Tilly is a Heinz 57 supermutt who was in Puppy Agility Games at Your Dog’s Friend in the summer of 2019. When I talked to the class about how rewards are whatever the dog finds rewarding, Tilly’s moms took it to heart. They started coming to class with all sorts of…
Trash.
Trash as a reward? Whaaat?
Tilly was happy to work for food, but she was ECSTATIC to work for:
- an empty water bottle
- an empty Pringles can
- a paper towel tube
- a Starbucks straw (yes! a single plastic straw)
Better rewards = faster learning
Tilly’s confidence and happiness were through the roof when she could be rewarded with the chance to run around with trash in her mouth. And she was able to pick up her agility foundations skills quicker because she found those rewards so reinforcing.
How about you?
What is your dog’s favorite thing ever?
Can you make it the reward you use during training?
Tag @foleysdogtraining in your Story on Facebook or Instagram and show me your dog’s favorite reward.
