The first and obvious problem is that the sparkle and speed we see in training is largely attributable to the high likelihood of rewards that the dogs have learned to anticipate in your usual training venues. With some exceptions (the once-in-a-lifetime dogs we all dream about), the highest level of sparkle is likely not related to how much the dog enjoys the actual activity, nor unfortunately to how much the dog enjoys pleasing his owner. A lot of sparkle is related to how much he values the rewards associated with certain behaviors. Right there is a frequent hitch. Are you rewarding your dog, or bribing him? When he’s wrong in training how does he know? If he knows because he doesn’t get the reward, then how does he know when he’s right in the ring, where rewards don’t come? If “no treats” means, “you’re wrong” in your dog’s vocabulary, then how do you expect him to feel in the empty ring?
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This is not a call to stop using food or toys in training. This is a reminder of just how significant the motivators are to your dog, and how bare you may appear to your dog when the motivators aren’t there if you aren’t taking the precaution of training past the “tricks for treats” stage for each skill, and you forget to make your own wonderful self valuable to your dog.
