positive reinforcement dog training Archives - Page 5 of 8

Give your dog time and tools

Do you give your dog time? Or do you expect your three-month-old puppy to be housebroken in a couple weeks? Leash-trained in a month? Stay out of the trash / laundry / mud instantaneously? It would be interesting if dogs came pre-programmed for all the “right” behavior. But they’re not machines. They’re living, breathing, thinking beings. And dogs need time to learn.

Say you’re out in public and you see a parent and child about two years old. The child is on a crying jag, screaming, kicking, and out of control. And the parent shouts and smacks the child.

You’re shocked! It’s obvious the child is overtired and the situation needs calm, not escalation. You don’t expect a two-year-old to know how to act in public, be perfectly potty-trained, and a pro at self-soothing. But many people expect a months-old puppy to be all of that and more.

Why positive reinforcement dog training “fails”

Positive reinforcement dog training is the best, scientifically proven means of training your dog. It works on people, it works on dogs. It doesn’t work fast, and it’s often misunderstood. Just like a human child is given time to learn at their own pace, without repercussions, dogs need time to learn, absorb, and practice good social behavior.

Lately there’s been a lot of nonsense floating around social media that positive training equals letting a dog do whatever it wants, whenever it wants. Nothing could be further from the truth. Dogs trained with positive reinforcement understand the limits of behavior and abide by them because they know. Not because they fear punishment if they fail.

Complete opposites

The nastiest trend in dog training lately is “balanced” training. From the explanations, it seems like this is a capricious mix of punishment and reward. If the dog does something good, it’s rewarded. If it does something “bad,” it’s corrected. But how is a dog supposed to know which is which? And how is “good” different from “bad”? Can you imagine living life at someone’s whim? Never knowing when something you do is going to end in pain? Dogs deserve better.

Until your dog understands how to be “good,” it’s up to you to limit the dog’s options for “bad.” If your dog steals shoes, keep shoes out of reach. Does your dog dig in your backyard? Go with him and keep him on leash. If your two-year-old child is fascinated by trucks, you stop him from running into the street. You don’t wait until he’s in traffic to act. You teach him not to do it. And pain isn’t part of the lesson. When one strategy in the 2-Minute method isn’t working the way we expect it to, we move to another: our “Plan B” – never a painful lesson.

Frustrating for the dog

One of our students has a bright, exuberant Miniature Poodle who she wants to compete with. One of his persistent problems in Hope’s competition Obedience class has been with the recall exercise. Instead of running straight to his Mom, at least half the time he runs over to Hope and starts jumping on her “Hi, I’m here!” “Hi!” “Hello!” “It’s me!”

Since Hope never encourages him, rarely looks at him, pets him, or talks to him, she didn’t understand why he does it. Until last week. His mom brought him into the building on leash, and he immediately spotted a new person. The dog ran over to this person while his mom said “He’s going to jump on you.” Since classes are at a dog daycare facility, it didn’t bother the person. Hope, witnessing this, told the dog’s mom she shouldn’t allow it. And was firmly told to mind her own business.

This dog will never understand why it’s okay to jump on a random man in the lobby and not the judge in the Obedience trial. His mother could easily turn this around – the dog is smart and eager to learn.

Keys to dog training

Dogs are easy to train if you abide by the key rules:

Be consistent. The rules are always in effect. Either it’s never okay to jump on people, or it’s always okay. Dogs know black and white. Shades of gray are alien.
Learning takes time. Be patient. You’ll know when your dog starts to think about their choices. Be on the lookout for those moments of decision – when your dog thinks before acting. That little hesitation before choosing the right thing is a triumph. Celebrate all the little wins.
Until your dog knows, control access. Remember there are three ways of dealing with dog behavior. Ignore the things you don’t care about. Manage the things your dog doesn’t know yet. Train the things you want your dog to know.

Give your dog the tools and the time

Real World Dog Training

How true-to-life is your dog training routine? Is your dog up to real world dog training? What happens when you’re in the middle of a 2-Minute training game and someone in the house starts banging pots in the kitchen? Or somebody opens the door, either leaving or coming home? Does your dog stick with the game and play with you? Or do they run off to see what the fuss is about?

