or five out of five correct and I push to the next level; three and we stick; but only one or two out of five and we drop back to the previous level. It’s an efficient way to train because you proceed or drop back depending on how well the dog is doing, and this method helps to keep the dog’s attention because that all-important rate of reinforcement stays nice and high.
We go this way for a few attempts—push, drop, push, drop—and then I split the difference to see if a smaller height increment will work. Bodger is totally focused the whole time, and it’s fun because even when he is getting it wrong I move on swiftly to another attempt. When there is finally a little bit of a jump in his step as he goes over my arm, I’m delighted. And so is he, because his rate of reward has gone up.
This example shows all the important things about dog training: using a reward he likes (little peanut butter cookies), having a training plan that proceeds in gradual steps, dropping the food lure early on (but still rewarding with food every time), letting him know when he got it wrong (“Too bad!”) and swiftly moving on to another trial, and getting the timing right so he is rewarded promptly. And, of course, he has a choice. If he gets tired and wants to stop, that’s fine—the training plan will still be there another day.
WHAT MOTIVATES DOGS: FOOD, PRAISE, AND OTHER REWARDS
THE BASIC CONCEPT of training—the dog does the thing you ask and you reward them with food or a game of tug or something else they like—is nice and easy. But the detail is more difficult. And it’s important to know how to motivate a dog if you want to train one.
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