Training with high value food can be a strangely controversial topic. Many puppy owners want to avoid training with food as they don’t want a dog that only responds when they have snacks on hand — but is this a real concern, or a lack of understanding? Let’s talk about it.
Food is a powerful motivator. Dogs, just like people, like to eat. Eating something tasty FEELS good. It creates a dopamine response, and all of us want more of that. We can use food to create positive associations with things that worry our dog, and we can use it to reward good behavior. We can also use it to teach our dog that paying attention to us is highly beneficial, or to physically manipulate them into the right position (luring).
Where food training goes wrong, is when food is used as a BRIBE rather than as a reward. “He only comes inside from the backyard when I shake a bag of cookies!” is a great example of a dog who is not being trained with food effectively. If you are shaking a treat in your dogs face to try to get them to ignore a dog or person, or to come to you when asked, you are not using rewards in a powerful way. You’re essentially teaching your dog that if they ignore you, you will produce a snack — not an ideal thing for them to learn!
So, how DO we teach them to work well for food? First, before taking our dogs to an environment full of distractions, we should teach them HOW to train for food. This is such a commonly skipped step, and it results in a lot of problems later on. Think about your training sessions; do you open your treat pouch and get your treats ready when you’re “ready to begin” training? You may want to rethink the order of operations here! Dogs are always learning, whether we are in an active training session or not. The first step in using food for training is teaching dog that their behavior *produces* the reward! Take your dog (or puppy) out on a long line in a low distraction area. Ignore them, with your hands at your side and treat-free. Once your dog CHOOSES to look at you, mark that behavior with “YES!” and then reach into your treat pouch and begin giving them a few pieces of food in a row, rapid fire style. In a few short sessions, you’ll notice that your dog actively chooses to pay attention to you in anticipation of creating a food reward event, rather than a dog that ignores you until you open your pouch.
Luring — meaning, keeping a piece of food attached to our dogs face so we can control their body movements — is an awesome technique for teaching the mechanics of a new skill. But, if you are constantly luring your dog from Point A to Point B, or to sit, or down, or to go to their bed, are they really learning the skill or just following your snack? Luring alone does not train a dog. Luring should be done in conjunction with other training exercises that make the dog think, problem solve, and learn the skills.
Once a skill is known, well-rehearsed, and well-rewarded, you may begin layering over an element of “have to” on those skills. For example, teaching “sit” with leash pressure. I ask my doggie for a sit, and if they don’t sit I will apply consistent upwards leash pressure until their butt hits the ground, at which point the pressure is released. Now I have a way to enforce my skills. But that doesn’t mean we don’t stop rewarding the right behaviors! When I am teaching a dog what leash pressure means (because you DO need to teach a dog how to work through any sort of negative reinforcement or positive punishment in order for it to be fair and effective), I may reward the sit even if I have to help with the leash. Soon, though, I am only rewarding the repetitions where my dog sits without any help with the leash. Voila, now my dog is starting to understand that what I am asking for pays well, but is also not a request.
Keep your dog guessing. Once they’re working well for food, you can move them to a “random reinforcement schedule”. This means that not every behavior produces a reward, but sometimes it does! Dogs trained under a random reinforcement schedule should be checked in with you, anticipating that at some point a reward may come. This is a GOOD thing!
Have a dog with low food drive? Practice your engagement training and foundation skills with their meals, rather than feeding them from a bowl. Most dogs can learn to happily take food in training if we are smart about how and when we are offering them their meals. Once a dog is excited about taking food in training, you can resume bowl feeding.
Does your dog ignore the food when other dogs/people/bikes go by? You’re likely pushing your dog too quickly, too fast. Your dog should be an expert in their training skills and working for food around low to medium level distractions before going to highly distracting environments. Rather than trying to take your dog into a busy public space to train and feeling defeated because they ignored you, try going somewhere quieter where you both can be successful. Choose a location where distractions will be present far enough away that your dog is not fixated on them, and let them learn that even around distractions YOU are the keeper of all good things. If you’ve worked on building your dogs food drive/excitement for training and they aren’t taking your food, you need to go back a few steps and work on basics.
When do we stop rewarding behaviors? Well, never. Dogs should always be rewarded for good behavior… BUT, the frequency will decrease as the good behavior becomes habit. In the beginning of heeling for example, I might reward my dog every 2-3 steps. Once the skills are well known, I may save the rewards for when we pass high distractions, or when they’ve gone a solid duration without any rewards or corrections. Your dog should always be chasing the dream of reward. That’s what makes a happy, obedient parter who works WITH you. And isn’t that what we all want?!
