Nearly all dogs love treats and I’ve never met a human who doesn’t love giving them! Rewards aren’t just treats; rewards can be any food, praise, affection, toys, or anything your dog finds rewarding. There are even some dogs who love ice chips so much that their owners use ice chips as rewards during training! Rewards are tricky, though and it’s important to be aware of the nuances. There are circumstances where rewards are harming your dog more than helping them. Let’s talk about that.
Rewards are reinforcements
You may have heard the popular phrase “What you pet, you get” meaning your dog will do more of whatever behavior they’re doing (or whatever state of mind they’re in) while you’re petting them. Affection is a reward and all rewards tell your dog that yes, you like that behavior/state of mind and you’d like to see more of it. It’s really easy to accidentally reward your dog at the wrong moment and therefore reinforce the wrong behavior. For example:
Sweetly telling your dog “it’s okay” and/or petting him while he’s afraid
Pulling your dog close to you and petting him while he’s growling at strangers
Petting a dog who jumps up on you
In all of these cases, we’re not trying to reward the bad behavior but that’s unfortunately what’s happening! It’s important to understand that your praise, affection, food and toys will always be perceived as rewards by your dog, and therefore it’s important to stay aware of when you give these rewards.
Rewards and state of mind
The other common scenario where rewards are more harmful than helpful is when they get a dog super amped up. This is frequently a concern during training. For example, if I am working with a dog who is super ball-driven the ball is obviously his ultimate reward. But if I’m working with him on place command duration (staying on the place cot), the LAST thing I want to do is give him his ball! That’s going to send his brain right into a state of arousal, which is the opposite of what we want during a calming exercise like duration.
This can also happen with food and affection. I love to use a dog’s daily kibble as rewards when I’m teaching them new skills, like how to sit, down, or place. However, there are some dogs who get so amped up by food that it becomes counterproductive to use food as a reward while teaching. Their state of mind is so elevated that they’re not actually thinking and therefore not learning—they’re just frantically reacting to figure out how to get the food. Frantic is not a great state of mind for learning.
For dogs who are super amped by food, I’ll usually switch to affection as a reward while teaching. Sometimes dogs can’t handle affection either, so if that also sends their state of mind through the roof, then I’ll just use praise—a soft, calm “Good girl!” is all it takes to send the message that yes, I like that behavior. The lesson here is to pay attention to what specific rewards do to your dog’s state of mind. Are they helping your dog to learn, or are they sending your dog’s excitement levels through the roof? Stay aware, and choose wisely!
In time, as the dog’s overall state of mind gets into a calmer space and we’ve shifted out of teaching mode and into practice mode, we can often bring back the rewards that were once problematic. The dog is now able to better regulate their emotions, which means they can better cope with the excitement they feel when food or affection is present. That’s the sweet spot.
Rewards, Behavior and Lifestyle
Privileges like sleeping on the bed are reserved for dogs who have earned them!
A reward can also be an element of a dog’s lifestyle, like sleeping on the bed. Now, dogs can’t make the cognitive leap of “Oh, she won’t let me sleep on the bed because I bark at the windows all day long” so don’t overthink this one. That said, it’s good to be aware of the fact that lifestyle rewards (privileges) need to be earned. Dogs with behavioral issues shouldn’t be allowed certain privileges such as sleeping on the bed; instead, they should have more of a permission-based lifestyle where the dog needs permission to get on the couch, bed, etc. (and to do everything else). That’s a whole other subject, but for now, just keep in mind that privileges are reserved for dogs who can handle them. If your dog is doing well behaviorally, it’s okay to allow her to sleep in the bed, just make sure you remove privileges and go back to a more structured lifestyle if and when her behavioral issues pop up again.
