I think we're saying the same thing just from different ends. My point was that a dog may be used to being rewarded but if it's not used to being rewarded specifically with food it may turn it's nose up. Similarly if certain behaviour is always rewarded with food it may not look for a game as reward.
Yes, if in the environment the dog has never taken food, that's the example in Pippa's article. I'm a bit doubtful about why the dog won't take food anyway if it were in a totally calm state. I can't help thinking shifting the dog to food as a reward also has a calming effect, but that's only my speculation.
I'm not suggesting that. I do think that a relaxed dog used to being rewarded in ways other than food might not take food. But I'm getting a little lost in this thread now so I'll stop
I do understand what you are saying - I don't mean that I don't think it's true, just I'm not sure I understand why really.
Well, this has been (and I'm sure, will continue to be) a very interesting conversation! It's a little over my head right now - I'll come back to it when I'm a little more experienced, but I'm glad I've provoked some thinking
Very interesting thread, and I do wonder if temperament has something to do with it in terms of arousal due to working v showbench. I say this as Blake is very different to Benson. Benson will always be calm enough to take food. He loves to retrieve, albeit slowly and with thought, but he loves it, I guess also a major element in this, is that Benson has been trained from day 1 with food as a reward.He is also a show line bred lab (and chocolate!) Blake is an example of a being completely driven by the prospect of a retrieve, so any retrieving is mixed in with recall, heelwork, off lead etc...What I have observed however, is that Blake happily takes food if he is not too excited. So for example training today sit, sit stay..etc. very excited by food. When the ball came out he would not accept treats as a reward, so we switched to a ball/frisbee..using the frisbee as a tuggy game, and encouraging Blake not to drop a ball/dummy. This was harder actually due to Blake being so aroused, he was responsive...but more distracted.. Eventually we reduced his excitement, so he was able to take treats calmly again.
Maybe something in general...but not my showline Lab. The reason I'm so passionate and interested in this topic is that I have spent FOREVER trying to calm down my show line Lab at gundog training surrounded by MUCH calmer working line dogs... and reading everything I can lay my hands on, and going to see every instructor that specialises in this and that might help. It makes me laugh a bit now, when I'm successful and my dog stays calm, I can put money on someone with a working line Lab telling me I've got it easy with a nice, calm show line Lab. At least these days I can just laugh and agree, yes, I've got it easy.
I do enjoy how there can be a good debate here without it becoming a flame war. It's very unusual on t'interwab. Do you think that having to live with Labradors gives us a bit more patience and perspective in other areas of our lives?
