reward-based training Archives - Page 2 of 11

Luring And Rewarding- Treats in their proper place

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What’s the difference between luring and rewarding your dog?

Picture yourself planning a driving trip to someplace you’ve never been. One way of getting there is just entering it into your map app on your phone and following directions. Presto! You have arrived. You may have absolutely no idea how you got there. And you might not have a clue how to get home. But it worked.

In the olden days, you’d take out a road map, plot your trip, consider the alternatives, use your familiarity with traffic patterns, and choose the best option. You’d know where you drove, how you got to your destination, and how to get home again.

Easier isn’t better

The GPS option is certainly easier. So is luring your dog. That doesn’t mean it’s better. If you always stick a treat in front of your dog’s nose to get them to do something, they aren’t learning. They’re following directions.

The point of training (aside from having fun with your dog) is teaching them how to do stuff and make good decisions. You don’t want to have to tell your dog what to do all day every day. It can get exhausting.

Instead, teach them how to think and reward good decisions.

More tools in the kit

There is a place for luring. It’s in the initial, teaching stage of a new behavior. “Spin!” is a good example. While some dogs may spin around naturally, it’s not a given. Luring the dog into a spin is the easiest way to show them what you want them to do. It has the added benefit of showing the dog the arm motion you’ll use to signal a spin.

While it may not be a natural behavior, it’s one that most dogs learn quickly and love doing. It transitions easily from luring to rewarding.

Luring and rewarding

Luring is having a treat in your hand and leading your dog to behave a certain way. Rewarding is asking the dog for something and giving a treat immediately after they do it. The timing has to be so close that the dog knows their action prompted a great reward. Booker has gotten rewarded for spinning, so he’ll do it repeatedly.

The premise here is “What gets rewarded gets repeated.” If your dog got a treat for spinning, chances are strong they’ll spin again. As long as the reward comes right after, the dog will retain the link between the action and its yummy result.

Making dogs think

Dogs aren’t stupid. When they know that something great is going to happen if they behave a certain way, they do it. They’re motivated to act.

Better yet, dogs will puzzle out what they have to do to earn that treat. When you have a dog trained with positive reinforcement, they’ll try all kinds of things to see what gets them the goodies. As your dog becomes increasingly confident, they’ll show you more and different actions to win the reward.

Patience pays

The hardest thing about dog training is being patient and letting your dog think. Introducing new things with a lure starts your dog on the path. Fading the lure and replacing it with a reward solidifies your dog’s grasp on the behavior. You’ll know you’re there when you can wave your hand in a circle and your dog spins like a top. Make sure that good dog’s reward is close at hand.

Dog Training Game – Trade Ya

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The “Trade Ya!” dog training game works in lots of different scenarios:

Fifi doesn’t like to play with toys. “Trade Ya!” to teach her.
Phydeaux’s biting at your pants while you walk down the hall? “Trade Ya!” for a tug toy.
Spot’s grabbing crumpled paper from the wastebasket? “Trade Ya!” for a tossed ball.
Rover’s munching on anything they shouldn’t? “Trade Ya!” for a yummier treat.

Dogs are great shoppers. They know what they like and what’s not very interesting. The most vivid example we’ve seen is the annual video from the Dogs Trust Ireland. For the holidays, the shelter has a “Santa Paws” day where each dog gets to choose from a roomful of toys. The vast majority of the dogs pick one and stick with it. Not much indecision there. Dogs know what they like.

Good, better, best

And just like people, dogs have a rating system for their preferences. There’s stuff that’s okay. Other stuff that’s good. The next tier is better. And, at the apex is the stuff they’ll run through fire to get.

All of these levels have a place in your dog’s life. To play “Trade Ya!,” you need to know your dog’s rankings for toys. As every dog owner knows, the toys you spent the most money on and thought your dog would adore are probably at the bottom of the list. Now you’ll finally get your money’s worth of fun.

To teach your dog “Trade Ya!,” pick three toys, one each representing good, better, and best. Also have your dog’s absolute favorite treat. Play this game somewhere that’s dog-toy-free. Nothing else around to attract your dog’s focus.

Play with me!