It’s hard to focus on what you’re doing when somebody elsewhere may be more interesting. Dogs are really curious beings – they always want to be in the middle of the action. How do you get your dog to stick with what you’re doing, rather than run off to explore that odd sound in the other room?

Being with Fran was more rewarding than exploring. — Being with Fran was rewarding

The best answer is to set up the situation and teach your dog there’s nothing more interesting than playing training games with you. The harshest test we ever dealt with was many years ago in a puppy class. Our instructor stopped at a fast-food restaurant on the way to class. He threw fresh, yummy-smelling french fries all over the floor. And our job was to walk our puppies from one end of the room to the other – without the dogs grabbing a single morsel. We’re delighted to report that all the puppies succeeded. And, when that trial-by-fire was over, he allowed us to share a couple of fries with our good dogs.

Are you more interesting than a french fry?

If you’re not sure, it’s time to fill your dog training games with fun, energy, and really high-level rewards. If you use a bunch of different treats your dog loves, have a fresh batch of this “trail mix” handy. If your dog’s favorite reward is playing tug, stick a great tug toy in your pocket, ready to whip out at any moment. Randomize rewards so your dog never knows when the next one is coming.

Dogs love schedules and patterns and it’s easy to fall into habits in dog training. To pull an example from obedience competition – in the “Recall” exercise, when called, the dog runs to you from across the room and sits directly in front. When told or signaled, the dog then “Finishes” the exercise by going to heel position at your left side. There are two different ways for the dog to get there. He can either go to your right and circle behind you to get to heel. Or he can swing into position toward your left side.

The Finish always follows the Recall. Every single time. Which means that dogs, being smart, understand what’s coming next. And they “save you the trouble” and go right into heel position instead of stopping in front. Which, depending on the judge, can mean failing the exercise. So how do you fix it?

Randomize it! If dogs don’t know what’s coming next – they pay attention to what’s actually going on. Sometimes ask for the circle finish. Other times the swing. Still others, tell your dog to wait and go around them!

Embrace the chaos

Randomizing all the factors in dog training games ensures your dog can ignore distractions, focus on you and your game, and disregard outside influences. Ask your family to make weird, random noises from various rooms. And if, after a quick glance, your dog stays with your game, reward heavily – an instant game of tug, and series of high-value treats, a quick belly-rub/wrestling match.

Just like playing games in different locations cements the learning with your dog, working through various distractions will help them focus when you need them to. If your dog is incredibly distracted when the doorbell rings, get a doorbell app on your phone and play different rings during 2-Minute dog training game sessions. If it’s somebody talking on the phone that your dog can’t resist, ask someone to sit to the side during your game and talk into the phone (whether or not there’s someone on the other end).

Set your dog up with different scenarios you can practice in a controlled manner. If your dog is constantly underfoot when someone’s trying to prepare food in the kitchen, have a mat or bed in there and practice “place!” Create real world dog training dilemmas and help your dog deal with them.

No training bubble for you!

Your dog lives in the real world. Set her up for success by creating real-life situations and getting her to concentrate despite the distractions. It’s tempting to stay in an isolated environment where your dog is always perfect. But it’s like the first-time parents of a newborn infant insisting that everyone be quiet because the baby’s sleeping. Baby has to learn to sleep through all kinds of real world noise. And doggo has to learn to focus in the real world, too.

Teach your dog “Poop” on command

Nobody relishes standing out in the rain waiting for their dog’s to eliminate. You can make life easier for both of you when you teach your dog “Poop” on command.

There’s an old joke that an alien visiting our planet for the first time would be convinced that dogs are the species in control because their minions follow them around, pick up their poop, and carry it around.

But every responsible dog owner has the obligation to clean up after their dogs, regardless of what aliens think of us. But it would make life better if our dogs would eliminate when and where we want, rather than taking forever to find the perfect spot.

You must be willing

To achieve the “poop on command” goal, you have to be willing to commit. You must go out with your dog every single time, you must have treats with you, and you must be clear and consistent.

Even though we have a fenced yard, we go out with our dogs every single time. Even if it’s raining, sleeting, or three in the morning.

