Why do we use food in dog training?
I’m 100% okay with being a cookie pusher and training my dogs with food.
I’m also 100% okay with you using toys instead of food.
I’m also 100% okay with you using praise instead of toys.
But for today’s blog post we’re going to concentrate on food and see if it’s the recipe (see what I did there?) for success.
What effect does eating food have on a dogs brain chemistry?
It’s all in the dopamine.
Dopamine is a chemical in the brain which is released when we have a pleasurable experience or expect to have a pleasurable experience.
It’s the chemical that drives us, motivates us and, if it gets out of control, makes addicts of us.
When it’s released in the brain it creates focus and increased concentration.
Dogs will seek out and repeat behaviours that have resulted in rewards and the associated dopamine hit.
The question for us as dog trainers is, how do we create that dopamine hit for our dogs.
How can we take advantage of that in training our dogs?
There is no doubt that some dogs will get that hit from gaining their owner’s praise, and some will get it from getting to play with their favourite toy.
A study in 2016 showed that some dogs do prefer the praise of their owners to other rewards. However, in this study, there was already a relationship built from extensive training between the dogs and their owners which may have biased the study somewhat.
However, it does show that it’s possible to give a lot more value to praise by building positive relationships with our dogs.
A dog’s enjoyment of toy play is based on the predatory sequence.
The full predatory sequence is:
- Eye.
- Orient.
- Stalk.
- Chase.
- Grab/bite.
- Kill/bite.
- Dissect.
- Consume.
Working breeds are more likely to enjoy this sequence than a companion dog breed purely because the working dog’s job is usually based on at least one point in the sequence. Border collies excel at the stalk/chase stage, Terriers excel at the grab/kill.
I feel it’s no coincidence that working dog trainers are traditionally less likely to use food rewards because the working breeds they train are already highly motivated by the stages in this sequence.
But when it comes to motivating ALL dogs, regardless of breed or purpose, food has an extra trick in its back pocket when it comes to value.
When we’re born we’re inbuilt with survival instincts.
Self-preservation and the desire for food are pre-programmed into every animal.
Dog’s literally come with an inbuilt motivator which provides their dopamine hit without any relationship building or creating value in something else.
All dogs will work for food.
When is it a bribe, rather than a reward?
BRIBE:
Used to stop bad behaviour
Used whilst bad behaviour is occurring
REWARD:
Used to reward good behaviour
Used once the behaviour has finished
Defined before the activity starts
The two most common mistakes when using food.
- Using food to encourage a fearful dog.
With fearful dogs, it’s really tempting to try and make friends with them by offering food. But unless they’re at the right stage for that type of training, you run the risk of enticing them beyond their comfort zone. Then as soon as they realise they’re out of their comfort zone they get a bolt of adrenaline and become more fearful, or aggressive as a defence mechanism.
Instead of striving to be a positive figure to them, aim to be a neutral one. Just allow them to maintain a distance they feel comfortable with, allow them to get used to you from a distance.
2. Using food to distract a dog.
This is commonly used when an owner is trying to desensitise a fearful dog to the thing which triggers them.
For example, if your dog dislikes seeing other dogs and barks at a passing dog, the owners mistakenly try to gain their barking dog’s attention with food.
The correct way is to only reward the dog when they exhibit the behaviour we want. In this case, that’s not reacting to the passing dog.
Other methods need to be implemented in this scenario to help the reacting dog, such as increasing the distance between themselves and the barking dog.
Problem solving
My dog isn’t motivated by food.
Being motivated by food is something every dog, human and mammal is born with as a built-in survival mechanism. So it’s just not possible for this to be true.
If you find your dog isn’t paying attention to the food you’re offering then you need to check if:
- Your dog is full already. Reduce their portion sizes or train using the food you’d normally give them at mealtimes.
- Your dog is sick. Refusing food can be a sign of illness. If they’re refusing all types of food then book a vet consultation.
- Your dog is stressed. A highly stressed animal will refuse food because another more intense survival instinct has taken over. The fight or flight response is powerful enough to do this. Take a look at your environment, is your dog stressed by other animals? Noises? You?
- Your food doesn’t hold high enough value. If you feed dry kibble, and you train with dry kibble, then why should your dog work for you when they know they get the same food later anyway. Up your game, head to the fridge, crack out the ham and cheese.
My dog will only work for me if I have food.
If you train with food and have reinforced the behaviours you want with food, and you’ve repeated that reinforcement enough times, then you won’t always need food.
Your dog will strive to get that dopamine hit because they expect there will be a food reward.
They’ll turn into gamblers, constantly feeding the slot machine (you) with money (good behaviour) until you pay up and feed them.
So as long as you continue to pay them on occasions it’ll keep them coming back for more and trying to hit that jackpot payout.
Your dog won’t respect you if you use food
Take a seat, I have terrible news. Your dog doesn’t respect you anyway.
Your dog does what works for him. Whether that’s avoiding conflict and punishment, or trying to gain benefits and positive consequences.
There is no respect involved, no hierarchy.
You’re either beneficial, or you’re not. Sorry.
Using food to train is cheating.
Paying you for going to work is cheating?
Using praise is cheating?
Using toys is cheating?
Using punishment is cheating?
Cheating who?
The aim of dog training is to get your dog to perform a new behaviour reliably.
There will always be a method applied in order to get your dog to be successful.
The choice of method is down to you and your ethics.