An Effective Reinforcement Technique
That Most People Think Is a Mistake

Baiting a dog by using food is considered by many to be a mistake. In NSW in Australia, handlers were never allowed to use food to get the best out of their show dogs, whereas in Victoria it was accepted.

In training exotic animals, the food reward system is essential in teaching the animals to do things such as opening their mouth behind bars for the trainer (or Vet) to examine the health of teeth, gums etc.

You can certainly teach a dog without a food reward, but it is quicker and easier to use food. Later you may like to substitute the food with playing with their favourite toy, as their reward.

If you have ever watched dogs performing in fly ball, you will see how much they love it and will work fast and hard to simply get their favourite toy and have a tug o’ war with their trainer.

To read about lots of great training tips for your dog, you need this great book.

One problem encountered by some trainers is if the dog is not fussed about food. This will make them difficult to train, especially with the clicker method. The only way around this is to make your dog hungry by missing a day’s meal. Then use a food he really likes e.g. chicken or salami. He is then much more likely to now respond well to the clicker and food reward.

Another problem is with the dog’s weight. If they are getting their normal meal plus lots of tid bits in training, they can put on weight. The way to overcome this is to cut down on the main meal. For the type of dog mentioned above, that isn’t that keen on food, break his entire meal into training session segments. He will still get sufficient to eat, but it will be over a day, rather than at the end of the day.

I watched a mature terrier type dog rescued from the pound totally change his disposition using this method. He was slow, tardy, disinterested and generally listless when he commenced the clicker training. Within two weeks of having his food withdrawn then added only in training sessions with the clicker, he turned into a bright, active, interested and bouncy little dog that loved his training and rewards.

But the owner went through hell; feeling so guilty because she could not feed him his normal night meal which she was used to doing. It was the owner that was suffering here, not the dog. Too often we do what we think is best for the dog, when it is really the owners best interests that are being acted on.

In the video below you will see a neat trick that Cooper has recently learned. He is still a bit slow at this, but I will begin to speed it up. I simply used food in my hand and had him follow it in and out of my legs to get him to zig zag. Watch him in the video below

Click on picture to see video


A much more complicated trick was to teach him to pray. I really don’t know how you would teach this trick without the food reward. I sat him at a small plastic table (you have to choose something to fit the size of your dog) and tapped my finger on the top until he put his paw up – click, reward.

It was much harder to get both feet up, but we eventually did it. It is worth mentioning here that you should never actually place the paws where you want them. Remember, they have to work it out. Just be patient!

Then I had to get his head to bend and look under the table while his feet stayed on the table top. The reason why I chose the particular table (in the video below) is because it had a hole I could put my hand in. I was facing the dog and had food in my hand. He put his head under to follow the food. Click, reward.

At first one paw would slip off so I did not click or reward. I would have to start at the beginning again. Finally I was able to put a red cloth on the table, with candles (unlit of course) and he would say his prayers. He would only look up when I said ‘Amen’.

This is a real party stopper; everyone loves it. And so does Cooper. As soon as he sees the table, he immediately goes to it and sits with both paws on it waiting for the ‘pray’ command! Check him out in this video.

 Click on picture to see video


Food is an ultra-powerful positive reinforcement technique and I really don’t care who says using food to train a dog is a mistake. I use this method to my advantage because it is so effective. Try it yourself!

Read this interesting book on dog training by Daniel Stevens, you will get lots of alternative training methods.