There are lots of reasons we do:

When we had a nasty-dog neighbor, we could avoid fence fighting.
We can stop our dogs from eating various unknown, nasty things in the yard.
We get first dibs on the bread slices the squirrel drops in our yard (yes, we do have foolish neighbors).
It lets us know if one of the dogs has stomach issues, before they mess the house.
We know which dog has the tummy trouble.

Is it convenient? Not particularly. Especially with multiple dogs, we think it’s wise.

Getting cooperation

Everybody poops. That’s a given, as well as a beloved children’s book. Learning your dog’s schedule makes for easier housebreaking and elimination training.

When you know your dog has to go, head out with them. If there’s a particular place you want them to go, put them on collar/harness and leash and head directly to that spot and wait. If your dog is one that wanders around before getting down to business, take a couple laps around the yard with them and go back to the chosen spot.

Then it’s a waiting game. For the kabillionth time, we’ll repeat the doing nothing is the hardest part of dog training. But waiting is the best thing you can do.

When they hit the mark, praise and reward. Call it whatever phrase you choose to use. We use “go poop” because we got over being embarrassed in public long ago. A friend of ours uses “Hit it!” We assume she’ll never be part of a band.

Every single time

If you want your dog to learn to poop on command, you have to praise, phrase (good poop!), and reward every single time.

We’re often asked when praise and treats can be phased out. The answer is always never. When you’re willing to do your job without pay, that’s when you can phase out your dog’s.

Easy and Fun Dog Training

Games are easy and fun dog training. And, over time, the most effective and long-lasting learning for your dog.

Long term benefits outweigh short-term attention in dog training.

And that’s where we see people getting frustrated and tempted to use aversive methods. Just this week one of our puppy class students pleaded to use a pinch collar on his five-month old Golden Retriever. Because when he tried it, he got better attention immediately.

That’s the way aversives, pain training, works. You’d pay attention, too, if it was the only way to not get choked.

Long-term gains

Fortunately, this man does want to do better by his puppy. He’s a long-time aversive trainer, so positive, game-based dog training is new to him. He was accustomed to instant obedience from his dogs. But he had to enforce that throughout their lives. They didn’t obey because they understood. They obeyed because they wanted to avoid pain.

The issue with this puppy is that she’s smart, curious, and five months old. The other dogs and people in class are more interesting than her people. So the first step is to be more interesting than anything else around.

Building the bond

He’s used to tugging on the puppy’s collar whenever he wants her to look at him. It’s going to take a conscious effort on his part to change that. It’s habit to say her name and pop the collar, not even giving her time to move her head.

The hardest thing in positive reinforcement dog training is waiting. Patience is not only a virtue, it’s a requirement. Jack’s assignment is to say his puppy’s name and wait for her to look at him. Not say anything else. Not let her go wandering off. Just wait, calmly.

Eventually, with nothing else available to do, the puppy will look at him. And that’s when he pounces with a celebration and reward. That reward is whatever is most valuable to the puppy – food, a game of tug, or on-leash fetch, or even a little wrestling match.

She will learn that looking at her “dad” is the most fun thing to do. It always, every single time, results in happy, fun games. It’s the best thing ever! And that’s how you build your bond with your dog.

Checking in

Jack and his wife are under instructions to reward their puppy every single time she looks at either one of them. They have treat bowls in every room in the house, and pouches to carry outside. For three months, since they got her, the puppy hasn’t been encouraged to engage with them. The focus has been on the toy, the food, the leaves blowing down the street.

They will be able to claim her focus if they make the investment. What gets rewarded, gets repeated. If the puppy is rewarded every time she looks at them, she’s going to look at them a lot more. And, when her people are more interesting, she’s less likely to find everything else so distracting.

Long-term investments pay off

When the puppy understands that looking at her people will always result in good stuff, it’s a lesson learned for life. It may take longer to penetrate than choking. But it’s a conversion worth making. Nobody really wants to hurt their dog. When you know better, you do better.

Dogs Tell On Their Trainers

Dogs tell us everything we need to know to be effective trainers. It’s how well we’re paying attention that makes the difference. Dogs are really honest – brutally so. And they’re excellent at pointing out the gaps in our training. Dogs are notorious for tattling on their trainers.

