Is it time to clean up your act?
Using food is often given a bad rap in training. In both dog training and the horse world, it is blamed for a number of problem behaviours.
“Using food is bribery”
“My dog gets too excited”
” It teaches the horse to be muggy”.
All of these are examples of inappropriate or incomplete training practices. The trainer is the cause of these issues because of poor food handling or delivery. It is not the use of food itself that is the problem.
Establishing proper food handling and delivery will not only rectify the problems you are experiencing. It will also be an opportunity to teach manners and self-control.
Clean up your act and use a marker. Make your food delivery better.
- Only bring out the food from your pouch once your dog has offered the behaviour AND you have marked them. Only then should you grab a treat. This is one big reason to use a marker in your training. Otherwise, from your dog’s perspective, you are just randomly handing food out.
- When providing a treat, do so in a way that does not encourage your dog to jump or be grabby.
For the jumpy dog – present the treat low, drop it at their feet, or toss it a small distance away (1 -2 feet) to keep them out of your space.
For the grabby dog – present the treat in a closed fist, only opening it when their mouth is off your hand; feed with an opened flat hand.
Pick a Training Game to Work on the Issue
Depending on your specific issue, you can pick an appropriate training game to help teach an alternate behaviour.
For the jumpy dog – Four On The Floor Game
For the grabby dog – Zero to Sixty Game
Reward Better Behaviour Outside of Training Time
Devote 50 A Day to better examples of the behaviour outside training time.
For the jumpy dog – anytime you catch your dog near you with all paws on the ground, reward them with a treat or engage with them in some way.
For the grabby dog – implement the ‘Polite to Get Stuff Protocol’ when providing food, toys or attention during the day.
Would you like to know more? Reach Lisa to find out how she can help.
