My Dog Is NOT Food Motivated!

Through my evolution as a dog trainer I have gone from choke chains and alpha theory to using a clicker and food. Some friends have jokingly called me the “dog whisperer” while my competition not so fondly refers to me as a “cookie chucker…not a serious trainer.” Despite working with cases of dog-to-human aggression, which many professional dog trainers consider very “serious.” When people ask why I use a clicker and food to train dogs, I tell them because I have tried everything else and this is the most effective, efficient, and humane way to train any animal. For the skeptics who will not take my word for it, I simply point to the plethora of research plus years of anecdotal evidence demonstrating the power of using food in animal training. From guide dogs for the blind to military dolphins that detect mines in the ocean, animals trained using reward markers like the clicker and timely use of food as reinforcement can, and are trained to the most advanced levels possible. Correct use of food is incredibly effective in dog training but when misused often slows learning and ultimately becomes a crutch that holds your dog back from reliable behavior.

When teaching training fundamentals to my clients I often catch myself chanting “the reward comes after the behavior.” I smile when I see their eyes light up as their dog offers a “sit” without food in front of their face. The four most common errors I see when people use food in training are:

• Not using high value food (i.e. chicken, liverwurst, or cheese.
• Not rewarding quickly enough after the desired behavior occurs.
• Not keeping a sufficient rate of reinforcement. For clicker training, this means clicking and treating often.
• Not progressing to intermittently reinforcing a dog for well-known behaviors.

If dog owners avoid the four pitfalls above but say to me “my dog is not food motivated,” my response to them is “if your dog is alive, then they are food motivated.” Just remember, the type of food you choose and how you use it will make all the difference in the world.