Boston Terrier on a balance disc to illustrate Dogs Tell. — Simon’s “crouchy-hovery” stand started on the balance disc.

Simon demonstrated the point this week. The “Stand” exercise has always been challenging for him. Fran had to change the word to “Station,” after he became convinced that “Stand” meant sort-of-crouching with his butt in the air. Stand has always been a weird bugaboo for him. (Learn more about starting new, rather than fixing it in the tip: “Don’t Fix Your Dog.”)

Lately, he’s been spot-on when he hears “Station” in the “Stand for Exam” exercise in Novice class. From the heel position, he pops up like a champ, and stands like a stone for the “head, shoulder, hip” examination. Naturally, we expected that he now understands what “Station” means.

Take nothing for granted

We found out – not so much. When we’re out in the yard, we play recall games with the dogs. They run back and forth between us for treats. Sometimes they get rewards just for coming. Other times they have to “do something” to get a treat. The other day Hope said “Station!” to Simon as he came to a stop in front of her. All he had to do was stand still. He did everything but.

Fran tried it – after all, he is her dog and training partner. Same result – down, sit, back up, etc. Everything but the stand we were looking for. She tried again with Simon at her side instead of in front of her. Perfect “Station!”

Dogs always tell

Simon was telling us, clear as day, that he understands “Station” only in context. He hasn’t generalized it at all. It matters where he’s positioned, where we’re training, and who’s asking him for the behavior. And, when he told us, we’re listening to him.

When your dog highlights the gaps in training, don’t be disappointed or frustrated. If your dog understands parts of the whole, you’re on track for filling in the rest. Just like you taught your dog the parts he/she knows, you can build understanding for the whole behavior.

Work the arc

In the example of Simon’s “Station!,” we’ll start by working a step at a time. Literally. Starting at heel position, we’ll take a step away, return and reward “Station!” if he stays put. Then we’ll take a small, side step away before we say “Station!” and see if he understands. We’ll gradually work in an arc, until we can stand facing him and he understands when we give the command.

Once dogs understand a word means the same thing no matter where you are, what you’re doing, or who says it, they’ve got it. The same holds true for hand signals. It may need a refresh once in a while, but it won’t be starting from scratch. As long as you use the command or signal once in a while, it should stay in their memory banks.

Use Mom voice with your dog

Dogs are capable of understanding hundreds of words. However, that doesn’t make them great conversationalists. When talking to your dog, keep it short and simple. And use your “mom” voice.

We have some dog training students who seem to have non-stop discussions with their dogs. And, predictably, their dogs pay little or no attention when they talk. What the dog hears is like the nonsense syllables of adults in the Charlie Brown cartoon shows: “Blah, blah, blahbity blah.”

Mean what you say

You and your dog make a great team! — Your dog’s primary job is to be a good companion!

Sometimes, you just talk to your dog. You’re just relaxing and hanging out, so you share the day’s events, or talk about plans. Or even just sing along with whatever song is playing. Dogs are great companions – that’s their number one job. And if you’re doing it right, you may even get that adorable head tilt.

Then there are times when you need your dog to pay attention and you want him/her to do as you say. Whether that’s “Stay!” when you’re carrying groceries into the house, or “Sit!” instead of jumping on Grandma when she’s offering a treat.

Those are the times you need your dog to understand and obey. We hesitate to use words like “command” or even “obey.” They convey a harshness that’s not necessary.

Mom voice

It’s more a tone of voice that lets the listener know you’re serious. Remember when your Mom asked you to take out the trash? You probably either ignored the first request, or responded “In a minute.”

For the second ask, her tone was less asking and more telling. And the third time, she used “mom voice” and you got up and took out the trash.

It didn’t mean she was angry – just that she really meant it that time. When you need your dog to obey, use that Mom voice. You don’t have to sound harsh, or belligerent. But you do have to sound like you mean it and that you expect your dog to do what you’ve said.

Silence is golden

If the first part of the equation is short, definitive speech, the second part is equally important. Once you’ve said “Dog, Sit!” shut up. Wait for your dog to process what you’ve said and do it.

If you keep talking, or repeat the command multiple times, your dog will either disregard the meaningless chatter, or wait for you to sound like you mean it.