Start with the least-favorite of the three toys. Put the other two someplace you can reach them, but the dog can’t. Slap that toy on the floor and slowly wave it back and forth to get your dog to play tug with you.

Note: be sure you tug side-to-side. Never tug up-and-down to avoid injury to your dog’s neck.

If your dog doesn’t play tug, or isn’t showing any interest, lightly contact your dog’s paws with the toy as you move it across the floor in front of them. Be really annoying with it. Don’t take “no” for an answer. Eventually, your dog will succumb and get hold of the toy.

As soon as the dog grabs the first toy, whip out the second one, slap it on the floor, wiggle it back and forth and say “Trade Ya!” Since this second toy is more interesting to the dog than the first, the dog should readily drop it and grab the new toy you’re offering. (Remember your dog’s reward hierarchy!)

Rinse & repeat

When the dog’s tugging the middle-of-the-road toy, pull out the best toy, slap it on the ground, say “Trade Ya!” Your dog should grab onto the favorite toy and drop the other. Play tug for a moment. Let your dog “win” the game sometimes.

Tug shouldn’t be a duration game. After a few tugs, say something like “That’s all!” and end it. If your dog won’t give up the “best” toy, reach for the high-value treat you brought and once again, say “Trade Ya!”

Lesson of the game

It may take a few sessions for your dog to understand that they’re trading up with “Trade Ya!” In time, they will readily drop what they have to choose the trade option.

Always be sure that the next-level toy or treat is handy before you say “Trade Ya!” If you don’t have something “better,” you’d be lying to your dog. That would poison the game and you might have to start over from the beginning.

Whenever you say “Trade Ya!” your dog will come to expect that they’re getting something even better than whatever it is they have. That applies to anything your dog may have that you’d rather they didn’t. Playing tug is more fun for the dog than biting your pants leg. The best treat is better than chewing on grass. Take advantage of your dog’s pro shopping ability.

Muzzles are good management

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What do you think when you see a person walking around with a muzzled dog? Are you wary? Do you grab your dog and cross the street? Thinking needs to change. In fact, muzzles are good management.

Sadly, the stigma attached to using a muzzle for your dog prevents many people from using one of the least intrusive, most useful dog management tools ever. Using a muzzle prevents your dog from starting any trouble and insures they won’t contribute to any they find.

Everyday wear

Take the case of a dog from our “Impulse Control” class. He’s a young dog, a medium-sized terrier. Let’s call him Sam. Sam is the first dog of a very nice young couple, and he does great in their apartment. He does okay on walks. He’s nipped two people in the elevator. That’s a problem. And a pretty big one.

Sam isn’t a mean dog. He’s a young, scared dog who doesn’t get the distance he needs to feel safe when he’s in an elevator. The absolute cardinal rule for fear-aggressive dogs is “distance is your friend.” The fear reaches a boiling point when the dog is trapped and unable to move away.

Sam’s people have to take the elevator. Sometimes they’re not going to be able to wait for an empty car, or be able to ask other people not to get in. Everybody’s got places to go and schedules to keep. What they can do, to make sure that everyone, including Sam, is safe.

Muzzle your dog

We started muzzle-training the dogs in impulse control class. Every dog should be accustomed to a muzzle – you never know what circumstances may require it. If your dog is injured, they will also be frightened. And they might lash out at people who are trying to help. Emergency vets and technicians routinely muzzle dogs – you can’t know how much pain a dog is in, or how it will react. Most dog owners, fortunately, don’t know how their dogs would react to an injury. Muzzles are good management – even the calmest, most well-behaved dog might react poorly to a perceived threat – especially if the dog is in pain. Plus, a muzzle means that your dog won’t pick up strange objects in the backyard.

The first step in muzzle-training is like any other game. Get the dog familiar with the object and reward interaction with the thing. Looking at it, sniffing it, pawing at it, taking it in their mouth – all are steps in familiarization. Reward each interaction. Ideally, put your hand through the muzzle to reward your dog, so the muzzle becomes part of the interaction.

