Is giving praise good enough?

Recently I was asked in class by a participant if she could stop using treats and instead praise her dog to motivate her to do the behaviors they were learning.

I know that every single trainer that uses food as a reinforcer has heard this same question thousands of times. A different variation to the question is: when can I stop feeding my dog for doing “x” or “y” thing?

While I think it is crucial for owners to question procedures, this one in particular amuses me and frustrates me at the same time. It frustrates me because I think people in general lack generosity and empathy towards their dogs when it comes to requesting the dog to do something they want but expect the dog (or the child, the spouse, yes, fill in the blank - it applies to all of us) to just change their behavior or comply with us because WE want them to! This is the amusing part!

Using food as a reinforcer is a wise choice. Food is what we call a primary reinforcer.

That means in plain English that the dog does not have to learn to “love” it. It is something dogs want or would work for and if they don’t, well they die.

Other primary reinforcers are: water, mating (sex), control of environment and play/social interaction. Each of these reinforcers, or anything that is reinforcing for a dog, are also valuable to us as a way of achieving behaviors that we want from them.

So where does praise fall under as a potential reinforcer? For some dogs praise might be really high on the list of powerful reinforcers. However, if this is the case it is because praise has been paired (associated) with another powerful reinforcer for the dog. i.e.: a primary reinforcer. So the dog has learned that after the happy tone of voice: Good girl!, Great!, etc. comes the treat, the toy toss, attention, etc. Or at least and this is important no harsh consequences! It will take a very twisted person to praise and then smack the dog. Ugh!

Here is an analogy that will hopefully explain the above: When your boss tells you that you have done a terrific job, you will most likely experience many positive emotions such as pride, happiness and even anticipation for something that most people want: recognition in some salient way such as a perk - that they value such as a promotion or an increase in salary.

Now, if one gets lots and lots of: 'good job!' but nothing else comes of it… how long will this person continue to do terrific work just to earn the 'good job!' from their superior? Or, how many of us would continue to go to work (joyfully) because:

A. I should do it (moral stance)
B. Strong work ethic (value stance)

Now, wouldn’t you feel much happier going to work if you not only get told you are a valuable member of the team or something like that, BUT you are also getting paid for it? In other words, money is a very powerful (primary) reinforcer for almost everyone!

Yes, of course, there are other reasons why we do things: ego, sense of obligation, etc. But I assure you that this will not last if none of the above reasons on their own are not a primary reinforcer.
The bottom line - and this is not my opinion but straight from research done in over 200 different species of animals other than dogs - in our case, dogs need a reason why to comply with our request. To clarify, punishment (something the animal wants to avoid or escape from) can also a very powerful reinforcer. BUT how very sad to have our dogs comply because they are so afraid of being hurt, being afraid so escaping the blow becomes the motivation… not my game!

The good news is that our dogs have to eat!!! Otherwise they will… die. So why not use their daily food to train them to be happier dogs, more obedient dogs (ugh, I hate this term; feels so one sided…) -so let’s say instead: dogs that are wonderful, joyful companions - who love to participate in our requests of coming when called, getting off the sofa, waiting politely at the front door, etc. because there is something of value to them?

Giving your dog treats for his complying is not buying his love. Same thing with our significant other: They most likely (unless you just started dating :)) are not taking the garbage out or bringing our favorite wine home because they want to make sure we love them. It probably has to do more with being in relationship and as such we both are getting something that we truly want.

My suggestion to my client was to think of having a (fair) relationship with her dog by paying her handsomely with what her dog wants and to use those reinforcers to her advantage. Remember: whenever we think: my dog should do…. our dog is asking 'Why should I?' There is nothing strange or wrong about this. It just proves that our dogs are alive and as such, they too need reinforcers to continue engaging with life.

Redirecting

It is early in the morning and I am still in bed. My eyes are closed, yet I can still feel a pair of eye staring at me.

Then I hear a tiny whimper; and now I am pretending to be asleep. I keep my eyes closed for that effect and try hard not to crack a smile. Seconds later another little whimper and this time, I give in. Hop up, Rio, I tell her, and in an nanosecond I have a flying dog lying next to me on the bed.

Now I am fully-awake and engaging with Rio. This is one of the sweetest moments of the day for me; just hanging out on the bed with the dogs as I contemplate what’s on my plate on that given day.

Rio begins to lick my hands as her tail wags fast. I remove my hands in an effort to have her stop licking which I don’t like. This works for a minute. She goes back to licking my hands. I
now have my trainer’s cap on and I ask her instead to go get a toy. She jumps off the bed and she is gone for a few seconds. Ahh, she might not come back at all – I think. But here she is again! Jumping almost vertically on to the bed and missing me by a few inches.

In her mouth is a very “dead” alligator that has lost its inside a long time ago. Together we begin tugging at the gator and having some fun.

Redirecting our dogs to engage in a more “appropriate” behavior to have them stop one that we do not want is one of the best kept secrets of successful trainers. It gives the animal an equally (or sometimes even more) reinforcing behavior to engage in as well as preventing the frustration people feel when their dog is doing something they don’t like.

