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Top 5 Complaints About Reward Based Training
Lisa Radosta DVM, DACVB
I wholeheartedly recommend reward-based training. This type of training is based on rewarding the dog with the things that she likes (e.g., food, toys) when the dog performs a behavior correctly. This type of training is a kinder and more effective way to teach our canine friends, however no method is perfect. If you have had some challenges using treats to train your pet, read on!
The Problem: My dog only listens to me when I have a treat or a toy.
Why it happens: Owners inadvertently teach dogs to listen only when they have something in their hand (e.g., a treat), are standing near the treat jar or wearing a treat bag, so that is the only time that their dogs listen.
Dogs are excellent at reading their environment. If each time that you train with treats, you wear a treat bag or you stand near the treat jar, your dog will learn that she only has the opportunity to get treats when you give that additional signal. By the same token if you always hold a treat in your hand or reach into the treat bag when you give your dog the cue to sit, she will only sit when you give those extra signals.
If you teach your dog that when she refuses to sit on the first request, you will reach in your pocket for a treat to lure her into the sit, she will only respond when she sees the treat. Why should she waste her energy?
Finally, if you only use treats at home and never out in public, your dog will only respond to you at home because that is the only place where she was rewarded.
The Fix: Teach your dog that there is always an opportunity for reward by trying the following exercises once you feel like your dog has a good understanding of the behavior.
We are going to use "sit" as the sample behavior. Ask your dog to sit randomly throughout the day or evening without moving your hands. Wait at 10 seconds for her to sit. If she sits in that time, praise her and give her a treat. If she doesn't sit in that time, reach into your pocket, show her what she missed and say, "oops." Then, put the treat back in your pocket and walk away. If she follows you, ignore her. Wait a minutes and try again. If she responds, reward her. You are teaching her to respond even when you don't move your hands and she doesn't see a treat.
Incorporate the behaviors that you want your dog to perform into your daily life so that your dog never knows when you will be asking her to perform. This will help her to generalize to many different situations as well as teaching her that there is opportunity to get a reward even when it doesn't look like a training situation.
The Problem: I don't want to carry treats forever. I think that my dog should do things for me because I ask her to and she loves me.
Why it happens: Seriously?! What if your boss said that she didn't want to pay you forever? She just doesn't have the time and it is a lot of trouble for her to write out the check each week. I mean, she has to pick up the pen and get the checkbook. It is sooo time consuming! How long would you continue to go to work? A dog's agenda doesn't include sitting down when you ask her to or lying down on cue instead of chasing squirrels. You ask your dog to do completely unnatural things each day and she deserves payment for those things. If you stop rewarding those behaviors, your dog will stop offering them just as you would eventually stop working if your boss stopped paying you.
The Fix: Understand reinforcement schedules. The most powerful reinforcement schedule is variable reinforcement. This means that you sometimes give a treat and you sometimes don't for each individual behavior. Start this schedule when your dog can perform the behavior 9 out of 10 times correctly the first time that you ask her in most situations. For example: Once your dog knows how to sit, you will
reward her with food on every 1, 5, 9 and 10th try and with petting and
praise on the 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8th try.
Your dog may need treats in certain situations (e.g., the veterinarian's office) forever. Remember if you stop rewarding a behavior entirely, your dog will stop offering it!
The Problem: My dog only performs the behavior when she isn't stressed.
Why it happens: Some dogs are just too fearful and anxious in certain situations to perform. Other dogs have not been taught to perform in that situation and need to be taught to do so. This is called generalization.
The Fix: When you teach a behavior, you have to teach it in lots of places so that your dog can generalize. When your dog can perform the behavior in your house, practice it in the back yard, then the front yard, then on walks, etc. The more stressful the situation is, the more likely your dog is to mess up so be patient and don't be afraid to make it easier.
The Problem: I don't want my dog to get fat so I don't use treats to train her.
Why it happens: The fact is that dogs are becoming overweight in the United States in record numbers with and without treat training. We overfeed and underexercise our dogs. Another problem is the size of the average dog treat. Most commercial dog treats are way too large.
The Fix: Use properly sized, low fat treats and reduce the amount of food that your dog gets in her food bowl. Treats, regardless of the size of the dog, should be between ¼-½ the size of a dime. Owners can use treats that are low in fat such as freeze-dried liver or chicken breast. Higher value, low-fat treats include part-skim mozzarella and white meat chicken breast. Just as you might have a light dinner if you had a big lunch, keep your dog's dinner light if you used a lot of treats that day in training.
The Problem: My dog doesn't like treats.
Why it happens: Certain dogs just aren't treat motivated. Some dogs are more motivated by toys, sniffing the grass or being let out to play.
