Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 12:16 pm Post subject: KC good citizenship To treat or not to treat?
Jake is 11mths and we are doing his silver test in a couple of weeks, he is doing very well but is not really making as much progress as some the other dogs.
I haven't used any treats since he passed his puppy class, but lots of the others still use lots of treats, these dogs always look much more interested in what they are doing than my jake does he just seems to plod round i obviously encourage him with my best sing songy voice which helps but the other dog that are constantly being fed treats look much more enthusiastic than my lad. Are you actually allowed to give treats in the test?
Should i take a pocketful of goodies or just carry on as i am?
If I remember rightly, you aren't supposed to Lure with a treat during the tests. I think you can still use them as a reward though...I know I did.
I want bouncing enthusiasm from my dogs, so I do use treats or a high value reward (tuggy toy, tennis ball, etc) to start with. I hate seeing dogs just going through the motions, I want to see them enjoying it.
I tend to use treats/rewards when teaching something new, then start giving them less and less and at random intervals, that way they never know if there is a reward coming or not....It keeps them guessing and more on the ball .
I always use treats when training Bran but we've been told that treats are not allowed for the tests so everything is taught using hand signals that could easily be concealing treats Initially, every time the dogs see that hand signal, there are treats there and on their way, then it becomes less and less frequent so that eventually they get a treat just at the end of the exercise - which should get them smoothly through their tests
____________ Sarah and Bran
Always watched over with love by our angel, Flora, from Rainbow Bridge
Bran Training
yep, I always use treats, well, if I didn't I might as well wave goodbye to Cadbury and any form of good behaviour He needs high value motivation and praise doesn't cut it I am actually really impressed that Jake works for you at all without a food or toy reward, what a good boy
Thanks for your replies, i look like i have had this training malarky all wrong
I hope i can turn things round in time for him to pass his silver, although tbh when i look at how well trained and well mannered the dogs are in the gold class im not actually sure he is ready for that yet anyway .
i look like i have had this training malarky all wrong .
No you haven't.
Some dogs are motivated by a "Good Boy" and a tickle on the chest, some need a much higher value reward to motivate them enough to get them up and running. All dogs are different and so all motivations are different too.
I couldn't get my Lurcher to do anything for treats, not even cheese or liver, yet if I took something fluffy out with me and dragged it behind me as I ran, she thought this was fantastic, so that used to be her reward for doing whatever I asked of her.
Some dogs work best for a tuggy toy, some for a favourite tennis ball, some for a squeaky. It's just all about finding out what makes your dog tick, that's all.
You are not allowed to use treats during the actual exercises. However inbetween the exercises is a great time to reward with that lovely cooked chicken breast reserved for very special occasions
Normal training she get boring kibble which she is very happy about but there are definate times that something extra special comes out of the bum bag.
Our trainer also has us doing an exercise with treats. then do do it without treats but at the end of the exercise, they get twice the treats as a reward for doing it without treats. This is what we aim for when we do the good citizen awards.
Then slowely fade out the treats so they only get them every so often.
You're not allowed to use treats during the tests, but I found that I *accidently* got cheese under my finger nails on things like heel work and that tended to keep the dog close
And I've seen people with small dogs hiding treats in the turn ups of their trousers!!!
It's a cut throat business, this "good citizen" thing!!
Obedience is just the same, no treats. And you should see the lengths people go too to cheat. I've seen unpick the end of a cardie to slip a choc drop in to tempt close heelwork and fish paste on the handle of dumbells for retrieve. I once gave a person my own dumbell and told then they could either use that or accept a zero, because I would not accept the retrieve they had just shown me.
There is no rush. If your dog is not ready to do the exercise correctly then wait until he is.
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think i shall up the anti at next week session 
He needs high value motivation and praise doesn't cut it 