Over the course of a few 2-Minute sessions, accustom the dog to the muzzle. Depending on the kind of muzzle, you can put your hand through while giving your dog treats. Start asking your dog to stick his nose/muzzle in the muzzle. If you don’t have one, or if the dog needs time to get used to the muzzle, use a plastic glass or cone and ask your dog to stick their nose in. Reward in or by the thing to build value in the interaction.

If your dog is skittish, don’t even try putting the muzzle on until your dog has made friends with it. We want dogs to believe that muzzles are no big deal. Because they’re not. Or at least they shouldn’t be. Muzzle-training your dog means you care about everybody’s safety in any situation. It’s “what if” training that we hope your dog will never need.

Not always everywhere

In Impulse Control class, we had no muzzles, so we used plastic cones to simulate something for the dogs to stick their faces into. Once they figured out that treats were involved, they were shoving their noses in as far as they could go.

Sam’s parents have the task of finding a muzzle that works for them and their dog. (For a description of various types of muzzles, see “Every dog needs a muzzle.”) They asked if they had to use it all the time. The answer is yes. And no. Since Sam’s issues are in enclosed spaces, he needs to wear it in the apartment building and elevator. Once they get outside, it can come off. They can achieve the distance from other people/dogs/objects that Sam finds scary.

The elevator trip back home also requires the muzzle back on. And, if friendly neighbors are sharing the ride, by all means ask them to give Sam treats.

Defy dog logic

We’ve had people who say “I’m not giving a dog treats for growling at me!” That’s a complete misinterpretation of what’s going on. You’re not rewarding the growling, or reactive behavior. Instead, you’re proving to the dog that you’re not frightening and you’re a nice person. All people are nice.

That’s the message dogs should get from all strangers. Especially dogs who are somewhat fearful. The objective is to reassure them that you’ll keep them safe. They have nothing to fear. Not even fear itself. And muzzles are good management.

Make it easy on your dog. Expect perfection.

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It’s not being mean to expect perfection from your dog. It makes it easy for your dog to understand exacly what you want.

We have a friend with both French Bulldogs and Border Collies. Our friend makes us absolutely crazy because she holds the different breeds to different criteria in training. She expects the Border Collies to be perfect. The Frenchies can get away with “meh” performances. So that’s what she gets from them.

Every dog is capable of great things in whatever training you choose. Whether it’s reaching elite dog sport performance or becoming the perfect couch cuddler, it’s up to you. But you’ll do your dog a huge favor if you expect perfection.

“Good enough” isn’t

Have you ever asked your dog to “Sit!” and thought “eh, good enough” when the dog lies down? If so, you just confused your dog. The dog was showing you they don’t understand the word. Instead of clarifying it, you fed the confusion.

Unlike people, dogs don’t have a sliding scale or understand there’s an acceptable range. Dogs understand “yes” and “no.” “Maybe” is an alien concept. That’s why dogs often behave better for the “strictest” person in the family, rather than the one who’s “nice” to them. They understand what the “strict” person expects of them. Niceness is confusing.

That doesn’t mean you yell at your dog or order them around all the time. It means that you teach them what you want from them. If it truly doesn’t matter to you if your dog sits or lies down, reward whatever you get. If you actually want them to “Sit!” teach them what it means. Accept and reward only an actual sit position. If the dog lies down, wait and look at their butt. Don’t repeat the command. Just wait. As soon as they rise into a “Sit!” reward.

Keep it simple

A key to understanding dogs is recognizing that they love patterns and routines. That’s why people who say “Sit” three times (many do) when they’re teaching their dogs will always have to say “Sit” three times to get their dogs to do it.

Clarity and precision are largely disregarded and underrated. With people, you can easily clear misunderstandings with more words. You don’t have that option with dogs. While they can understand hundreds of words, they’ll only know one meaning for each one. And you’re the one who decides what each word means for your dog.

If you think you’ve confused your dog about something, it’s often easier to start over with a new word than fix the mistake. You may never know why a particular word has become “poison” to your dog. Fran had that happen with Tango. He stopped understanding his release word, which was “Go!” He didn’t.

He couldn’t tell us why. Fran could only deal with what was true. So she started over again with a new release word, “Action!” It’s still working just fine.

