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Dear Yvette

We used food to train our dog some basic obedience, but now Molly will only work if we have treats. Ideally, we want her to behave because we said so. How can we stop using food to motivate Molly?

Charlie

Food is probably one of the most effective motivators to a dog. It also happens to be an easily accessible tool for people to use. This makes treat training an excellent option for pet owners.

Some people shy away from treats thinking it will spoil the dog. They may feel that using food is not natural. The way I see it, all animals work for food. Outdoor cats hunt mice. Birds search for seeds and insects. Even people go to work in order to put food on the table.

The only exempt animals are pets living in luxury. Meals are doled out into bowls with zero effort required. Then we wonder why these same pets have no motivation to work.

I personally feel that animals should work for at least some of their food. It can alleviate boredom, and fits their natural pattern of behavior. Animals need jobs.

Of course, no one wants to carry food all the time. In order to prevent this eventuality, some owners try to minimize the food use up front. This can backfire. Weak behaviors and poor motivation crumble quickly. Ensure that you pay well during the learning phases. Small, fast training sessions make a big impact.

For example, most dog repeatedly perform tricks such as shake a paw. This often stems from the fact that training was fun and well rewarded with food and attention. Obedience can be as much fun as a trick.

Next, ensure you don't quit using food cold turkey. Imagine you show up to work and are told there will be no paycheck. Not many people would stick around. Animals aren't much different. They will stop working if the reward stop abruptly.

Instead, become unpredictable. Initially, people give treats for each right response. Like a pop machine - Pay a loonie, get a pop. Act more like a slot machine. The time and amount of the payout should be unpredictable. The animal should repeat requests in the hopes that the next turn will be the jackpot.

For duration exercises, increase demands the way gas stations increase gas prices. Prices don't go up in a straight line. It goes up a little and then down a little. The long term trend is a large increase. For duration exercises, don't increase time each repetition. Ask for a little more and then ask for a little less. The long term goal should be a large increase the animal tolerates.

You can start to replace food with other rewards. Instead of asking your dog to play fetch, ask them to sit. Then reward them with a game of fetch. There are dozens of fun daily activities that should take the place of a treat.

Real life can also support behavior. Before going out the door, ask for a sit. The opening door is a reward that can fill the void of a former treat. Sits for attention, leave it's for dinner and down stay to get a chew bone are some other ideas.

Finally, keep your routines predictable. Dogs are creatures of habit. The better you are at communicating what you want, the easier it is for the dog to comply.

Yvette is an award winning pet writer and pet behavior columnist. She also is the author of Meeting Milo, a North American dog bite prevention program to reduce the approximately 2 million children bit by dogs annually. She is the owner of AwesomeDogs.ca and works as a behavior consultant in London, Ontario.

This column was originally featured in The Londoner
See more of Yvette... www.awesomedogs.ca
www.meetingmilo.com

Yvette has 2 dogs of her own, KIKI and KAYA. Take a look...

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