The Cookie Trap

If you have spent much time around dogs, you’ve probably seen a dog that responds only when the owner holds a treat in their hand. It usually happens when someone has taken an obedience class or two, but doesn’t continue practicing at home. The dog is eager and willing to work for the owner—if treats are visible. Otherwise? Phhht… the dog has more interesting things to do! 

Dogs prefer to work
for something of value

As a result, some people throw the baby out with the bath and refuse to use any treats at all in training. However, just like people, dogs prefer to work for something of value.  How many people would return to a job, day after day, without ever receiving payment? Our currency is money, but dogs intrinsically understand the value of food, which can be dispensed in small amounts and immediately after the desired “work” is done. If you have a dog, you feed him anyway; why not make him work for it? Rewards can be special treats mixed in with regular dog food. 

Keep reading to learn a trainer’s secrets to have an obedient dog without always having a cookie in hand.

Start with the Basics

Often, the first step in teaching a dog a new skill is to lure him: for example, by placing a cookie over his nose, and gradually pushing it back towards his ears, you can encourage him to ‘sit’ and reward him with the cookie.  The next step is to repeat this action so the dog anticipates the behavior. 

Fading the Lure

Once the dog is anticipating the behavior (usually within 5-10 repetitions), only pretend like you have a cookie in hand and quickly lure him into the sit.  If he sits, congratulations!  Immediately reward him with a cookie from the other hand or a nearby treat bag.  He will learn he doesn’t need to see the treat in order to be rewarded.   He should be just as willing to perform for an imaginary cookie, because he knows he will still get rewarded.

* If he doesn’t sit and just looks confused, lure him again for a few repetitions before trying again with an imaginary cookie.  

* If he loses interest, it’s best to put the cookies away and try again when he is hungrier.  Do not bribe him with a cookie at this point!  This is one of the situations where dogs learn to control their owners: “Hmmm, if I don’t sit, she will get out a treat!”  If you are having difficulty at this step, I encourage you to find a dog trainer who can help you recognize a dog that is truly confused vs. a dog that is not interested or trying to get his own way.  

Fading rewards

When the dog is consistently performing the cue using an imaginary cookie, it is time to start fading out the rewards.  One way is by having the dog perform several actions in a row for a single treat.  You can perhaps have the dog do a ‘sit’ for a cookie, then a ‘down’ with a cookie, then another ‘sit’ and a ‘down’ before offering a cookie.  Notice you don’t take away the treats all at once.  Your dog should understand he will still be getting treats, but you decide how often they appear.  

It is equally important when fading rewards that you aren’t consistent in delivery: if you decide to reward after every other command, and then every third command, the dog will quickly figure out the tactic and will lack motivation to work.  But if you reward the dog randomly, say, on the 2^nd, 3^rd, 5^th, 8^th, 9^th, and 10^th tries, he will work harder because he doesn’t know if this will be the one that earns his cookie.

The jackpot is another method to fade rewards, especially useful when performing multiple commands.  A jackpot is a series of small treats delivered one after the other, just like a jackpot of coins coming out of a winning slot machine.  It is more meaningful to a dog to have several small treats offered one at a time, than to have one large treat or multiple small treats delivered at one time.    So if you have your dog sit, then down, then sit again, you can reward him with verbal praise and petting while also delivering a jackpot of cookies, one at a time.

Hoss was a dog that would happily work
just for love and attention.

Once your dog understands the commands, your dog’s favorite activities can be substituted in place of cookies. I encourage owners to switch around rewards with their dogs.  What are your dog’s favorite activities?  Does he like being petted on his neck, having his tummy rubbed, chasing a tennis ball or tugging with a tug toy?  When your dog approaches for petting, have him ‘sit’ or ‘down’ before rewarding him with scratches.  When it is dinnertime, have him ‘sit-stay’ until you are ready to put his dish on the floor and let him eat.  There’s no need to offer a cookie: his reward is his supper.  When he wants to go for a walk, have him sit and stay while you put on his leash, then have him sit at the door threshold before giving him an enthusiastic “Free!” to let him go through the door.  He certainly doesn’t need a cookie for going on a walk with you. The walk itself is the reward.

My own dogs are watching intently to see
if they will get a treat this time!

The final method of fading rewards is a process that involves pairing praise with cookies.  It is crucial that the praise starts before you offer the cookies.  The dog’s mind will start to link cookies with praise, and over time, the dog will recognize praise as a reward by itself.   This is the nirvana that everyone seeks: the dog that worships you, does what you ask gladly, and seeks only for your approval.  Most people don’t realize that it can take years to cultivate this, and is a result of careful training where the owner consistently praises the dog before providing cookies.  Note that this process can take a long time to develop, and the mental link will disintegrate if praise is never again followed by a reward.  As a result, good trainers continue to occasionally use cookies, always paired with praise, to help strengthen that mental link.

