[NAGDU] Use of treats during training

[Sherry Gomes]

I love food rewards. I'd be happy to paste a copy of an article I wrote for
the ?GDB alumni news here, if anyone would like that. Basically, a dog's
greatest desire and motivator is food. So, the idea behind food rewards is
that we are providing the dogs most desired thing. I don't use it at every
single corner, but I use it a lot. I reward my dog for finding light poles,
which in my neighborhood are in weird places. And she does get a reward for
that every time. I reward her for finding destinations, passing a
distraction, coming home to the right gate, and sometimes, just because
she's doing great. My dog, Petunia, isn't really crazy about food, so I try
to find high value treats, pieces of carrot, tastier dog treats, something
besides just kibble. Also, you subtract the amount you give from your dog's
daily food in their meals, so they don't get overweight. 

Sherry


-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Dan Weiner via
NAGDU
Sent: Sunday, June 26, 2016 6:25 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Dan Weiner <dcwein at dcwein.cnc.net>
Subject: [NAGDU] Use of treats during training

Hello, beautiful people.
Dan W.  from Florida withies Royal Majesty, Parker Dog here.
Well I'm wondering about something, for example, is there life on other
planets, and is there life before coffee--smile.
Well, all right, seriously...I've heard a lot of comments and talk about the
fact that many of the guide dog programs are using a significant amount of
food rewards during training.
I don't mean the occasional treat that I've always used, say to reward for
finding something or whatever, but say, treats every time a dog finds an up
curb or down curb, carrying around a treat bag and so on.
I'm wondering what peoples' experiences have been.
I've heard that a majority of US programs are doing this now...and as I said
it seems to be a lot, not just the occasional reward.
So what happens if you can't give the dog a treat every time, will the dogs
get used to having treats phased out? And what about a dog who might already
be food distracted, couldn't that lead to scavenging, or generally, well
silliness--smile.

It does concern me.

As I've said I have always incorporated treats in my method but occasionally
as a special reward, and it would seem to me that a dog would need to be
able to work for praise and just for the love of working...tell me what
everyone thinks and what's going on.


I hope everyone's doing great.

Dan the man and his four-legged side-kick

dcwein at dcwein.cnc.net



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