We see it all the time. When the dog doesn’t do something instantly, the person repeats it. And teaches their dog that saying “Sit!” happens some number of times. It becomes a part of the behavior.

Part of the routine

Before you know it, you have a dog that waits until he/she hears it three times before doing it, whatever it is. Dogs are good at learning patterns. If it’s your pattern to chatter and repeat, it could be a factor in why your dog is slow or seems confused.

One of the most overused words dogs hear is their own name. Especially when people bark their dog’s name to get their attention. Either add a command to tell your dog what you want (and reward them for doing it), Or acknowledge and reward when your dog looks at you when you say his/her name. As we’ve said before, your dog’s name doesn’t mean much by itself.

Don’t neglect to give your dog a reason to pay attention. Deliver the information your dog needs Clearly and concisely. And always reward (treats, toys, praise, pets) when they do what you said.

Clear, concise communication is the goal.

Every dog needs a muzzle

Why on earth are we talking about dog muzzle training?

You’d never use a muzzle on your dog, right? Your dog is a sweetheart and would never threaten anyone!

Not so fast. How about if your dog is in an accident and injured? Will you guarantee they won’t snap in panic, pain, or fear? Under duress, the mildest-mannered dog may react according to instinct, not training. Every dog needs a muzzle.

One of the first lessons in canine First Aid is how to fashion a muzzle from any strip of cloth or rope. Emergency personnel want to help your dog, but don’t want to risk their own safety to do it. And we don’t blame them.

Imperatives for safety

There are two things every dog should be trained for “just in case:”

Crates. Every dog should be familiar and comfortable with a cage or crate. For travel, grooming, hospitalization – it’s the safest place for your dog. In the event of some kind of disaster requiring an evacuation, some shelters will only accept dogs if they’re crated.
Muzzles. While there are many people who would want to help if your dog were injured, nobody wants to risk a bite. If your dog is at all reactive, a muzzle allows you to go anywhere knowing that nothing will happen. (You can read Fran’s introduction to muzzles with Tango and his reactive training in her book Tango: Transforming My Hellhound.) And many veterinarians now routinely muzzle unfamiliar dogs. It keeps everyone safe. Additionally, a muzzle will prevent your dog from putting everything in his mouth on walks.

Better to have it

There’s an old saying “better to have and not need, than need and not have.” Having a muzzle and never needing it is ideal. Needing one and stressing out your dog isn’t good at all. Every dog needs a muzzle – just in case…

There are lots of different types of muzzles out there. There are muzzles with metal “baskets,” leather muzzles, rubber muzzles, muzzles made of net like Simon’s (below). There’s even a muzzle that looks like a duck’s bill, which makes it less threatening-looking. Which kind you get depends on your preference, your dog’s anatomy, and what’s available. You’ll find all of them online – read the measuring and fitting instructions carefully.

Simon wearing his muzzle. He can breathe, drink, pant and get treats wearing it. — Simon in his muzzle.

If you have a short-faced dog, your options are more limited, but they do exist. Search specifically for a muzzle for brachycephalic dogs, or short-faced dogs. You can see Simon wearing his muzzle to the left.

Your dog’s muzzle should allow you to deliver treats to your dog. It will also allow the dog to drink, pant, and see clearly. Its purpose is to keep everyone safe, not cause further anxiety in a traumatic situation. Simon can obviously see, breathe, get treats, drink and pant while he wears his muzzle. Even though he has no nose to speak of, Simon has a muzzle that works for him.

Muzzle training steps

The first step for introducing anything new to your dog is exactly that – an introduction. Show the muzzle to your dog, click and reward. If your dog sniffs it, click and reward. If your dog stays calm when you pick it up, click and reward.

Drape the muzzle over the hand that’s delivering treats to your dog. If your dog has to touch the muzzle to get the treat, that’s ideal. But don’t force it. If your dog is wary of the it at first, respect that for now. We want your dog to associate that muzzle with getting lots of high-value treats. Gradually move the muzzle closer to your dog so he has to push into it to get the treat.

Step by step, gradually introduce your dog to the look and feel of the muzzle. If your dog resists, back up to the last step where he/she was okay, and start again. There’s no rush. Your dog will let you know when he/she is okay with the next step. Pay attention to your dog’s signals.

