[nagdu] Food rewards

[Dan Weiner]

Hi, guys.

Dan W. and the hilarious hounds, His Royal Goofiness, carter and Evan here.
For what it's worth, here's my take on food rewards.
I think it is an excellent idea.

Sure, some dogs might get a little silly, but it's a great incentive for the
dogs. They can associate a certain object or place with the food. The food's
coming from you and that also builds the bond.  Of course, I suppose you
might have to watch the dog's weight as those calories add up.--smile. 
You're not required to give them food all the time and that's up to you.
I've taught my dogs to find stairs consistently, poles, etc. using treats.  
Why do I mentioned stairs?  Well, at guide dog school they're taught to find
the stairs in some program including Leader.  But, I have honestly found
that to make it really consistent you have to reinforce it and treats can be
a great incentive.

Now, here's a question.
I've only worked with labs.
So, do treats act as an incentive for shepherds, for example.
Some shepherd handlers I've met swear that their dogs are less
food-distracted than labs.

Cordially,

Dan W.  

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Julie J.
Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2009 10:27 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] statement re: ownership and qeustions re:
schoolspolicies

Merry,

I do use food rewards with my dogs.  I've only trained two with clicker
methods and food rewards.  I'm not sure that's enough to draw huge
conclusions, but here's my observations for what their worth. *smile*

Belle is not very food motivated.  On the way home from picking her up from
the shelter I ate a hamburger in the vehicle with her sitting between my
feet on the floor.  She was not interested in the food.

During training with her I used  things like chicken, hamburger, cheese,
peanut butter etc.  She will not take food from the ground, other people or
anywhere else.  She has never counter surfed, gotten on the table or
snitched food.  I don't recall that she has ever gotten into the trash 
either.   she arrived this way, so I can't claim any credit for her very 
nice manners! *smile*

Using food during training has not altered her behavior toward food. 
Excepting that she is more interested in what I have and what she can do to 
get it.   this is a product of clicker training, because you are 
purposefully training the dog to think and problem solve

Okay now for Monty.  He is a loveable, cheerful beast, but he is the most 
food motivated dog I have ever met in my life.   He used to counter surf, 
get into the trash, put his head on the table,  and about 101 other things
that pushed me to the brink of insanity.

We have gotten most of that sorted out now.  He has not jumped up on the
kitchen counters for several months, doesn't get into the trash as long as
the lid is closed and I am able to keep his bag of dog food in the kitchen
on the floor without him bothering it.

I have used mostly his dog food or other similarly boring treats with him. 
I often joke that I could give him pocket lint and he would enthusiastically
eat it.  Probably he would, but I haven't tried it.

I don't see that using food rewards has caused any bad behaviors as long as
it is used appropriately.  My son was giving food bribes to Monty to get him
to lie down.  Monty doesn't need that sort of reinforcement for a simple 
down, so it has caused problems.   We are working on it and making progress.

I think rules about the food is key.  Food has to be used as a reward for
the behavior you want, not as a bribe.

Monty's extremely high interest in food has made training him with clicker
very easy in some respects...he is always willing to work for food, but a
challenge in other ways.  He is often very excited to learn new things, so
much so that his enthusiasm can interfere with his ability to perform small
delicate tasks.  that could be his youth and extremely high energy level too
though.

My main observation with the two dogs and using a lot of food rewards is
this:
The base line interest for food is more a predictor of food related behavior
problems than the use of food as a reward.

HTH
Julie 



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