Reinforcers

Seven is learning a lot of new skills and he's learning them quickly!  Why is this?  Well he is a smart little terrier and I try to be clear in my communication to him.  But, he's also motivated to learn and repeat the behavior because of the reinforcers I use.  So, why do so many of us who practice positive training use reinforcers?  The science shows that reinforcement works for all learners (from dogs to birds to humans and everyone in between) and training often works very quickly when we are using reinforcers.  

Reinforcement refers to anything that increases the likelihood that a response will occur.  It is defined by the effect that it has on a behavior - it increases or strengthens the behavior.

There are lots of ways to reinforce your dog - most of us use food since it's easy and dogs will work for food.  Remember we are asking them to work so, we need to pay them for their work with a positive reinforcer.

  

With Seven I use a variety of food reinforcers and what I chose depends on what behavior I'm asking of him.  If I'm asking him to do something he's really good at (like go to mat) I may use kibble.  If I'm asking him for a more complex behavior like "look" when there are distractors in the environment, then I will use a higher value food like dog jerky.  And if I'm asking for a behavior that is still hard for him I will bring out the big food guns of hot dogs or cheese.  We used hot dogs and cheese in our dog class!

Here's a great blog The Importance of a Paycheck

Seven also loves his green monster toy so, I also use it as a high value reinforcer!

Here's a great blog that you may enjoy reading talking about postive reinforcement:

Why sausage rolls are better than alpha rolls

And for those out there that have hang ups about using food during training here's another great blog:

Is Food Really the Problem?

So, be creative in figuring out what is reinforcing for your dog and don't be cheap with what you are using!