The Fix: Get creative. Try different treats of various value for your dog. If you have been trying crunchy treats, try soft treats of people food (low-fat). If your dog really isn't food motivated, find what does make her tail wag and use that for training. Some commonly used non-food rewards are: petting, brushing, tossing a toy, playing tug, freedom to run in the yard, going on a walk, and playing with another dog. Remember to save your dog's special toy as a reward for training so it will keep its value.
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Commitment
Jennifer Fonseca
Courtesy: J. Fonseca
Let me introduce our dogs: Basha is our loving, separation anxiety
ridden, reactive, rescue pit mix who adopted up in March of 2008. Bella is our five year old Boston
Terrier, who is described by our vet as a "diva." Bella has her own set of anxiety issues, and in her fear of
being de-throned as Alpha female, has started a number of fights with her
housemate - none of which have ended well for her or me. Just thinking about the fights makes my
heart race and wanting to make friends with Xanax.
I thought once we hired a
behavioralist our dogs would magically get along. The first visit I had so much hope when Dr. Radosta rang the
door bell. I had a sense of relief
- finally someone who can fix these dogs. I was really hoping for a magic wand, miracle potion or some really
quick fix, but no, I got a list.
Immediately I was
overwhelmed. In addition to
walking each dog separately twice a day (15 minutes each = 30 minutes x 2 = 60
minutes daily), I had to train each dog separately three times a day; double
the dogs = double the work. Working full time and training the dogs was time consuming, not to
mention the detailed daily emails I sent Dr. Radosta. It
was a lot of work, however with the help of Dr. Radosta the following coping
strategies helped both me and my dogs.
Remember It is Only For a Season
The initial intensity of training
is only for a few weeks. When I was able to take a step back and realize that the repetitive
training was only for a short season, I was able to breathe. We can do anything for a short amount
of time.
Break it Up
One of the best pieces of advice
Dr. Radosta gave me was to do the training in short five minute blocks. I created a weekly schedule and I blocked
out those times around breakfast, lunch and dinner. I would utilize commercial
breaks while watching TV as a timed training period. Seeing the dogs progress encouraged me to continue.
Consistency
Although my vocabulary was
reduced to about six words (sit, stay, down, leave it, watch), the consistent
use of these commands reinforced desired behavior. At first Basha wanted to jump on the couch, something we had
allowed in the past, but not anymore. I purchased a nice dog bed for her and repeatedly brought her
there to lay down. It
worked! I just had to outlast my
dogs. Every properly obeyed
command was reinforced with a treat. I am now affectionately known in the neighborhood as the "Cheese Lady." It is amazing what string cheese
mozzarella can accomplish!
Through these three techniques we
have been able to triple the amount of time without a fight, and both neighbors
and our vet have confirmed the difference they see in our dogs. Was it a lot of work? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely.
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Are large dogs smarter than small dogs?
Courtesy: C. Cammarota
No, but a recent study comparing dogs greater than approximately 50 pounds with dogs less than that showed that larger dogs scored significantly better on tasks where they had to follow direction from a person by following their pointing gestures than smaller dogs did.
Physical size matters in the domestic dog's (Canis lupus familiaris) ability to use human pointing cues.
Heltona et al, 2010
Dr. Radosta's take on the study: This study shows what we already suspected: Each dog is an individual and they each learn differently. It is up to us, their teachers to find out how they learn best, not up to them to show us! |
Lisa Radosta, DVM, DACVB
Florida Veterinary Behavior Service
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Does your dog lunge, bark and growl on the leash?
Take the Reactive Dog Class taught by Dr. Radosta to learn how to relax and control your dog on walks.
Reactive Dog Class starts on September 29
For more information, click here.
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Is your cat urinating on your bed? 5 tips to get your cat back in the box.
1. Supersize it.  Compare the relative size of your bathroom to your cat's bathroom. A standard litterbox for the average sized cat is equivalent to a bathroom the size of a closet for you! 2. Make it convenient! Put your cat's box in areas where she can easily get to it. If your dog is blocking the litterbox or snacking each day in it, your cat is going to find a more convenient place to go to the bathroom. 3. Give her what she wants. Courtesy: Ilana ReisnerDon't buy whichever litter is on sale, if your cat likes a certain brand, stick with it and don't ever change! 4. Clean up.  Scoop your cat's box at least daily. That's right, a minimum of daily. How often do you flush? If your litterbox looks like the one above, get to work! 5. Let it breathe. 
Most cats like uncovered boxes. We like them because they keep the smell in, but most cats don't like them for the same reason!
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Clinical Trials
Does your cat urinate outside of the litterbox?
If so, your cat may qualify for a clinical trial for a new supplement. Click here for more information.
Is your dog afraid to ride in the car?
Your dog may qualify for a clinical trial for a new supplement for travel phobia.
Click here for more information.
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Your story could inspire someone else! If you would like to share your story, write it in 500 words or less and email it to us at info@flvetbehavior.com. If we use it in the next newsletter, we will let you know! |
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Lisa Radosta DVM, DACVB 
