What is the best type of reward to use during dog training? Verbal praise or treats?
What is the best type of reward to use during dog training? Verbal praise or treats?
You know I am not opposed to treats entirely but what I am opposed to is many trainers and training methods today say you should only use treats and that the only type of correction should be a withholding of treats. To me, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense as I want my dog to obey me out of this mutual kind of bond and respect we have not because I happen to be holding treats. Sometimes I will use treats to communicate an idea. For example, if I am teaching a dog to sit then maybe I will use a treat to guide his nose backwards which leads to a sitting position but the second he starts to understand it, I switch to just praise. I find there is a lot more teamwork built when there is mostly praise and it is not just treat based training. Anyone can teach their dog a trick with a treat but what I want is functional obedience – obedience you can use in your home, in your yard, on the street. Treats are not the best motivation for that but rather a healthy relationship based on this trust and teamwork and praise is the best way to accomplish that.
Ty Brown is an expert dog trainer, author, and speaker who specializes in obedience training, behavior modification, protection dog training, and narcotics dogs. To learn more about Ty and the dog training services he offers, visit www.dogbehavioronline.com
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A smart dog owner will use *whatever the dog likes* as a reinforcer. It could be a thrown tennis ball, it could be a walk outdoors, it could be the opportunity to sit with me on the couch, it could be a piece of steak, it could be the opportunity to do a favorite behavior (in my house that favorite behavior is “speak.”).
Praise will work only if the dog thinks it worth working for. I have a dog for which a thrown tennis ball is the ultimate reward. Praise just doesn’t cut it.
Every dog is different, therefore every reinforcer will be different. One size definitely does not fit all.
My dogs just love treats and there are many varieties that you can offer them. It is also easy to carry treats in my pocket and my purse when we go out.
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“To me, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense as I want my dog to obey me out of this mutual kind of bond and respect we have not because I happen to be holding treats.”
Wow… I’m a little taken aback that as a professional trainer that you seem to think that dogs trained with treats will only perform when treats are present and have no “respect” for their people. Surely you have heard of using a Variable Reinforcement Schedule…. just because you train the cue with treats initially does not mean the dog should only perform if it sees a treat… if that’s the case, that’s an error with the trainer, not the method.