Maybe it’s time to switch anvil makers

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Wile E. Coyote has been trying to catch Road Runner for decades. He’s spent innumerable hours and buckets of money and nothing he tries works. And yet he persists in ordering his traps from Acme. When is it time to concede he’s put his faith and effort into the wrong thing? Agree that maybe it’s time to switch anvil makers. And how long will you stubbornly stick to something that’s not working for you and your dog?

Although its source is uncertain, we still adhere to the quote “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.” The hardest part for many people seems to be recognizing when something’s unrecoverably broken and moving on. It doesn’t mean you give up on the behavior you’re trying to teach. It means you may have to approach it sideways instead of head-on.

Poisoning the well

Experience being the excellent teacher it is, of course we’ve “been there, done that.” Tango, Fran’s Brussels Griffon, has posed many challenges over the years. Since he’ll celebrate his 16th birthday this month, we can’t even count the vast number of lessons we’ve learned from him.

After Fran got him over being a snarling, hostile devil-dog (read Tango: Transforming my Hellhound, available on Amazon) , she was able to concentrate on more fun things like Rally, Agility, and Obedience. For unknown reasons, and Tango’s not telling, he stopped responding to his release word, which was “Go!” When he heard it, he visibly shrank and shut down.

For a short while, like most people, Fran tried to get him over the bugaboo. She loaded the word with treats, praised any slight movement, did all the right things to make “Go!” valuable and fun. Tango wasn’t having any of it.

Instead of persisting in hitting a brick wall, Fran regrouped, thought, “Maybe it’s time to switch release words,” and started from square one. She chose a new release word, “Action!” and taught it to Tango. Whatever negative association he had with “Go!” didn’t apply to the new word. They were in business once again.

Choose the easy way

Un-teaching something to a dog is difficult. If it’s attached to some negative emotion, it’s practically impossible. Dogs don’t just “get over it.” If some word, action, or place has become toxic to the dog, it’s often better to just let it go and approach from another angle.

A similar thing happened with one of our Rally students. Her two-year-old, rather skittish dog, became slinky and shut down if told to “Stand!” Nobody knows why. She was never abused, nobody hurt her after telling her to “Stand.” She’s a dog. She’ll never give us the answer.

We advised the dog’s owner to start over. Pick a different word and another hand motion to indicate “Stand!” And the dog perfected the “new” behavior in days. Does it look just like a “Stand!”? Yes, of course. Is it actually the exact same exercise? Yes, it is. But it’s different for the dog. And her opinion matters.

Greetings Game: Statue and Fuss

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We call the Greetings Game “Statue and Fuss.” That describes the people’s assignment, not the dog’s. It’s up to the humans to demonstrate what happens when the dog jumps (Statue) vs. sits (Fuss).

The vast majority of dogs are happy to see you. They love meeting people. Dogs will offer an enthusiastic welcome even if you’ve only been gone two minutes. Exuberant dogs reach a level of excitement that has them, literally, bouncing off the walls, the floor, the furniture, and you.

Most people don’t really like dogs jumping on them. They’ll tell you it’s okay, but you know it’s really not. The problem is getting your dog to clue in on that, too.

Imposing polite

One of the reasons this behavior is hard to extinguish is that you may not get a lot of cooperation from other people. When they’re puppies, dogs are incredibly cute, small, and fairly harmless. People like having little puppies say hello to them. Most people will even override your wishes, insisting “It’s okay. I want to say hi!”

Enforcing your training protocols when other people are around takes a lot of fortitude and a willingness to seem rude. If people ask “May I pet your puppy?” (most won’t bother to ask) and you say “Not if he’s jumping on you,” most people will stampede right over what you say and reach for your bouncing, wiggling, adorable dog. Don’t let them.

That’s easier said than done. But every violation of the protocol you set means a step back in training. That’s one of the reasons teaching polite greetings takes time.

Statue and Fuss

The Greetings Game requires that you set it up with a trusted person. Don’t play the game in public before your dog has a pretty thorough understanding. It’ll just be frustrating for both of you.

Depending on how nutsy crazy your dog is to meet people, you have a couple of options for the setup.

If your dog is a wildly excited jumping fool, don’t start with a doorbell and someone coming into the house. Have your dog on collar and leash and have your helper come into the room and walk up to you and your dog. Instruct the person not to look at the dog, pet the dog, or interact with the dog in any way.

