I am sitting at school. And I just noticed I have a waffle in my back pocket. And fishy dogfood in my coat pocket.
High Value
At a recent seminar, Kathy Sdao talked quite a bit about how dogs don’t really get bored. We just need good reinforcers (awesome things) and we need to have a high rate of reinforcement (many opportunities to reward). We should be making dogs work for their meals – but not just one sit for the food bowl. More complex training, more variation, and more challenge will be valuable.
Training is Not a Luxury
At this seminar what really stuck out about feeding and reinforcers was when Ken Ramirez emphasized that training is not a luxury. It is not really an optional thing. And it’s actually important for maintaining a high quality of life for dogs. Using meals and daily calories can be for things as simple as attention to people or holding still for brushing or polite door manners.
Kathy talked about her friend ET the Walrus and how he knew so many behaviors, not because he was inherently smart or that the trainers had all day. He knew a lot because the trainers have to provide enrichment for him and training was one way they could make his life more interesting.
Last year at the same conference, Lore Haug DVM was emphasizing that our senior pets need training to maintain cognitive health and prevent cognitive decline. Again, training is not a luxury, but important for well-being.
Our Training Session:
And so, I was trying to be a Very Good Trainer last night. I took sausage and fish dog food and waffles to train my dog. We took a favorite toy and a new toy. I rested my dog and planned my sessions. I worked him at his very best and did not work him if he was not his very best. We had short sessions. I reinforced generously. He worked for his food. We did some work with new behaviors, as well as working to further the behaviors we already have started.
1 Comment
Crystal · March 4, 2011 at 9:09 pm
I love this post so much. I've been giggling about the idea of having a waffle in my pocket all week. It's a great visual that helps me remember to use a wide range of reinforcers… and good ones, too!
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