Chasing Reinforcement: Food + Delivery = Happy Training
A cutie waiting patiently for her treat. photo: Althea Karwowski
A decade ago, as a dog training intern at the SF SPCA, I learned a lesson stemming from unwanted cheese.
One afternoon, I stood in a big empty room with a shelter dog. Attempting to train her, I was finding the dog very uninterested in me and my offerings of treats.
At the door appeared Erika Slovikoski, stellar dog trainer. “How’s it going?” she asked. I told her I was stuck. Reading the dog’s body language, the dog didn’t appear stressed or afraid. She just seemed…bored.
“What do you have in your bait bag?” Erika asked. I showed her the huge bag filled with bits of cheddar cheese I’d been using. All the other shelter dogs had been wild about it that day. “Maybe she doesn’t like cheese,” said Erika.
Suddenly this seemed so obvious. Yet earlier that day I was certain that cheese was the golden ticket, the key to all dogs' hearts.
Erika also suggested that maybe this dog would be more excited about food being tossed to her instead of handed right to her mouth, as I’d been doing. Erika took a piece of a non-cheese treat from her own bait bag and bounced it across the floor. The dog was excited and followed the treat happily. Progress!
Erika noted that this dog looked like a Kelpie, a type of herding dog, and that often these dogs are very into chasing treats. Then she exited, wishing us luck with the rest of our session.
In just a few minutes, I’d learned a lesson that I still think of often: observe and experiment to truly get to know the dog in front of you. What is most reinforcing for this unique individual dog at this moment? What does this particular dog love most? Training will flail or fail if we try to reinforce with items that we think our dog should like but are not what they truly love.
When choosing food reinforcers for your dog, think of your dog’s feelings about that food. Consider your dog as an individual and your training time as a unique moment with that dog. Experiment with food rewards and note your dog’s preferences. Switch it up day to day, between training sessions, and even within a training session. Be aware that tastes may change, too. Even salami can lose its appeal if that’s the only treat that’s ever offered.
How does your dog prefer to eat treats during training?
The Kelpie moment helped me to understand why it’s important to discover an individual dog’s treat preference for training. But it also underscored the importance of delivery mechanics as a way to increase the value of that treat. In fact, for some dogs, the delivery of the training treat may be just as important as the treat itself. Here are some options to try:
Feed directly to the dog’s mouth with your hand.
Place on the ground in front of the dog.
Toss/bounce the treat away from the dog for them to chase after.
Toss towards the dog after a cue to “catch.”
Present on a spoon to lick off.
Offer from a jar to eat/lick out of.
Squeeze out of a tube onto the ground or directly into the dog’s mouth.
Try a few of these at your next training session and see which ones work best for your dog. You may be surprised to find that your hand-fed friend turns out to be more excited about a treat chase - or vice versa.
Treat Delivery Tips for Shy Dogs
As a trainer specializing in fear and reactivity, I often think about another aspect of treat delivery - a safe delivery technique for shy dogs. If you’ve been having strangers offer treats from their hands to your shy dog in hopes of overcoming her shyness, I encourage you to try this alternative.
Instead of having people your dog is nervous about attempt to hand treats to your dog, create a safe space for your shy dog to receive these treats at a distance while still associating the treats with the new person. The new person may ignore the dog while you toss the treats or may toss the treats to the dog themselves. Whoever is doing the tossing, the treats should be far enough away that the dog gets greater distance from the new person when they go to get the treat. This way, the dog doesn’t have to approach the new person to get treats or interact with any outstretched hands, which may be anxiety-producing even if the dog is excited about the treat. Instead, the dog can have a safer positive experience with the new person, paired with snacks but without the pressure to be close to the person or outstretched hands.
What I’ve learned over the years is that each dog will let you know what they find delightful, and it’s not always predictable. Not every dog likes cheese, just as not every dog likes to be hand fed. Seek out the treats and the delivery technique that makes your dog light up the most. You’ll both be on your way to happier training sessions in no time.