Clean Run - December 2011 - 10

The Science of Strategic Reinforcement
When, Where, and How to Reward
By Jubie Rueschenberg, CPDT, photos by author

Dog training appears to be an art but it is really very scientific, and the primary component in the science of dog training is when, where, and how to reward. Bob Bailey, an applied behavior analyst who is a pioneer in operant-based animal training, says, “Training is mechanical.” Basically, if you focus on your mechanical skills you can increase the dog’s rate of learning. These mechanical skills include timing, setting criteria, improving the rate of reinforcement, and where you deliver the reward. Understanding when, where, and how to reward your dog for a particular behavior takes a lot of the mystery out of training.

Placement of Rewards
For instance, some agility handlers cannot seem to get their dogs to work independently of them and to focus on the obstacles. Therefore, the speed of the agility run is dictated by the speed of the handler. When I have handlers come to me with this training dilemma, without even seeing them run, I can usually surmise that most if not all rewards come when the dog turns into the handler and is then fed from the hand. What behavior do you think the handler is training when rewarding this way? You probably guessed handler focus and you are correct. Handlers are training the opposite of the independence they want to train. If I want obstacle focus, I reward away from my body and usually quite close to the obstacle. Also the reward should be immediate when the performance of the obstacle is correct. For forward focus during and after an obstacle the reward should be forward. I only reward from my hand if I ask for a behavior that requires handler focus. Knowing when, where, and how to reward gives you the tools needed for successful agility training.
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Let’s dissect the placement of rewards a little more so you get a very clear picture. Say you are training a cue for a tight turn over a jump: your placement of reward should be very tight to the jump upright. I place the reward where I want the dog to ultimately place his body or head. For contacts and weaves, the dog’s head should be low and focused forward so the reward should be low and forward. Another good example is training a lateral lead-out. First you need to reward the dog for running his line; therefore, do not wait for the dog to get to you before rewarding him. Reward on the dog’s line with a target or by tossing the toy/cookie to the dog before he has a chance to leave his line and come into you. Before training a behavior, think about what the end result should look like. Next, decide the best placement of reward so the dog has a clear understanding of exactly what you want him to do. Do not create a gray area in training or you may get a variance of behavior on course because the dog will decide the outcome. The last thing we want while walking a course is to modify our handling plan because we cannot count on the dog’s behavior.

Marking the Behavior and When to Reward
Another important part of the mechanics of dog training is the correct marking of behavior. For accuracy I recommend using a clicker. The clicker can mark a behavior with more accuracy then a verbal mark. The sound of the clicker does not vary in length or tone; there is not an excited click or a mild click. A spoken word has vocal variables such as rate, tone, volume, and rhythm, so it can easily have overlapping signals. Don’t forget: the mark should be immediately paired with a reward. I remind students continually of another of Bob Bailey’s mantras, “In orClean Run | December 11

Clean Run - December 2011

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