Reinforcement ..... Why?
Reinforcement is simply something which helps increase a behaviour. It isn't throwing treats into a dog and hoping for the best! There is a science behind it.
We ALL find things reinforcing. It is what motivates us. If we find something reinforcing we do it again. When we don't, we avoid it.
While we don't like to think of our dogs like this, dogs are very much "what's in it for me", hence why some dogs seem stubborn - there isn't enough in it for them! Reinforcement isn't always something that works in our favour. A dog who steals food off the sides or bin dives finds both of those behaviours reinforcing because they gain something from it. It is frustrating, and we often place our logic on the.That "they know it is wrong" because they only do it when we aren't there. In actual fact, they don't know it is wrong, they just know that doing it in front of us leads to trouble so they wait until it is safe to do so - when we aren't there!
This is often why toilet training fails. When you tell the dog off for going inside they aren't making the association that it is where they are going that gets them in trouble. They assume that going to the toilet in front of you leads to trouble, so they find somewhere to go which isn't in front of you. It starts a cycle of the dog finding places to go that you can't see, and you can't reinforce when they go in the right place, meaning toilet training becomes very tricky.
So, how do we use reinforcers? Well the first place to start is finding out exactly what it is that our dogs finds reinforcing. Some dogs may be a ball, or a game of tuggy, some dogs it may be a huge fuss and cuddle, some dogs it may be a tasty morsel. And the treat needed depends on the dog, and the behaviour we are asking.
I have a Mastiff that loves all food. This makes it much easier. But, I had an Akita who was difficult to motivate. It took me months to find her sweet spot. What was it? Parmesan cheese! And if you tried to palm her off with Italian hard cheese she looked at you like you were poisoning her. It HAD to be parmesan. That dog cost me a fortune!
I had a dog that LOVED being tagged on the bum, while you blew a raspberry at him. He would scoot off, come back and boop you on the back of the leg. Worked every time! We must have looked like a pair of wallys doing it on our walks, but it motivated him to stay with me!
Getting to know exactly what it is that your dog likes is probably the most important tool in your arsenal. Because if your dogs is enjoying what you are doing they will want to do it more. If you can't motivate your dog then your training journey is going to be very difficult indeed!
Find out what your dog likes, what gets them excited. Explore all options, What your dog finds enjoyable may surprise you! Not everything that you think is a toy, or a game, or tasty is what your dog think is one. Knowing your dog is probably THE most important part of training.
I have been asked "how long do I have to reward them for?" and every time I do, I smile to myself. Because, why would you not want to reward your dog?! Your dog is enjoying it, they are happy, they are living their best life. Why would you want to take that joy away!
Some people say that "the dog should do it because I have told them to", and this is my response ......
You go to work, you agree a salary/hourly rate with your employer, you finish your training period/probation period, your boss then says to you "I am not going to pay you, because now you know what you are doing, you should do it because I have told you to". What would be your response? The same as mine - bye Felicia!
You wouldn't go to work without your reward at the end of it - your wages! Why would our dogs be any different? If we stop paying them, eventually they quit. They go "self employed" and find other ways to get paid for what they do And when they do this, it always results in behaviours that we don't like!
Don't force your dog to quit and go self employed! Make sure that you are paying them a decent wage for a decent job!
It doesn't mean you spend the whole of the dogs life rewarding every tiny behaviour. But you do need to make sure that you have the balance right when it comes to reinforcing.
You heavily reinforce new behaviours. This is a must! But once the dog understands the behaviour you can gradually move to a random reinforcement schedule. To explain this, imagine a slot machine in the casino. You put your coins in, you don't know when you will get a pay out, but there will be one, so you continue to put in your coins, and you will get a pay out! But! Remember this - if you don't pay out, your dog will walk away eventually!
There are a few behaviours that I NEVER move to a random reinforcement schedule. These are behaviour that I want to ensure happen every time! Check ins - when my dog checks in with me without being asked to. This is ALWAYS reinforced. Recall - Every recall is always reinforced. Even if it takes 5 minutes for them to come back, it will always be reinforced. They may get a higher value reinforcer for a truly excellent recall, but they will always get one! NEVER punish a dog for coming back, no matter how long they take. The criteria we have may be the expectation of an immediate recall, but your dog may have other ideas! If they have come back, to them they have done what was asked, They don't understand urgency in the same way we do. If they come back all happy and excited to see you and you tell them off, why would they want to do that again? I wouldn't want to! Leaving something - this is a no brainer in my opinion. I want that behaviour to be solid and to always happen. It could be something dangerous. I am not risking that!
So if you hear a trainer tell you to not reinforce a behaviour, or punish a response because it doesn't fit your criteria ask yourself if this would work with you? Would you accept a lower than agreed wage because they felt your performance wasn't up to their standard? Would you accept being told off or penalised because your boss decided that the outcome wasn't the one they wanted even if you had put in the work? I know I wouldn't!
Reinforcers aren't bribery, they aren't cheating. They are what we ALL work on. Haven't we all stopped doing things because we haven't enjoyed them, or haven't been motivated enough? Did your mum make you take piano lessons and you hated it so much that you eventually stopped? Or have you had a job that you dreaded going to, so you found one that didn't make you feel like that?
We are all motivated by reinforcers. and what motivates you might not motivate your partner, or best friend, or colleague, or child.
If we keep this in mind as we train our dogs then we will be on track to succeed and get it right for our dogs and for us!