Keep sessions short

Generally speaking, dogs think muzzles are weird. They’re right. Don’t work on muzzle training more than 2-Minutes, like any other training session. But try to devote one 2-Minute session every day to the muzzle, until your dog is completely okay with it. Getting it over his/her head and clasping the buckle may take some time. Take the time that’s needed so your dog doesn’t mind the muzzle at all. Putting on a muzzle should become one of the strange things Mom (or Dad) wants, so your dog does it willingly. They may never like it, but they do it because we ask them to.

And while your dog is wearing his muzzle, don’t be stingy with the treats! If he’s being good, reward him!

If your dog is familiar with wearing a muzzle, you’ll have one less thing to worry about should the unthinkable happen. It’s another way to protect your pet.

Training helps dogs choose wisely

Positive reinforcement training doesn’t mean your dog gets to do whatever they want whenever they want. It means that you, as the dog’s teacher, must help your dogs choose wisely. Good decisions are rewarded. Poor ones are ignored.

There are times that we ask too much of the dogs. That’s on us, not the dog. It happened today in Simon’s 2-Minute session this morning. Simon is Fran’s four-year-old Boston Terrier.

Training for Rally Obedience

One of the exercises often used in Rally courses is the Figure 8 with distractions. (This is a different kind of distraction than those Simon faced at an Agility trial, but the training to deal with any distraction is similar, as you’ll see.) Those distractions are bowls on either side containing either dog treats or dog toys. The objective is to heel with your dog in a figure-8 pattern around two pylons, despite the distractions.

Simon does great (after some training) when the bowls contain treats. While he’s food-motivated, treats are not his number-one reward. Toys are.

This morning Fran put a single bowl with some treats out and practiced heeling with Simon around the bowl. He was fine. Attentive to what he was doing and, after a glance or two, ignoring the distraction. His response was exactly right. He got lots of praise and treats.

Changing the question

Simon answered that question perfectly. So it was time to change the question and see if he answered right again. Fran replaced the treats in the bowl with a low-value dog toy. It blew his little doggy brain.

Simon did fine getting into perfect heel position. He stayed sitting, until Fran said “Heel!” He dashed for the toy in the bowl and took off. Fran held onto the toy, not letting him tug or chew, and told him to “drop it.” He did, which earned him a treat reward.

Fran set up again, a little further from the bowl, with a higher-value treat, but essentially the same question. We got the same, wrong answer. It was time to change the question – this one was too difficult for Simon today.

That’s also an important distinction. It was too much today. Another day, it might not be a big deal. But today we had to find a way to help Simon choose wisely.

Making positive changes

We switched the reward to a toy Simon likes even more than the one in the bowl. Fran played a short game of tug with him to show him what a wonderful treat was in store for him. And set up for heeling again. He almost chose wisely, but the “bird in the hand” option was still too tempting.

Helping dogs choose wisely means rewarding heavily when they do! — Vigorous game of “tug” after ignoring the distraction.

Next change: covering the toy and bowl with an open basket. Simon could still see the toy in the bowl, but there was a barrier to instant access. With this change, he was finally able to heel around the distraction successfully. And was immediately rewarded with a vigorous game of tug with the toy in Fran’s pocket.

Success not required

While not every session has to “end with a win,” we called a halt at that point. We’d already asked Simon to think hard, answer difficult questions, and concentrate.

Next time we visit this exercise – the Figure 8 with distractions – we’ll start where we left off today. With the toy visible but not accessible. We’ll start with the easier question and build up to the more difficult ones.

Dogs aren’t psychic and they don’t speak English. They do communicate clearly, if we’re paying attention. Yes, we do training to challenge our dogs. But we don’t want to overwhelm them by asking too much. If your dog is making bad decisions – it’s time to rethink the questions you’re asking.

Dogs Can Count

Dogs can count. Not really “1, 2, 3” kind of counting, but they are aware of quantities. You’ve probably noticed it when you take out two treats and give your dog one. They wait, sometimes not very patiently, for you to deliver the goods.

When one is many

Understanding how your dog perceives quantity plays a role in reward-based training. Let’s imagine your dog has done something spectacular and you want to give them a “jackpot.” Most people will grab a handful of treats and present the bonanza cupped in their palm.

