Food Rewards

[aussielover]

I have a question about food rewards-

How do you get a dog to do something for you if you don't have any food rewards handy?

The reason i am asking this is because I had some difficulty with my old dog- She would be absolutely perfect when I had a treat in my hand and do whatever I asked her to do- she was very quick at learning tricks etc if there was a food reward available. However, If I attempted to get her to do something without a treat in my hand (and she would know somehow- even if I pretended that there was) she would just look at me like I was an idiot for even suggesting that she do it! I would then make her do the command and verbally praise her- she wasn't impressed by this.

Do you think it was just the individual dog, or is there somehting you can do to help this kind of problem. I wanted to do obedience or agility with her but gave up due to this problem.

[Tiggy]

It sounds like you've been luring with food so the dog is just following the food not really learning the exercise. Have you tried shaping? If not do some research it's fantastic .

[corvus]

Apart from shaping, which would likely solve the problems, I think it's also good if you want to lure to fade it as fast as you can. So if you're teaching her something new with a lure, and she does it right, say, three times in a row, that's when I'd get the food out of my hand and try luring her with my hand alone. You can always go back to a lure to kickstart the trick if she's looking a bit lost, but just keep trying to get the treat out of your hand. This is why I like targeting so much. That's also a good one to look up.

And it's also a good idea to mix up the rewards and use things other than food. Or use different foods, or do it with food but in different situations. Even asking for a trick and giving their dinner in return helps get them out of the luring routine.

[Luke W]

Fade the food.

If she works with it in your hand...

Don't reward using the treat in your hand. Reward from another treat somewhere else.

Eg..in your other hand behind your back...

Then behind you on a bench.

The further behind you

Then further.

Now fade the treat in your hand.

Then on a bench to the right. Then further. Then further.

Then in the fridge.

Then further from the fridge...

Get the idea?

Then, don't always reward. Reward only the best 8 out of 10.

[bedazzledx2]

This is the main reason why I hate luring. My preferred methods of training/teaching are targetting and shaping. If you use a lure (food/toy) you must fade it as soon as possible. For the purposes of this conversation the lure will be food. The way to fade it is to lure no more than 3 times in a row and treat with the food. The next time have the treat hidden in the other hand and use your luring hand to make the same signal and when the dog does the action you mark (verbal or click) and quickly transfer the food to your luring hand and quickly treat in position. A much, much, much better way is to teach your dog to target and mark and treat. Clicker training works really well for a jaded dog and you can re-teach that they are responsible for you dishing out the treats.

I have a question about food rewards-

How do you get a dog to do something for you if you don't have any food rewards handy?

The reason i am asking this is because I had some difficulty with my old dog- She would be absolutely perfect when I had a treat in my hand and do whatever I asked her to do- she was very quick at learning tricks etc if there was a food reward available. However, If I attempted to get her to do something without a treat in my hand (and she would know somehow- even if I pretended that there was) she would just look at me like I was an idiot for even suggesting that she do it! I would then make her do the command and verbally praise her- she wasn't impressed by this.

Do you think it was just the individual dog, or is there somehting you can do to help this kind of problem. I wanted to do obedience or agility with her but gave up due to this problem.

[aussielover]

Thanks everyone, will try these methods with my new pup.

[alpha bet]

You don't need to wait for the new pup.

Start trying with the older dog so you can teach yourself. Often harder to teach the older dog but you will develop better techniques.