Effective Dog Training Rewards Explained

Understanding how to reward dogs is key when training them. For working dogs, the rewards typically include things like dry dog food, high-quality treats like Prime100 or meat, and at least some toy, this could be a ball or a tug. It’s also important to know about two kinds of rewards: passive and active. Passive rewards are things like letting the dog eat a piece of food out of your hand, while active rewards are more engaging, like having the dog chase after food. 

Understanding which rewards to use and when can help our effectiveness in training dogs, taking into account their arousal levels and the difficulty of the tasks. For instance, lower-value rewards, such as regular dog food, are effective when the dog is calm or in a less distracting environment. In more challenging situations or when teaching complex tasks, it is better to use higher-value rewards that the dog finds more motivating. Understanding this really helps to improve your dog’s training. 

Additionally, younger dogs and puppies often prefer food as their primary reward. However, this can shift as they grow. It’s a mistake to always use the same type of toy reward with young dogs, as they might become biased towards that reward. For instance, if you always use green tennis balls, your dog may not want to play with other types of balls as they get older. I experienced this myself.

A helpful tip for young dogs or puppies is introducing them to the concept of existential feeding, which helps them understand the importance of low-value food like dry kibble. It’s good to play with puppies using different toys and materials. Around six months old, you’ll start to see their genetics, like their prey drive, come out.

Recap:

1. Introduce the concept of existential feeding early on (a blog will follow on how to introduce the concept of existential feeding). 

2. Introduce your dog to multiple different toys and materials.

3. List rewards for your dog in order of value, from least to most reinforcing.