Rewards:
You may be thinking “why do I need to reward my dog, surely he should work for me out of love and respect alone!" But why should he?
Ask yourself - would you go to work if you did not get paid?
If you put in extra effort, say doing overtime or taking on a difficult task, you may hope to be rewarded in some way.
If your dog works hard he deserves more than a pat or kind word, though these are important too!
Initially training is done with a treat in your hand, this does not mean that he will refuse to work if you don’t have one. Your boss does not have to place your wages on your desk to ensure you will work; usually the promise of your wages is sufficient!
The Clicker is your “promise” to your dog. The sound of the Clicker tells your dog a reward is coming.
At first you click with the reward in view but, in time, he will be confident enough in the sound of the Clicker and he does not need to see the reward.
We also expect different rewards for different sorts of work and this is the same for your dog.
You need to work out what rewards your dog prefers and how he values them.
E.g. He may quite like cat biscuits (C)
He may love cheese (B)
But he may adore sausages (A)
So if he responds immediately to his name in the house when there are no distractions—then he gets a click and (C) reward. If he responds to his name in the garden where there are interesting smells then he deserves a click and a (B) reward but if he responds immediately to his name while in the company of other dogs then he definitely deserves an (A) reward.
Suppose you are teaching your dog to sit and sometimes he is a bit slow but sometimes he sits quickly-a quick sit deserves a jackpot! Your dog’s jackpot may be several titbits instead of one.
When people play the lottery they hope they will win the jackpot but they know they may get a smaller prize or they may get nothing at all! Your dog will give maximum effort in the hope of winning the jackpot but he will also accept that he won’t win every time, this is known as random reward and can be used once a behaviour is consistent.
Your dog may lose confidence when you first try this but will soon realise that because you did not reward does not mean he got it wrong. He will learn to give his best effort in an attempt to guarantee a reward. Random rewards actually increase the chance of a behaviour reoccurring. Like people, dogs can become lazy and will offer minimum effort if rewarded every time.
Liver Treats:
1 Lb Liver
1 clove of garlic (optional)
Bring to the boil in a little water, adding garlic if you like! (Your dog will love it)!
Simmer for about 5 minutes until cooked through.
Drain on kitchen paper and cut into small pieces.
Spread on a baking sheet and bake at about 150°C for about half an hour.
Turn off oven and leave until cold.
PS it smells pretty awful!
It doesn’t keep very well, so freeze what you do not need in small parcels for future use.
We do not want podgy doggies so make sure rewards substitute part of his normal diet
.