Redirecting, however, comes with a few rules:
1. We cannot ask our dog to do something that the dog has not learned yet. For example, asking the dog to go to his bed when no one has taken the time to teach the dog what that really means.
2. The alternative must be something that dog wants to do as well as (i.e.) finds the redirected behavior as reinforcing as item #1.
3. It must be very specific.
4. It must be reinforced.

In my bed situation with Rio, I asked her to go get a toy (her choice) because this is something that she has learned to do in the context of us coming in the front door after a lengthy absence. In the past she would get super excited; she would whine (she still does) jump either on us or up in the air - Kangaroo style. Now we ask her to go get a toy and she gladly complies because she has learned that we will engage with her either by tugging with the toy that she selected or we will throw it for her if it is a ball. She also got what she wanted which was social interaction. We have now translated that behavior to the morning-bed routine and again it works for both parties.

Another aspect that I consider important about protocol like the redirect or in behavior/training parlance a DRI (differential schedule of incompatible behavior),  Rio can’t lick me if she is holding a toy in her mouth :) It's in fact that it slows us down to engage with the dog. We are having an engagement instead of just reacting and yelling impatiently at the dog STOP THAT NOW!!!!

And as a result of our yelling, we now have a dog that either is confused because he has no clue what to do instead or worse, a dog that is scared of us due to our over- the-top reaction. Voids are difficult for dogs. That is why they also get into trouble! They don’t know what to do with their “free-time,” with the person knocking at the front door, etc.

Whenever I use a DRI with my own dogs or I suggest and train my client’s dogs to an alternative, I feel very good about myself and the situation because I recognized that now the dog is getting something that he wants and it is something as well that the person can live with.

Try this at home: Next time you want your dog to stop some “obnoxious” behavior, suggest to him that he does something he can do and will want to do and go about feeling really good about yourself too!

My Dog Lunges To Meet Other Dogs and Human Friends

Question:

Hi Almudena, To get to her destination quicker, my dog Jessie pulls, lunges and wants to run towards a dog and/or person she knows while on leash. What can I do in order to help her meet her friends in a calmer manner?
Thank you,
Diane

Answer:

Hi Diane,

Thank you for your inquiry. Ah, don’t you love having a dog that is eager to meet people and dogs? That is the upside of your situation. Unfortunately, not all dogs feel comfortable or even desire to interact with people or dogs which makes their lives less enjoyable and limited to in worst case scenarios a living hell.

Now, more specific to your question. First off we need to do a little detective work and see if we can ascertain Jessie’s motivation. It appears by your writing that because she already knows these people and /or the dogs that her motivation is indeed to go say “hi” in a rush. In other words, social interaction is her motivation.

Dogs, just like us, need to practice impulse control. The more they practice in the specific context and the more successful they will be when we need them to do so.

Here are my recommendations:
Whenever you come across a person or a dog that Jessie is eager to meet, you can… use a non-reward marker (NRM) in other words a “you blew it” verbal cue such as: ahh, too bad, Bummer- or any other short phrase or word that will roll easy out of your mouth. Initially Jessie has no idea what this means but it will only take a few trials of using the NRM paired with the consequence of not meeting the person or dog for her to put it all together.

Once you have given her the NRM, you will turn around and walk with her (you might have to coax her in a happy tone to move her along without having to drag her) in the opposite direction of the people/dog she wants to interact with.

After a few seconds of facing or walking on the opposite direction try again to move towards them. If you try say twice or three times and she is not able to stop the lunging or pulling walk away for good from the interaction.

If possible, you want to let people know what you are trying to do with Jessie. If this is not possible I suggest you focus on the work with Jessie and not worry about what people might think. You can always explain later when you are not trying to work with her - this is a recipe for failure.

Last, once Jessie is able to contain herself even for a bit, say she stops pulling for three steps and is able to focus on you, rush to the person or dog as a reinforcer for polite manners.

As she learns what she needs to do in order to earn her reinforcer: social interaction, you can begin to expect more self-control until she learn that the only way she will get to say hi to her pals is by calmly walking, or at least no lunging or pulling towards them.

Do keep in mind that you must remain cheerful and not use a harsh voice or leash “corrections” when you are moving her away from the subject.

If you don’t most likely you will create tons of frustration in Jessie with the possibility of a negative association with people in general, dogs in general or the specific subject she wants to meet.

In order for this to “work” you must practice this every single time she lunges or pulls to greet - consistency is key here. Depending on other factors such as how long Jessie has been engaging in the pulling and lunging behaviors, how long it will be before you see a positive change in her.

In addition to the above recommendation, walking her hungry with VERY high value treats will give you a leg up at least initially when you must move her away without dragging her.

Last, I am not sure what kind of “equipment” you are using on Jessie when you are walking her. My recommendation is to desensitize her to a head-halter which will allow her to influence the direction of where you want to go with much more easy than a front clip harness or any type of collar.