For reinforcement to be effective in your dog training (or other pet), your first have to know what your dog values. After all, positive reinforcement is the process of adding something of value to the environment that strengthens a behavior.
Once you’ve got that information, instead of controlling the animal, control access to those high value reinforcers and make access to them contingent on doing wanted behaviors. Remember, what occurs after something affects how one feels about what occurs before it.
Woaza, what a way to build fun into your lesson! You will not only make those wanted behaviors more valuable, you will also make attention and listening to you more valuable because you hold the keys to awesomeness in your pet’s life.
Below are some dog training tips for learning about your dog’s motivators.
First Step: Learn your dog’s top treats
To do this, prepare five different kinds of treats that you think your dog may like. Then, with your dog out of sight, place a sample of each one in a row (about a foot apart), spaced out along the floor or board. Bring your dog in, let him explore…and observe. Write down the results, in which order your dog went to the treats.
NOTE: your dog may go from left to right. If so, another option may be to place your dog in a sit/stay while you put the food down and then release your dog to the food. This may solve that problem.
Next, prepare five more kinds of treats and repeat the steps. Do this three different times. Then do a round where you include the top two treats from each previous session.
You may be surprised by what you learn!
Second Step: Learn your dog’s favorite toys or games
Again, with your dog out of the room, place in a row three different toys that you think your dog really enjoys. Now bring your dog into the room and observe what he does, what he chooses and how he interacts with his choices. Does he engage you (if so, go ahead and play)? Does he switch between toys? Does he carry a toy away? Record what you find. There is no right or wrong, simply information.
This is great information as there will be different ways to use different reinforcers. A dog who enjoys engaging with you can be reinforced with a game of tug or fetch, a dog who enjoys holding a ball can be given a ball to hold onto.
Step Three: Learn your dog’s favorite – and least favorite – human interaction
Learning from your dog how he enjoys interacting with you will be very important in strengthening his desire to be around you and wanting to engage with you. Practice in short increments learning from your dog’s body language what he enjoys and how you can make your interaction more valuable. Does your dog enjoy belly rubs, chin rubs, wrestling, chasing you? Equally important is learning what makes your dog feel uncomfortable. Learning how to read your dog’s body language will be so helpful. When you reach out for your dog, does your dog tense up, lean or move away, turn his head away? That is a sign you are doing something to cause discomfort. Some dogs do not enjoy any physical interaction and that is okay.
Also, think about how this changes in different environments. Does your dog still enjoy the same kinds of interaction in your yard vs on a walk vs in a busy pedestrian area? Probably not.
Step Four: Learn your dog’s distractions
This is a very important step because it is important to always be thinking in terms of helping your pet to succeed; and you do that by beginning training in an environment with minimal distractions, only working up as your pet can continue to succeed. Rate your list of distractions on a scale of 1 to 10, noting that something will increase in difficulty the closer that distraction is. Being a football field away from another dog may be a level 3 distraction but cut that distance in half and you may be looking at a level 8 distraction.
