Tip 1: Use an effective reward
For some reason, we humans sometimes have a sense of pride around how “little” our dog needs to work for us. In reality, just because your dog will accept a piece of food from you, does not mean it is actually reinforcing that behaviour! Make sure you are matching the reward to the session (including level of distraction involved).
Example: If you cleaned my whole house and I gave you $20 afterward, you probably wouldn’t refuse the $20 bill, but you certainly wouldn’t be signing up to clean my house again.
And yet, if you simply picked up a snack wrapper and put it in the trash, you would probably be thrilled to get $20 for that.
So the next time you try to use a piece of fruit or a dry cookie to “reinforce” a behaviour, and it doesn’t seem to be working…. Give your dog a raise!
When training a new behaviour or working in a new environment, try using liver or cheese instead of kibble. We could also use other types of rewards like toys or access to things (dogs, people, swimming, etc), but that can be another article!
Tip 2: Practice ‘clean’ training
Are you rewarding what you think you’re rewarding? Clean training can help provide clear communication to your dog. It can involve:
- Using a reward marker – in class, we encourage you to say “YES” when the dog does the behaviour. Some people like to use a clicker for this.
- Practicing your timing to ensure you are marking the exact moment you want to reinforce.
- Being mindful of any inadvertent communication that might muddy your intended message (chit chatting at your dog, body language, accidental hand signals, reaching for the treat too early).
- Giving clear cues – ONE at a time. Don’t repeat your cues or give a verbal and a hand signal at the same time. Give your verbal cue once, then pause and let your dog have a few moments to think. If they don’t respond then go ahead and give your hand signal.
Practicing your training mechanics isn’t always the most fun, but it’s an important part of being able to communicate effectively with your dog.
Tip 3: Keep it short
While classes may be 1 hour long, we only spend a few minutes on each behaviour. The length of your training session might depend on what you’re working on, but in general shorter is better.
At home, work your training into your daily routines. For example, spend 5 minutes training ‘go to mat’ while you eat lunch. Reward your dog for calm behaviour, then release them to do something else (play, go for a walk, go chew a toy, etc.).
When working on recall, try not to stand in the yard and call your dog over and over. Instead, go for a walk with your long line and practice calling your dog, rewarding them, then releasing them to go walk around and sniff for a while before you call them again.
This also has the added bonus of your training being more natural and realistic. If you grab a treat pouch, put on certain clothes, and go to a certain room every time you train your dog, they will catch on to these context clues. This can lead to them listening when in ‘training mode’ but not in real life.
Try out these tips for your next training session and let us know how it goes!
Amelia Pizzi CPDT-KSA
