How do you reward your dog?

Question

edit: Can we expect a young dog to understand words of praise?
Doesn't a food reward depend on how hungry our dog is?
What is the only "positive" form of praise?

edit2: Let me rephrase a question I asked about food: Do you want your dog to work for food or for you?

Answer 1

I pat them on the head or rub them behind their ears.

Answer 2

We reward our dogs all the time. I truly believe that is the reason they are happy and good.

What and how you use a reward is dependent on the dog. Obviously if a dog is not toy motivated, tossing a ball is not a reward. If a dog does not like Milk Bones, then they are not a reward.

And what and how also depends on what the dog is doing, or what you want the dog to do.

If you want the dog to quietly sit and stay, you would not say sit/stay and throw a ball!

If a dog is lying quietly at your feet (as my agility Border Collie is right now) I simply tell her in a quiet tone "What a good girl" and give her a pat on the head or scratch under the chin. It is good that she can lay quietly for a while!

The words are not as powerful as the tone of voice, though dogs definitely learn words! It takes a while with consistency and patience.

Food. Generally a treat is used for work close to you...as you treat out of your hand. The treat is used for focus and luring and as a reward exactly "when the dog is doing what you want". As: walk by my side, come, sit, down, stay etc. The dog learns that by "doing what you want" he gets something good. There is nothing wrong with giving treats. A dog is apt to learn faster and be more willing to work for you with positive reward. This does not mean you will have to treat every time for every thing for the rest of his life! Treats are training tools. Giving treats is your duty, your honor, as the pack leader, providing for your dog. And....they like them!

Toys. If one has a toy motivated dog, they, too, are wonderful tools for training. Take advantage of them. More difficult to explain simply than treats. But the dog should "do" something for the toy too. Like "come", then you toss the toy. Toys are an "action" tool and may be too exciting for the dog to ask him in the beginning to "sit/stay". With a highly toy motivated dog, a "sit/stay" with a treat....then for the Bestest reward, say "ok" to release him and then toss the toy.

But yes, treat!

Companionship is a 2 way street.

Answer 3

You should praise your dog in variety of different ways but the 'best' way is using whatever method motivates him/her the best. The more motivated the dog is for his reward, the better he will do the job. I like to think of it as a human working towards his or hers next pay check -- you would not work without incentive, would you?

For some very handler focused breeds such as the Border Collie, a pat on the head and a 'good boy!' is pure ecstasy. These dogs live to please and acknowledgment from their owners is a massive reward. Do the same to a more independent, nose-focused breed like a Beagle and you will probably get a "Uh huh, the pat is great. Now, where is my food?" reaction.

So in a nutshell, it is about doing what works for your dog. If that is food, great. If it is a throw of the ball, great. A pat on the head and a 'good boy!', fantastic. If it motivates your dog to work, the reward is doing it's job!

EDIT: Does the dog need to be hungry to work for food? you haven't met my Labradors! there are some breeds that are totally unmotivated by food but others that live and breath it. Retriever and hound breeds tend to be very food focused (Labradors are notorious food hogs) and the herding/working breeds not so much. For many, many dogs, food is the only and ultimate reward.

Answer 4

With praise. A pat, a kiss, a hug, anything that let's the dog know that you are happy. Most pet owners only acknowledge the bad behaviour by scolding, etc., however just like a child, it reinforces that bad behaviour. Usually the more good you give to the dog, and the more you reward the good behaviour, the more they will want to behave.

Answer 5

I reward my dogs by giving them lots of love and praise and I play with them alot and The best think I could give them are Big Smiles on my face because dogs love to see you happy even if the do something wrong do not yell at them or frown and turn your back to them because it would break their little innocent hearts. I read that In a book. So keep your dog happy by keeping that smile on your face.

Answer 6

I used to use treats as a reward for my Husky but in the past few months I have stopped doing so. My Papillon puppy has been trained with positive reinforcement alone- when he does what is asked of him, he gets pet and verbally praised. Sometimes I use toys as motivation.

Answer 7

PRAISE ! Positive words saying what a good dog he or she is, being happy & excited when telling him. A special pat or rub with a small treat.

Answer 8

Firstly with "Love" hugs, special pats, etc etc etc.....then my dogs get baby carrots as a special treat...and I make my own dog cookies and jerky for very special days...smile

Edit: haven't found a dog that didn't like 'em... even this old Pom that hates dog cookies...lol here are my 2 favorite recipes... kids love to help with them too...smile

Basic DogTreats
Mix together
3 1/2 cup unbleached flour,
2 cup whole wheat flour,
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup skim milk powder
1 tablespoon (or 1 package) dry yeast
3 1/2 cups lukewarm chicken or meat broth

Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm chicken or meat broth. The richer this broth is, the better your dog will like the biscuits. Let yeast broth mixture set 10 min. Then stir in flour mixture. Roll resulting dough out 1/4" thick. Cut dog biscuit shapes from dough. Brush biscuits with egg wash. Bake on greased cookie sheets at 300* for 45 min. Then turn off oven and leave in overnight to finish hardening. Makes 60 medium-sized biscuits.
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Dog Biscuits
•2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
•1/2 cup nonfat powdered milk
•1 tsp. sugar (or less)
•1 tsp. salt (or less)
•1 egg
•1 tsp. beef or chicken bouillon granules
•1/2 cup hot water
In a large bowl, dissolve bouillon in hot water. Cool to room temperature. Add remaining ingredients. Knead for three minutes or until dough forms a ball.
Roll dough until 1/2" thick; cut into dog bone shapes. Bake on lightly greased cookie sheet for 30 minutes at 350.

Answer 9

I use verbal praise only or if it's an exceptional job well done then a short reward of tossing the ball or what every I have handy.
That's it nothing more.
Why do you want to know???

Answer 10

Bite tug. All my dogs, detection, patrol and competition dogs get the tug as a reward when they perform an exercise the way it should be performed. All of them love it and all of them know it's coming at the end, so they will work extra hard to get it.

Answer 11

You can give them some food or you can just praise them and pat their head after they have done something good..