Lorrie [00:00:08]:
Welcome to the Maximum Fun Agility podcast. I'm Lorrie Reynolds, owner of Maximum Fun Dog Sports. We help your agility team build your relationship, communication, confidence, and fun in training so that you can joyfully succeed on any course. In this episode, we'll talk about why your reward might not be rewarding to your dog and how you can find something he really wants. Years ago, an instructor brought me in for a seminar with a lovely group of people. One woman came to talk to me privately during our first break. Sprint, the sight hound, was smart and very fast, but would only do 1 or 2 obstacles before quitting to go off and explore, return to her crate, or zoom around the ring. I knew that the instructor only used positive methods and didn't rush the training, so she wasn't pushing the dog too hard.
Lorrie [00:01:01]:
Sprint had been thoroughly checked out by a vet to make sure there were no physical issues. She just didn't seem very interested in food or toys even when they pulled out high value treats like chicken or liver. I asked what Sprint would choose to do if she had her choice of activities. The answer wasn't surprising at all for a sighthound. She loved to chase things, but wasn't really interested in thrown toys and rarely brought them back. She chased the squirrels that ran along the fence, leaves that were blowing in the wind, and even trash. I asked what they had tried for toy rewards and got the standard answer, balls, a Frisbee, tug toys, stuffed animals, and so on. I suggested that we try something new after lunch, so I would have time to find what we needed.
Lorrie [00:01:49]:
I talked to the person hosting the seminar, and between an old fishing rod she had and twine and a plastic bag from my car, we were ready to test out our new toy during the second half of the day. We started on the ground with no obstacles and quickly learned that Sprint did indeed love to chase. We were soon able to get her going over a couple of jumps and through a few hoops with more enthusiasm than she had ever shown before, all for the chance to chase the plastic bag at the end. Her owner was thrilled to have finally found something that was rewarding enough to keep Sprint interested in training. The pole allowed her to move it fast enough to be exciting without having to run. Finding a new reward made a huge difference for their training. Dogs are enthusiastic about training if they value the reward, but handlers don't get to determine what is actually rewarding to the dog, the dog does. We think dogs should work for high value treats and the typical toys, but sometimes those things aren't what motivates the individual dog.
Lorrie [00:02:57]:
It is the dog who determines whether something is rewarding or not. I had one agility dog that was highly motivated by the chance to chase ground squirrels as a reward, and another who absolutely adored plastic bottles. My latest puppy loves anything with bristles, brooms, bathbrushes, and even a (clean and new) toilet brush. These examples are not typical rewards, but they are what the dogs found rewarding. Rewards can be activities like getting to jump in a baby pool or playing with a squirt bottle or a hose for the water loving dogs. They can be an unorthodox object like a brush or a bottle. Don't limit yourself to the standard treats and thrown or tugged toys when you are searching for something your dog loves. The more rewarding they find the object, the easier it is to maintain their attention during training.
Lorrie [00:03:50]:
If you are struggling to make training fun for your dog and get more engagement, think outside the box for rewards. Find something that is truly motivating to your dog if you want them to work with enthusiasm. Although our makeshift lunge whip wasn't too unusual for anyone who has worked with sighthounds, it didn't occur to this group that had mainly trained herding dogs and retrievers. In The Agility Playground, a membership for successful agility teams, we had a monthly coaching call dedicated entirely to finding or creating the best toys and rewards for your dog. Join us at www.maximumfundogs.com to learn more about this and other topics. And thanks for listening to this episode of the Maximum Fun Agility podcast. Happy training!
