Life is a game. If that's not real for you, look around and try to spot some games for yourself. For example, lots of crazy drivers are playing a game of weaving through traffic without slowing down or getting in an accident. Some win the game, some lose. When I just recently purchased my car, the whole process at the dealership was a game. They're trying to get you to pay the maximum amount of money—keep you there all day until you're tired and hungry and you finally forfeit—and you're trying to pay the least amount of money for the best deal.
In dog training, your dog is constantly playing a game or games. How to get the cookie. How do to figure out what Mom wants. Is this what "stop it" means? Have you ever had a dog offer you behaviors in the hopes that he does the thing you want? I'll sit, I'll shake, I'll down, I'll whine, I'll turn around, I'll do anythiiing!
How does this all relate to training? People need to play more games with their dogs. I'm not talking about fetch or tug, I'm talking about using games in training or to reward good behavior.
For example, my dog is not extremely toy motivated. He likes to sit down and chew on a raw marrow bone or antler, but the only way he'll play fetch with me is if I reward him afterwards and even then, he'll only do it one or two times max!
A lot of his lack of toy drive I believe is due to how I raised him. At the time, obviously I know better now, I thought it was important to show him the toy was always mine. I let him win at tug occasionally, but never more than me. As a result, his play or toy drive diminished because games weren't fun and he wasn't winning. Nobody plays a game they can't win forever. Seriously. Nobody. Think about it or find an example that makes sense for you. If your team always lost, you would eventually stop playing.
Buck will play often with other dogs, but not often with me. And think about it, good dog social behavior is foundationally build on role changing, so one dog wins and then the other wins, thus making it a game that both are engaged in.
Well, Buck loves food. So one day (being the trainer-y trainer I am), I decided to see if I could increase his toy drive by using a food reward. I started asking him to get a tennis ball and bring it to me before meals. At first he was confused, sure! But when he caught on, he started racing around the house like a maniac, tail wagging, looking for the ball.
At first the game was to find any ball. Then I increased the criteria to a specific orange rubber ball. At first he would toss tennis balls at me in an attempt to give in, but he was having so much fun and was engaged, thinking, and playing.
Occasionally he has even brought a ball preemptively, telling me he'd like dinner now and that he knows what to do to get it. My dog is very smart but playing the ball for dinner game is probably the quickest he's ever learned.
Why? Sure, the stakes are high (dinner!!), but also, he gets to win... every single time! And you know what? He's happier for it.
I engage him, make him think and learn. All the actions are his own, I just set the parameters.
Now, I love using food rewards, and hotdogs are like crack to Buck, so I'm not saying not to use food. What I'm saying is to be creative in the games you play. The problem I run into with treat training is that the game ends with the treat. Now obviously the training can still continue and the dog can get another treat, but I bet you've run into this problem before or had a client who did.
Unless you have a strong release word, most dogs are trained to release on the reward. Do a sit, get a treat, stand up and sniff. Lie down, treat, pop back up. Break the stay after the reward. Get treated for standing by mom's side on a loose leash, now move away and sniff instead of continuing to stay put. These are all behaviors I see daily, and behaviors that are being rewarded or encouraged in behavior classes so the general public don't know any better.
How many times have you said, "he'll only do it if I have the cookie." Now that's in large part due to lack of or poor training. However, going back to the loose-leash walking example, you walk, the dog pulls ahead, you stop, wait until he comes back, reward at the side, and continue forward, but he surges forward. The reward ends the activity for many dogs because the game is to get the cookie, and they did! And when they're full or don't care for the treat anymore? Then no training takes place.
But if you're playing games with your dog, making the game be to stay close, and reward that game with a game, then the activity continues. The game never ends and the learning is infinite. You end up with an engaged dog seeking to do what you want.
If you reward a game with a game, the fun never ends!
Becky Pesicka, CDPT-KA, ANWI
www.dogtastictraining.com
facebook.com/dogtastictraining
