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Ask Yvette

The last two weeks focused on two common training errors new dog owners fall prey to. We looked at these because they often fall at the root of the complaint, “My dog only works for food.” This leads to the big money questions. Can one get rid of food in training? If yes, how is it accomplished?

It's actually quite easy to remove food from a situation. But most people do it incorrectly. Most people wake up one morning and decide, “No more food.”

I often wonder how those same people would feel if they showed up to work one day to be told, “I'm the boss so you must do what I say. As such, you should show up to work, but you no longer get paid.” There are not too many people I know who feel they ought to work for free.

And yet, there is something that does work. People fall for it every time and it works on animals too. It is called a variable schedule of reinforcement. This is very similar to a slot machine. Slot machines are unpredictable. You never know when the machine will payout. That makes it very addictive. Unpredictable rewards are stronger than those that come each and every time. Variable helps you wean away from food.

For those that do not gamble, it is a principle that you are still likely familiar with. In classes I tell people to increase the workload like gas stations increase gas prices. Gas companies do not raise prices up – up – up. They go up a little, down a little, up a bit, up a bit, down and finally before you know it, we are all grateful when gas is under $1.05 a liter. Might I remind you it was 60 cents a liter not too long ago? Unpredictable is very powerful. It gets you more bang for your buck.

Strategy number two is to use rewards other than food. Most people take their dog out, pull out a tennis ball and yell, “Fido – do you want to play fetch?” A trainer keeps the ball hidden and says, “Fido – Come…Good dog. Look what I have. Let's play fetch. Variety also strengthens behaviour.

The third way is to use life rewards. You could ask your dog to sit and stay before walking out the door. The door opening acts as a reward for sitting. You can ask for a leave it on your dog's dinner. Real life rewards support what you taught using items in your daily life. A dog that rings a bell to go out is rewarded each time the owner responds. The cookies are not needed.

Finally, keep it fun. Is it not odd that most people can successfully ask their dog to show off a trick? With a whispered command the dog rolls over and plays dead. That same person complains the dog will not lie down on command because the dog is dominant. How exactly is down more submissive than playing dead? It is not. The trick was reinforced. People lather attention on dogs that do tricks.

Reinforcements are always present in your dog's world. The person who uses those rewards to their advantage usually has a very compliant dog. The treats just happen to be easier to manipulate during initial training.

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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