As you can see, training with cookies does not mean you will need to rely on them for every command for the rest of the dog’s life.  Once your dog understands the basics of a behavior, you should stop using the cookie as a lure.  It is helpful to continue to reward the dog randomly throughout his life, but rewards can vary from praise, jackpots, and real-life rewards.

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The Command That Could Save Your Dog's Life

Use the same phrase every time
you call your dog. 

As a dog trainer, I like to start by teaching my clients' dogs the most important and potentially life-saving command, “Come.” Sit, Down, and Stay are terrific, useful commands, but the recall ranks at the top for importance. I start by explaining the three essential aspects of training, which are true regardless of the command you are teaching. They are the keys to dog training success.

Word choice

First, you need to have consistency. In a dog's mind, "Fido, come!" is not the same as "Here, Fido!" What word or phrase do you want to use? Write it down on an index card on the refrigerator so everyone in the family can practice using the same cue.

Treats and Praise

The second key to success in recalls is making it fun for your dog to come to you. For most dogs, this can be easily achieved using tasty treats. You can also make yourself silly, play with your dog, and get excited, happy, and playful when he comes running to you.

Treats are best given in very small morsels like a jackpot machine, one after the other. I typically will give from 3 to 6 morsels for each reward when the dog comes running, while praising excitedly the whole time. Dogs actually enjoy this experience more than a single, large reward.

Note that some dogs want to play chase after coming to their owners. They will come almost in arm's reach, and then dart off for more "chase-me!" fun. This is incredibly dangerous behavior if your dog gets loose. I once saw a Boxer on the run; he came to the owner, danced away excitedly and ran right into oncoming traffic. To prevent this tragedy, offer a tasty treat in one hand, but only give it to the dog when you have successfully taken hold of his collar with the other hand. Once the dog has the treat, you can let go of the collar and let him play again. If you have a "chase-me" dog, you will want to practice the collar-grab/treat routine until the dog is totally comfortable with it, and regularly thereafter. It is also helpful to ask the dog to 'sit' before providing the treat, and then reward him with the treat(s) and a burst of raucous play.

Practice

Repetition is the third key to success. Practice while walking your dog on leash, letting him get ahead of you, then suddenly backing up and calling him to you. Try calling him from the front door of your house, using a long leash to make sure he can’t run for the hills. If needed, you can reel him in after calling him. Practice anywhere your dog could potentially get loose or wherever you need to call him, for example, from the back door. Put the long leash on him so you can guarantee that he will return, but make it worth his while with tasty treats and praise.

Common Mistakes

There are also three important, common pitfalls to avoid while teaching your dog the recall. These fundamental mistakes sometimes defy common sense, but I will explain why it is absolutely crucial that you avoid the following:

Never punish your dog for coming to you. To a dog, he associates what happened in the past 2-3 seconds with your actions. For instance, imagine if your dog digs through the trash and goes romping around the neighborhood, and you are desperately calling him and he isn't coming to you. Your naughty pup has made you scared and angry, and your instinct is to punish him when he finally comes to you. If you do, the dog will associate your anger and punishment with the act of him coming to you. If he runs off again, he will be afraid to return for fear of punishment. In this situation I tell my clients they are allowed to swear at the dog, as long as they do it in a very sweet voice that sounds like praise. Sometimes it can be difficult and embarrassing to praise and reward a dog when all your neighbors know you've been chasing him around the neighborhood for a half-hour. It is still far better to praise your "naughty" dog, than to end up with a dog that refuses to come back at all.

The second rule: Except in life-threatening emergencies, don't call your dog if you know he won't come. If your dog is having a fantastic time at the dog park, and you call hi to come without prior training in that environment, you are setting him up to fail. In this case, you can encourage your dog but avoid using your trained recall command. If your recall command is, "Eddie, come!" it would be better to say something like, "OK Eddie, time to go!" Only use your trained command either when you know your dog will come, or you can get him to comply by reeling him in from a long line. Even if you have to reel him in, you should reward him for coming so next time will be easier.

The third rule: never chase a dog you want to catch. Tempting as it is, dogs will always be faster than humans, and their fight-or-flight response will kick in while you are chasing. The best way to catch a loose dog is to let him chase you: call him and start running backwards or perpendicular to him. An alternative is to drop to the ground and make puppy noises or pretend like you are eating something. You might or might not get the dog curious enough to explore, but I can tell you from experience that you don't stand a chance chasing a healthy, young dog.

Just like with all health-related advice, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So, teach your dog to come and accept having his collar grabbed, make it fun, and practice it regularly!