Lucy is 13 weeks old now. We started some puppy training classes last week and I was really pleased to find it basically followed all the advice I had read about in the happy puppy handbook and they teach using a clicker and work with food based rewards. I have been practicing some basic clicker training with her at home and she is reliable at sit, giving eye contact and hand targeting. We have practiced this on walks and with the kids around and she still maintains focus so I am really pleased with her. I have been practising recall following the total recall book and we have just reached the stage where I am using the whistle to start the recall. I am really lucky that we have access to a 40 acre fenced area so she spends most time off the lead and we get lots of opportunities to practice. So far I have been giving her a treat every time, often just a bit of kibble but sometimes a small bit of cheese or sausage. I have read that you should start fading treats otherwise it is "bribery" rather than training. Should I be doing this now? Lucy is very food orientated(!) and will often sit down and await me to recall her in the expectation of a treat! Any advice welcome as I really don't want to mess this up.
No, keep on treating for aaaaaages. People are far too keen to fade rewards. My adult dogs are 2.5 and still get rewarded for each and every recall. It's too important a behaviour to jeopardise by not rewarding. Sometimes that reward is big, sometimes small. Sometimes food, sometimes a ball or a retrieve. But there's always a reward. Other behaviours (such as a "sit") aren't necessarily rewarded every time, because they're part of a chain of behaviours, such as, sit to have your lead removed and then wait until released (release being the reward for sitting and waiting). A bribe is when you are waving a treat or ball in the air in order for your dog to come to you and where you know that your dog wouldn't respond without it. You need to work on the dog not knowing whether or not you have a reward for him. You can do this by other people carrying the treats, or having them in pots around the house etc, so she doesn't only do what you ask when she can see your treat bag. But, still, think about it as your dog doing a job for you every time she does something you ask that she wouldn't normally do - and it's only fair that we get paid for the jobs we do, otherwise we'll quickly learn not to bother doing the job as well - or at all.
I agree with snowbunny. And - just like our rewards are not always financial (I work for no cash all the time now, but the rewards are greater than when I was working for money) a reward for a dog is not always a treat. Mollie loves a chin scratch as much as a treat ...
Thank you- I will try having some treat boxes about the house rather than just using the treat bag. I agree about rewarding for a good job, it would feel wrong not to reward her when she has recalled so enthusiastically.
Yup, food rewards are very convenient, but get to know your dog and what she responds best to, which may also change over time. Luna is a complete cuddle-bum and adores sitting in my lap and having a tummy rub. So sometimes her reward is just that.
