker then using any heavy handed method.
Dogs have been a part of the human world for thousands of years. In that time they have evolved simply to please those who take care of them. Once they know that what they are doing pleases their owner they will continue to exhibit that good behavior. A dog will respond positively to positive reinforcement and the challenge of obedience training is getting the dog to understand what you want him to do. By having him do the same thing repeatedly and rewarding him each time for a job well done you create an understanding and bond that is hard to break.
Reward based dog training should be fun for the dog and his owner. By creating a positive atmosphere for each and every training session your dog will look forward to doing his best to please you. If you create a negative environment with harsh treatment your dog will be less then happy to attempt to learn anything. His fear of being punished will far outweigh his desire to please you.
Consistency in training and the rewards used will create a well behaved, obedient dog that will be a great companion and friend no matter where you go.
Andrew Bicknell
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/using-reward-based-dog-training-140913.html
Category: temper control : 
March 17th, 2009 at 11:06 am
Treat-based positive reinforcement & training- Upping the Ante???
I've been training dogs for a while now.. I use a variety of tools- one of these tools is food rewards. For those of you who use food rewards in addition to the other tools you use to train your dogs:
Do you ever find that you need to "up the ante" so to speak?
Does the dog's attention ever waver until you have a better, higher value treat?
Do you HAVE to walk around with "rewards" in your pocket?
March 17th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
No I never up the ante. They do what I tell them or I grab their collar. That happens when they aren't paying attention.
If they are off leash, I grab their collar. If they are on leash I correct them.
I never carry treats. Ever. They occasionally get a treat in the house for no reason but I'm done with lure training at this point. They all know the drill.
I praise them, hug them, pet them etc but no more treats unless we are working on something totally new to the dogs (and I don't do that much anymore).
If I carried treats in my pocket, I'd have 4 labs glued to my side with their noses in my butt or crotch. Not how I want to play in the yard.
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March 17th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
In distracting situations or when my dog is getting bored with the activity, I do sometimes have to up the ante and use a higher value treat. I do not have to walk around with rewards in my pocket, they are helpful in distracting situations since I do not have to work as hard to keep his attention, but he will work in most situations for praise alone. I don't generally use treats for commands that have been thoroughly taught, like sit and down, they have been phased out, I still use them for new behaviors and for established behaviors in chaotic situations.
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March 17th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Depends on the distraction level. Usually kibble works, but surrounded by other dogs I have to use (low sodium) hot dog bits. When I'm not training I don't have food.
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March 17th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
For obedience training, no. If the dog stops enjoying the treats that I'm using, there is a larger problem and I need to figure out what that is. If their attention wavers, we end with something easy to succeed, and we stop.
My Siberians are not known for their discriminating tastes.
Do I HAVE to walk around with cookies in my pocket? No. Do I usually? Yes. Just ask my washing machine.
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March 17th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
all dogs love treats is reinforces postitive training keep the treats
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March 17th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
First, my current dog doesn't care about treats at all, so that doesn't work for him.
Second, if you do use treats, you should only give the treat every so often when they do what you want. If you do this, then over time they are more likely to do what you want.
If you give them a treat every single time and then stop giving treats, they will stop much sooner than the other group.
I think that's what you meant. The one dog that I did train on treats required me to have a treat in my hand, or nothing was done on her part.
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March 17th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Nope… I use treats to teach a behavior and corrections to proof the behavior. If they KNOW what they're supposed to do, and don't do it… they get a correction.
I eventually phase treats out and use praise when they do something right. I always give them a "good dog" and excitement if they do something right, even now. I don't think you can ever go wrong with giving positive reinforcement, but I don't think treats need to be used after the teaching phase.
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March 17th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
No, I don't up the amount or value of the treat when working my dogs over time. In fact, over time when learning a new command, they are slowly "weaned" from the treats so they do it because I ask.. though they do get lots of praise, I don't want them to have to be bribed to do what I ask.
I do use treats differently between my two dogs (a GSD and a Border Collie). My Border seems VERY food driven, while my GSD is moving more away from that and is more interested in play rewards using his favorite ball after he does what I ask. He is much farther along in training as well, so he has more complex commands asked of him.
No, I don't walk around with rewards in my pocket. But I do pay attention to what works for my pets. My GSD likes treats but not NEARLY as much as he enjoys play, and my Border Collie could care less about a ball but LOVES stuffed toys and tugs.
When first teaching a command, I treat the dog often to encourage their understanding of what I'm asking. Then I start, once they know what I want, asking them to do something and sporadically rewarding them. Then I ask more before they are rewarded. For example, instead of treating for just a sit, it would be a sit/stay, then eventually a sit/stay for an extended period of time. This also seems to build their motivation to work and enjoyment of what we're doing.
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March 17th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Yes, there have been times I have needed to up the ante. It really depended on what we were working on at the time. One example is taking the dumbell. My dog was entirely against taking and holding "that thing" in her mouth. Apparently, my instructor had seen this often with other dogs before. So to help, she brought in soft canned catfood and we (the whole class) fed them tiny rewards off a spoon. This upped ante definitely helped get my dog to where she is now, which is a full retrieve as the Open level requires… without any food reward at all for doing it.
In this case it was not a matter of attention waivering as she simply didn't like the dumbell in her mouth and so it took a little more to get her used to the idea and learn to like it.
No, I do not have to walk around with treats in my pockets once my dog fully understands something new. Early on, yes, treats come in heavy reward doses and then they slowly they are tappered off to random and minimum.
These days, I don't reward anything beyond praising my dog for taking the dumbell and retrieving it. Once in a while I will offer up a treat reward for something I know she is capable of doing, but if she never knows for sure when a reward will come, she will continue to perform as I ask in the hopes that "this time" with be "the time". Works for me!
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March 17th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Not all dogs are food motivated -
My last doberman would ignore food completely when he found a squirrel to chase, or a cat , or anything. It simply wasn't effective.
I don't walk around with food in my pocket -but on occassion use it.
I have a young dobe female pup now - 10 months. I will call her in from the back yard and say "come get a cookie" which means she gets an apple but that it not bullet proof - if she finds a rabbit or cat or something to chase - forget it.
So to answer your question yes, I use a prong collar. Food is incidental to the whole thing. I would never rely on it.
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March 17th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
I have different "levels" of treats. I also use praise and attention as a reward.
My female JRT mix is very treat motivated — but all I need to do is reward her with a "YESSS!!" (verbal clicker training) or pat my empty pocket (where the treats used to be and occasionally still are) and she obeys.
My male JRT mix is less food motivated, more praise motivated — so his reward can consist of a nice scratch on the chest or a "goood boy!" and he's fine.
We do have different "levels" of treats, but our dogs never know which one they are going to get. The most important verbal cue our dogs know is "come" (as well as my husband's whistle). They respond to the command consistently and know that eventually they will get a treat when they do.
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