When the person comes over to you, do not tell your dog to sit. The dog has to learn to make a good decision. Don’t make it for them. They have to find out on their own what will get them what they want.

If the dog is jumping and being generally manic, your helper person should stand there, arms folded, staring at the wall behind you or the ceiling. When the dog sits, or at least has four paws on the ground, the helper should immediately fuss over the dog, pet the dog, and talk to the dog. And be ready to instantly stop if the dog jumps. In mid-word, if necessary, revert to “statue” mode. Stop, fold arms, stare at ceiling.

The alternating statue/fuss will demonstrate to the dog what they need to do to get what they want. Dogs get what they want (attention) when we get what we want (manners).

Not quite so nutsy

If your dog is exuberant but not over-the-top, you can play the same game of Statue and Fuss, but start with someone entering the house, not just the room. When your dog starts remembering to sit when someone comes in, you can add the next level of thrill – the doorbell.

There will, inevitably, be incidents where the person slips up and fusses over the dog when they should be a statue. It’s hard to resist giving attention to a being that so clearly adores you. That’s why it takes a while to build the habit of polite greetings.

When you embark on teaching your dog polite greetings, be sure that everyone in the house is in on it. If you’re trying to teach your dog to make good decisions and your partner is dragging the dog off people, it’s not going to work. Everyone has to be willing to play Statue and Fuss. Do everyone a favor and make sure your dog’s nails are short and smooth before you start. Statues take a bit of a mauling when you start playing the game.

Let your dog look

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Ever heard the quote from Robert Heinlein’s Lazarus Long “Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.” ? There’s a lot of wisdom in choosing to fight only the battles you have a chance of winning. You can’t start playing training games, or do any kind of training, unless you have your dog’s attention. And you’ll never get their focus on you if you expect them to laser-focus on you and ignore other dogs, people, treats, etc. Do yourself a favor. Stop fighting a losing battle. Let your dog look.

Face the distraction

One of the most futile things everyone does in training class is try to turn their dogs away from whatever’s attracting their attention. It’s not going to work. It’s just going to divide your dog’s attention – they know they should be listening to you. But there’s a dog over there! Or a person walking! Or a Squirrel!

Dogs are hard-wired to notice motion. That’s a common trait among all predators. It’s not something you can change, nor should you. Instead of trying to fight your dog’s instinct, work with it. Don’t try to get your dog to ignore the distraction. Let them face it. You move between the dog and the distractor. Let them watch. Don’t let them get closer. You don’t let them check it out. Just let them look.

At some point they’ll look back at you. That’s when you pounce! Give them a treat, a toy, a big, fat, juicy reward for focusing on you. That’s when it’s your job to be more interesting than anything else around.

Isn’t that letting the dog win?

It’s not a contest. You and your dog are a team. Neither of you is trying to beat the other. In this case, you may have to concede, for a minute or two, that your dog finds watching whatever it is more rewarding than paying attention to you. So you let that distraction become familiar.

An old saw says “Familiarity breeds contempt.” That’s what we’re going for. When your dog comes to the realization that playing with you is more fun, interesting, and rewarding than staring at the dog across the room, that’s when you both win. You want your dog to become familiar with the world around them. Then they can successfully ignore it and focus on you.

A pivotal decision

The first meeting of a new dog training class is always loud and a bit chaotic. That’s because everything is new and different to every one of the dogs. By the next class, and certainly by the third, the dogs are accustomed to the routine and calm prevails.

When your dog is obsessing over something over there, it can be frustrating. You know there’s nothing interesting. But there’s no way to explain that to your dog. This is one of those times when you muster your strength for the hardest part of dog training – waiting. You don’t repeat things your dog isn’t listening to. You don’t wave a cookie in their face. Initially, you don’t do anything but wait.

Your stillness may prove more interesting to your dog than all the gyrations you’ve tried before. Because you’ve never done nothing to attract your dog’s attention. You’ve tried everything else, now it’s time to do something that might actually work.

