Accidental Reinforcement: Stop Rewarding Your Dog For Being a Jerk!
This is a long one, so grab a cuppa and get comfy. I was chatting with a friend of mine last night about this party she went to. Someone brought their new puppy, and this puppy was a problem. All night, she was stealing anything she could find and running off with it. Eventually, she grabbed her owner’s glasses and broke them. I said she knows where to find my business cards, and she told me that they already have a trainer… Who told them that any time she steals something, they need to go get a treat and bribe her to give up the thing she is chewing up.
Their trainer, a supposed professional, told them to praise and reward their dog for being destructive. Not only is this dog never going to stop shredding stuff, but these owners are completely unequipped for when she grabs something toxic or lethal. This trainer has done a massive disservice, both to the owners and the dog.
I was at a pet shop recently, and watched a Shih Tzu start screaming and lunging on his flat collar the second he spotted another dog. The Shih Tzu’s owner immediately whipped out a handful of cookies and crammed them into her dog’s mouth. Why? “Our trainer said he doesn’t like other dogs, so we need to make it a positive experience.”
What part of freaking out and choking on cracker crumbs sounds positive? This isn’t a dog who’s nervous of other dogs, this is a dog who is being rewarded for acting like an a-hole and will continue to do so forever, because not only is he not being told “no, that’s inappropriate”, but he’s being rewarded for acting like that.
Treats absolutely have their place; anyone who’s ever worked with me knows, I am heavy on reward and praise in all of its forms… As long as they’re being used correctly.
The two most common mistakes owners make are:
- Using food as a bribe, and
- rewarding before proper behavior is achieved, which rewards the problematic behavior instead
Food can be used as a lure, reward, or bribe. There’s a subtle but important difference between the three, but knowing how you’re using your rewards will make or break their effectiveness.
A lure is when we use food to build muscle memory and encourage engagement with a signal. What does that all mean? When I’m teaching a puppy how to heel, I want them to follow my hand, so they learn how to match my pace and stay at my side. Sometimes, this means sticking a small treat between my fingers to show “follow hand = reward.” The lure should be phased out after 2-3 times, and the puppy should just be following your hand. Your hand becomes the bridge to the treat, transferring over “follow snack” to “follow hand” to “heel at my owner’s side and get rewarded!”
A reward is when your dog has performed an action properly (or, while they’re still learning, close to properly). Using the leash manners example again, reward comes in when you and your dog have taken three steps together in a nice heel, and it’s time to capture that behavior and reward it. Next time, go for four steps before you reward. Then five. Keep building and going for longer periods before you give that food reward, but keep using verbal praise to let them know that they’re doing great while they’re working towards the food reward!
And lastly, a bribe is when your dog is being inappropriate and you give them food as a distraction (or in the case of the above dogs, because your trainer is a dingus who thinks giving cookies for inappropriate behavior is a great idea). Sticking with leash manners, I see a lot of owners who accidentally reward putting on the brakes. When Skippy stops moving and refuses to walk, they pull out a cookie and go “Skippyyyyyyy, don’t you want a treeeeeeat?!”
Skippy will now start refusing to walk any time he wants a cookie, and you as his owner will be cursed with crumbs in your pockets forever.
I’m all for rewards. “Yes” is just as important as “no”. But “yes” should never be your only tool, and like any tool, you have to know how to use it appropriately. If your dog isn’t doing the right thing, there’s no reward. The thing I get all the time from clients is “you are so patient, how do you do that? I get so frustrated with him.”
Because every interaction I have with your dog matters, it teaches them something. So much of dog training is learning to be more patient than your dog. If you give in, you taught them that if they wait long enough, you’ll give up and they’ll get their way.
You are the adult in this relationship, your dog is counting on you to show them where boundaries and rules exist so that they can have a constructive environment where there is no confusion or misunderstanding. Be consistent, be patient, and you will become your dog’s greatest teacher and advocate.