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Treats, Toys, Praise, Pride: The Rewards of Positive Pet Training | Positive Pet Training Blog Hop

12/1/2014

10 Comments

 
Typist: Bethany
In any kind of positive pet training, the most important knowledge for the trainer to have is what the dog, cat, parrot or other pet considers a reward for a job well done. Rewards aren't always an easy thing for positive trainers to comprehend. If I had a dollar for every time someone has told me that they can't teach their dog (or other pet) anything because the pet isn't motivated by food, I would be very rich. And if I was abundantly wealthy, I'd spend some extra money on sending those people to a workshop about alternative positive reinforcement training rewards. It just so happens that I have very rewarding training sessions with all of my pets, despite the diversity in what they consider a reward.
Treat, Treat and Treat Again
PictureAmelia is 100% treat motivated in training.
Motivating your pets to learn with food isn't always just about giving them a treat. It has to be the correct treat and the treat must also match the task. I always train with at least three different kinds of treats. One is the same old, same old. This treat is very small and can be given liberally. Another training treat is something a little more special. The special treats are rotated so they are rarely the same but they usually include a smelly ingredient like fish. The third kind of treat is the jackpot. The jackpot treat is almost always a larger sized cookie kind of treat, also rotated so the treat stays special, is used specifically for training but that I know is coveted. Figuring out what food can motivate my pets can be as simple as asking myself what would motivate me: Do I always want to eat the same thing? Would I consider the same dessert day after day truly rewarding? Should I have the same snack after remembering to take my garbage out as I have after spending the day cleaning up litter at my neighborhood park? Everyone, human, canine, feline, psittacine, etc, has different tastes so there is always another food to try in getting a pet motivated to learn.

All Work and No Play
Picture
A lot of dogs are motivated by toys. The same focus that a dog has waiting for a ball to be thrown or the joy they have when squeezing a squeaker can be harnessed for positive reinforcement training. Good advice I was once given at a motivation in training seminar is that the dog must pick the toy that is used for a training reward. But once the dog has chosen this favorite of rewards, the toy should then only be used for training. Each of my dogs has a special training toy that only comes out during training sessions. Not only does each dog get to learn and enjoy special time with me, but they get precious playtime with a favorite toy. Another observation made by a trainer at a positive reinforcement training seminar I attended (about Huxley) was that movement itself was a reward (to him.) Sometimes the kind of toy that is a training reward or even what game is played doesn't matter. Any kind of fun as a reward for the work keeps training from being dull.
Sit, Sit, Hoorah!
Not all pets are motivated by food, toys or play rewards. My first experience with a praise motivation in positive reinforcement training was with Tynan. When we first started training, Tynan was very enthusiastic. But as a novice he became bored and disinterested. Was he really done with learning? When I ditched the treats and toys and focused on praise, attention and petting, Tynan's passion for training returned. He was so proud to work for a mouthful of "good boy"s and a belly rub. Leo may have learned this train for praise lesson from Tynan, but he also works for cheers. In fact, Leo is known for rewarding himself with a "good birdie" before I even get the chance to say it. Another fan of praise rewards in our household is Brychwyn. He'll often scoff at a treat and roll over in favor of numerous "what a good dog" exclamations accompanied by a tummy tickle.
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There are so many ways to reward a pet for a positive reinforcement training job well done. Dogs, in particular, tend to be the most food motivated and the majority of trainers consider food to be the simplest way to reward their dogs. Personally, I prefer to train without food. I am so lucky that most of my pets are simply proud of themselves when they please me. Maybe it is just that my pride in them, which comes out in my voice and how I pet them, comes straight from my heart. There is no more positive of a reward than love.
How do you reward your smart pets?
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Welcome to this months Positive Pet Training Blog Hop hosted by Cascadian Nomads, Dachshund Nola & Tenacious Little Terrier. Our December theme is rewards but any post with a positive reinforcement training theme is encouraged. The Linky below is open all week long so please join us, hop around, enjoy and learn! Next month will be the one year anniversary of this successful positive pet training hop. Please join us on January 5th to share training ideas and goals as well as entering to win an anniversary giveaway.
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10 Comments
Lauren Miller link
11/30/2014 03:13:41 pm

The girls generally prefer food. :D

Reply
Molly The Wallly link
11/30/2014 06:06:59 pm

As we don't really train so we don't reward but treat time is mid day and always the treats are small so they last longer. Glad to be back. Have a marvellous Monday.
Best wishes Molly

Reply
Rebecca link
11/30/2014 09:02:52 pm

Thanks for this reminder that you can reinforce with other things besides treats. I need to always remind myself of this because I find myself getting to stuck on treats then when we go in the ring and the treats are gone we have a problem! Teach and I have been working on getting off the treats so much, with him its all I used (shame on me!). With Tucker (the second child) I knew I wanted to change things up so we train with all that you mentioned above. We still do treats more but I'm trying hard to rotate some of the others in there more regularly.

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Tenacious Little Terrier link
12/1/2014 07:18:26 am

Mr. N thoroughly believe in food awards lol.

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Slimdoggy link
12/1/2014 08:14:27 am

Both Jack & Maggie are VERY food motivated. Jack will do some things for affection, but treats wins out every time.

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Emma link
12/1/2014 09:24:19 am

Great tips! Getting away from treats all the time Mom says is key. We feel variety is also important as well as the mystery. Some times we just get praise or snuggles, sometimes average treats, sometimes something extraordinary. It keeps us guessing and motivated to work. For our nose work and tracking, there is always a high value reward, but Mom switches that up too so we never know what high value treat it will be.

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Pamela link
12/1/2014 09:59:39 am

We used treats of different values depending on the training we're doing and the distractions nearby. I also use toys and petting.

But I never thought about reserving certain toys just for training. Very good idea. Now I just need Honey to pick out the best toy.

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Rebekah link
12/2/2014 12:03:47 pm

Treats, treats, and more treats!

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Emi link
12/5/2014 03:13:07 pm

The featured rabbit-dog was a rescue (4+ years ago) who still thinks food is hard to come by, and consequently goes after any food like a piranha. The full-size picture shows a bowl of pumpkin peel (his favourite) that he has learnt to wait for before devouring.

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Mary @ Stale Cheerios link
12/8/2014 01:11:44 pm

Nice post!

I agree that for dogs who like attention / petting / scratches, this can often be just as good or even better than treats.

In my training classes, we'll often use praise and petting (rather than treats) to teach the dogs to sit politely to greet a new person. This works well, because it's often what the dog wants most!

When I first got my rats, I had such a hard time finding the proper type of treat to use as a reward. If the treat was too big, they wanted to hide it or took forever to eat it. Too small, and it was hard for me to hold and deliver the treats. We've found that chocolate rice krispies seem to be just about the right size (although I often do break them in half).

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