Let your dog look, and then look back at you

Your dog may think you’re broken, because the pattern they’re used to isn’t there. When they finally do check in with you, praise and reward lavishly. Your dog will think it’s a pretty good deal if all they have to do is look at you to get a jackpot. Next time you wait for your dog’s attention will be shorter. In time, the distractions will get a glance and you’ll get the dog’s attention.

When to stop rewarding the dog

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Dog training students always want to know when they can stop rewarding dogs. The answer’s easy. When you don’t care if the dog keeps doing whatever it is.

If you don’t care if your dog sits automatically when you stop moving, stop rewarding it.

If you don’t mind if your dog jumps on guests, stop rewarding polite greetings.

If it doesn’t matter that your dog eliminates outside, stop rewarding the dog.

Stuck forever

On the other hand, if you like what your dog is doing and want them to keep doing it, the rewards have to keep going. You won’t always need treats available in all rooms at all times. But you do have to acknowledge your dog’s good behavior somehow.

The form that takes depends on your dog. If your dog likes jaw scratches, do that. If a hearty “Good Girl!” makes their butt wiggle, use that. But if your dog has a “show me the money” personality, you’d better fork over the goods.

Keep in mind that dogs always do what’s most rewarding for them. You can believe as hard as you want that your dog should “know better” by now. But if every instance is a decision-making process, you want the dog’s choice to land on the side of the angels. There’s nothing wrong with stacking the deck to make sure that happens.

Dashing down the stairs

Our dogs all love playing training games. Our morning routine includes a trip down the stairs to the basement training space. Consequently, our dogs all love going downstairs. For a very long time, Simon would dash down the stairs whenever the door opened. Even if we were just reaching for a coat on the stairway coat hooks.

It took some time and effort to convince Simon that he wasn’t supposed to bolt down the stairs as soon as the door opened. We took the time and effort to set the situation up, teaching him to sit, wait, and move only when he heard his release word. In the beginning, the “Sit!” got a food reward. So did the “Wait.” For Simon, the release word means he gets to do what he wants – go downstairs. That’s the reward for good behavior. The food reward isn’t necessary.

He doesn’t always get to go downstairs. Sometimes we’re just reaching for that jacket. Our hand on the doorknob is his cue to “Sit!” and “Wait!” We can now open that door whenever we need to. Simon sees a hand on the doorknob and sits. He waits until we close the door again and give him a treat. We acknowledge his good decision with a reward. If we didn’t, there’d be no reason for him to keep doing it. Going downstairs is extremely rewarding for him. The alternative has to be as attractive.

Encouraging good decisions

A reward, whether it’s a yummy tidbit, tummy rubs, a game of tug, lets your dog know you’ve seen their good decision and like it. Over time, lots of good dog choices become just another part of the routine. Lately we’ve had a few dogs in classes who, for whatever reason, are frightened of going through doorways. For some, it’s particular doorways. For others, it’s all doorways. We don’t know why. We’ll never know why. Dogs never tell us their “why’s.”

All of these dogs are getting over their doorway phobia. In time, both the dogs and their people will be able to sail through any jamb without a second thought. Rewards won’t be required long term, but they are needed now. These people are asking their dogs to be brave and make a scary (to them) choice. The rewards given now build the equation: “When I go through the doorway, good things happen on the other side.” At some point it will become a non-issue. Then you can stop rewarding the dog.

Second nature

Many of the behaviors we teach our dogs become natural parts of life. You won’t always have to reward your dog for walking politely at your side, it will become a habit. In time, sitting when being introduced to guests will be the norm. Your dog’s default behavior will become going to their kitchen “Place!” when you’re cooking. Until those desirable things happen, the rewards have to keep coming.

Regrets, there’ve been a few

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It’s fun having dogs who understand and know how to do stuff. If there’s something we want them to know, we figure out a game way to teach them. But over the years, there’s been some training, or lack thereof, that we regret. (Like eliminate on command.)

If you’re lucky enough to have an old dog, you know it’s not always easy. On those really bad-arthritis days, you feel like a tyrant making them get up and walk. But joints, like lots of things in life, are a “use it or lose it” proposition.

Tango is now 15 ½ years old. He’s little, so we have the option of carrying him around. But we don’t, except for stairs. He needs to move. We make him play “Put Your Toys Away” almost every day – at least he’s moving from the toy pile to the bin.

