Dog trainers using reinforcement based techniques have long had to push back against ideas that using food in training is bad for a given reason. Using food is considered “bribery”, some claim it “cheapens the relationship with your dog”, or it is simply deemed ineffective and inferior to more traditional, coercion-based methods.
Food is a wonderful tool to utilise in dog training, and I love using food. I see no reason to one day no longer pay my dogs for doing things that I like.
A lot of people ask when they can stop using food to reinforce good behaviour from their dog, seeming to be in a rush to get away from treat pouches and hot dogs. This reluctance to continue using food long-term and eagerness to step away from it may be somewhat due to the aforementioned, old-fashioned ideas around its use.
These are some of the arguments and the myths around training with food, and I contrast them with the philosophy that I stand by when it comes to paying our dogs during the training and maintenance phases of learning behaviours.
Myth 1: Using Food is Bribing Your Dog
If you think that using food is bad because it is bribery, there are a couple of things to dispel here. Firstly, if food is being used as a bribe instead of a paycheque, it isn’t being used properly.
In the early stages of training, luring dogs with food on their nose is important to get the behaviour we want, but it is important that these lures are faded out and replaced with hand signals or cues (or you can end up with a dog who thinks “show me the money” when you ask for somethings). The food is not eradicated completely, but appears after the dog has performed the behaviour as a consequence.
Secondly, I have some news to break to you about why any living being does anything. We do what works. Behaviour is driven by consequences. If you hire somebody to clean your windows and you pay them for their work, have you bribed them?
When it comes to consequences, we can use things that our dog likes to reward them with as motivation to perform desirable behaviours, or we can use things that our dog finds scary or painful as motivation not to perform undesirable behaviours.
There is always a motivator when it comes to training, and using aversive (painful or scary) stimuli to teach our dogs comes with a host of unwanted side-effects and is unnecessary.
Myth 2: If You Use Food, Your Dog Doesn’t Respect You
Some people will criticise reinforcement based training by saying “the dog isn’t doing it for you, the dog is only doing it for the food – he doesn’t respect you”. The people claiming that dogs rewarded with food aren’t showing you respect will state that respect is gained by showing “leadership” or “dominance”. This is the way they claim to train – by being the “pack leader” or “showing the dog who’s boss”.
The fact is, these people are using pain, fear or discomfort to motivate dogs. This is not only unethical but it is just not necessary. Dogs don’t misbehave because they lack leadership or think they are dominant over you – they do what is natural and rewarding for them.
These constructs and labels are unhelpful to dogs, and approaches that seek to “make the dog respect you” are not only unfair for the dogs, but often ineffective. Some people use this language because it sounds more appealing than the reality, which is the fact that they are opting to use pain, fear and discomfort as motivators in training.
Animals behave to produce consequences from their environment – there is no such thing as invisible motivation.
If someone is claiming their dog is not performing for any kind of reward, and they are instead doing it out of respect, pay attention to the dog’s body language. If they are not working to earn a reward (and rewards don’t just need to be food), the likelihood is that they are working to avoid punishment.
Myth 3: My Dog Doesn’t Like Food
A lot of dogs may be written off as candidates for reward-based training because they allegedly don’t like food. There are a couple of problems with this.
To start with, a dog that lacks any food motivation at all is one of two things: very unwell and should be taken to a veterinarian immediately, or dead. Dogs need to eat to stay alive. Some dogs are much more picky about the food that they will work for, and the appropriate type of food reward to use can vary, but all dogs will eat something.
Furthermore, one of the great things about reward-based training methods is that they are very adaptable, and the reward doesn’t have to be food. The reward can be anything that the dog wants access to.
Some of the other motivators that can be used in positive reinforcement training are fuss, verbal praise, a game of fetch/tuggy, the opportunity to sniff, getting to chase things – and more. I have known dogs that will lose their mind for the chance to chase a leaf or blade of grass. Dogs decide what they find motivating, not us – so it is important to use something the dog actually likes.
Myth 4: Behaviours Trained with Food Are Unreliable
But does positive reinforcement training work in the real world? What about when you take away the food (or other reward)? If you have trained them well, these behaviours absolutely remain strong.
It can take skill, planning and good timing to train efficiently with positive reinforcement, so it is advised that you enlist the help of a qualified, professional force free trainer if you feel like you are out of your depth. Reward-based training is not only strong from an ethical standpoint, but one of efficacy, too.
In fact, in roles where dogs are trained to perform crucial tasks (such as assistance work, search and rescue, and explosives detection), these behaviours are trained and maintained with positive reinforcement. These behaviours remain reliable in high distraction, life-or-death situations. The research supports the effectiveness of reward-based training, too. This stuff really works.
There are other myths you see being touted about the use of food rewards or positive reinforcement in animal training, but these are some of the popular ones that training and behaviour professionals taking a force free approach often need to dispel. Food is an excellent tool for modifying behaviour.