That’s a mistake. No matter how many tidbits were in that palm, it counts as one to your dog. What makes a super-special “jackpot” to your dog would be single morsels, delivered to his/her mouth individually. Even if it’s the same number of treats. Maybe even if it’s fewer.

Value is you

You can easily test this for yourself. Count out a pile of five treats. Give your dog the treats as a clump, from your open hand. Chances are your dog scarfed them down and looked to you for more.

Later on, maybe after another 2-Minute Dog Training session, give another five treats. This time, deliver each one directly into your dog’s mouth with your fingers. We’ll bet your dog will be happier and more satisfied with this method.

Give and take

Aside from the counting aspect, the difference in delivery is significant. In the first case, the dog is taking the treats from you. In the piece-by-piece scenario, you’re giving the treats to your dog. Especially in training situations, you want your dog to look to you for guidance.

You don’t always have to control every aspect of your dog’s behavior. But you always want your dog to trust that you have every situation under control. It leads to a more confident, calm dog. When your dog knows that he’ll be rewarded by you when he does what you want, every time, he’ll come to love the game. You’re ultimately transferring the value of that reward to you.

Treat delivery matters

Simon gets a treat for his "High Five" behavior - far back in his moutn. — Simon getting a treat for his “High Five.”

Especially in puppy classes people are resistant to placing treats directly in their dogs’ mouths with their fingers. It makes sense – puppy teeth can be sharp as needles and hurt.

It’s best to deliver the treat as far back in the dog’s mouth as you can. You’re less likely to get nipped if your fingers are behind the front teeth. There is a side benefit of getting your dog used to you touching his/her mouth/teeth/tongue. This allows you to do routine grooming care like tooth-brushing.

Counting + Math

There is a study supporting the notion that dogs can not only count, they also understand simple math, similar to human babies. Use your dog’s ability and make every single reward count.

Good Dogs Should Always Be Rewarded

We met a woman this week whose two-year-old daughter thinks their dog’s name is “Good Dog!” We laughed about it, but it rings true. This woman is so accustomed to saying “Good Dog!” it could be the dog’s name. It’s not. The dog’s name is actually Miko.

Is there such a thing as too much praise for your dog? Too many treats? Is it possible to play too many games and have too much fun with your dog?

Of course not!

Too much of a good thing

In human terms, can you ever hear too much sincere praise from your boss? Knowing you’re doing well isn’t a reason to stop trying. It’s encouragement to keep going. And maybe even try even more, since you know your efforts are being appreciated.

Simon - a good dog is rewarded. — Simon’s a good dog who’s being rewarded!

It’s very common for people to assume there’s a time limit for rewarding their dog for good behavior. Once their dog is “trained” (as if you’re ever done!), they can stop rewarding. There is no time limit. Throughout your dog’s life, let them know you like what they’re doing. They’re good dogs. And you love them. Just like no human likes being taken for granted, dogs should be appreciated just for being good dogs!

Worried about spoiling

“But I don’t want to ‘spoil’ my dog! He’ll expect treats all the time!”

We hear that a lot, especially from new dog owners.

Realistically, what’s the harm in spoiling your dog? Your dog is never going to have to fend for himself in society. He doesn’t have to be a responsible citizen, get a job, pay rent, vote, drive, or even shop for groceries. Your dog’s one and only “job” is to be a good dog. A much-loved member of the family. Who doesn’t poop on the floor.

And is it really “spoiling” if you’re acknowledging your dog’s respect for the rules you’ve set? If your dog is doing the “job” you’ve assigned, shouldn’t he be paid for a job well done?

Let’s make it about you, instead. You have a job you love. You enjoy the work, your office, your colleagues, even the corporate culture of your workplace. Are you still going to work if you don’t get paid? (There are never too many treats in dog training either!)

Pay your good dogs

Maybe we just need a change in terms. Instead of “rewarding” good behavior, maybe we should just consider it payment for a job well done. After all, a reward sounds like a one-time deal – a single recognition of some achievement. Instead, maybe we should look at treats/playtime/praise as just part of your dog’s regular salary for being a very good dog.