What we wish he knew: “eliminate on command”

The biggest regret is what we wish we’d taught him when he was young and spry. That’s to eliminate on command.

When Tango was young, he could “hold” for a dozen or more hours. He never messed in the house or had accidents. He also never had a predictable elimination schedule. It wasn’t a big deal then. If he had to go when he was outside, he did. If not, he didn’t.

Now, he can’t hold for a dozen hours. But he doesn’t like being out in the cold. And he doesn’t eliminate on command, because we never taught him. So he stands there, shivering (we are, too), and looking miserable. When we relent and bring him inside, he either paces around the house, or has an accident.

Think ahead

We’ve had dogs for so long that every floor is a dog-friendly surface. It’s not a big deal to clean up after Tango. But we wish we didn’t have to.

We’ve made sure to teach all the other dogs to eliminate on command. It’s easy to do – name it, praise it, reward it. Every time.

The other dogs aren’t young – 12. 10, and 6. And all of them know the commands “go poop” or “go pee.” A friend of ours used “hit it” as her dogs’ cue.

Think carefully about the name you give to your dog’s bathroom functions. And where you’re most likely to say it. If you’re in your own backyard, nobody’s around and it matters less. But if you’re in a more public place, will you be embarrassed to say “go poop?” If so, think of a lovely euphemism. Only you and your dog need to understand what you mean.

Language matters

A huge part of dog training is establishing communication between you. Dogs are capable of understanding dozens, if not hundreds, of words. Your job is teaching them the vocabulary they need.

You get to decide what every word means between you and your dog. Make your “potty” word something you’ll remember and use. And be sure it’s not a word your dog will hear all the time. That could get messy.

Try it without treats

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One of our videos got a little traction this week on Tik Tok and we were fortunate to have quite a few people comment. Most were lovely, just hearts and admiration for Torque, Hope’s French Bulldog. It’s always nice when somebody else thinks your dog is as wonderful as you do. But there were also more than a few that implied his only motivation was the treats. And challenging us to “prove” he can do it without rewards. “Try it without treats” they said.

A different perspective

We know that Torque would play training games just for the fun of it. Would he be as eager? Probably not. And how would we communicate to him when he’s right? And when he’s not?

One of the first things we tell all our trainees is “Dogs learn by the timing and placement of rewards.” We say it early and often. Those rewards give your dog the immediate feedback: “Yes! That was good!” Withholding the rewards tells your dog “That’s not quite it. Try again.”

Many people seem to think that praise should be sufficient reward or motivation. Let’s put that in perspective.

For example: you have a great job in a great place with terrific colleagues. Everything about your job is great. Is a pat on the back from your boss sufficient reward? It’s really nice, but don’t you still want a paycheck?

Proving it to who?

Our response when challenged to create a video without using rewards was: Why should we?

The person came back with “To prove you can do it.”

To whom? And why? We’re not claiming that Torque is unique among dogs. Our goal is to encourage everyone to play training games with their own dogs. Because every single dog loves doing it. And everybody, dogs and people alike, has fun.

The challenge is seeing what your dog can do. Dogs have favorite games, just like people. Some dogs learn Puppy Push-ups in a week. Their 3-Step Pattern Walking takes no time at all. But they just can’t get the hang of “Place!” Or “Stay!”

The only opinion that matters

When you play training games and teach your dog only with reward-based training, there will be loads of people who “know a better, faster way.”

It’s absolutely true that punishment-based training is faster. Dogs learn quickly how to avoid pain. If you’re okay with hurting your dog to achieve quick compliance, there are lots of trainers who teach “yank and crank” methods. But not in this space. And not in our classes.

No treats allowed

There are no treats or rewards allowed during dog sport competitions. You can’t bring anything into the competition ring but your dog. For those few minutes of judging, the dog gets no “reward” other than your smile.

If you’ve built sufficient value in the process, your dog will do what you ask. Just partnering with you, doing familiar, fun things will be enough. And, when your time in the competition ring is over, you can run over to your trial set-up and give your wonderful dog the jackpot they deserve.