- Motivation can mean the difference between
a dog that loves to play with you,
loves to train with you,
and loves to work for you
and a dog who's kind of indifferent.
Welcome back to McCann Dogs.
This is 2-Minute Training Terms.
I'm Ken Steepe.
Now here comes the part where I play the G chord
on my acoustic guitar
and here my Shaker Toy Poodle barks twice.
(Guitar strum and dog barking)
Thanks for joining us here at McCann Dogs
If this is your first time with us
make sure you hit that subscribe button.
We publish new videos every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
to help you do something awesome with your dog.
This is the first video of a new series
that we're gonna be running on our channel
where I try to explain to you a term or a phrase
in two minutes or less
that's going to help you
build a stronger relationship
with your dog,
have more successful training sessions,
and have more fun with your dog.
To really understand them better.
So in that, now let's set the clock for two minutes.
And here we go.
Number one, food.
It should come as no surprise that a lot of efforts
in dog training revolve around the use of food
or at least begin with the use of food.
But it's the kind of food
that I wanna talk to you about today.
Occasionally we have students come into our classroom
and they're using their dogs kibble as a reward
for great behavior or for the dog offering a behavior.
And sometimes it works.
Do you remember when you were a kid in school
and you'd go to school all week and you had the same lunches
and then occasionally a pizza day would roll around?
Can you remember how much you loved pizza?
I know I do!
But sometimes you're in an environment
where the distraction is too great
or the dog has not a very clear understanding
and they aren't motivated by that kibble.
So that's when we need to pull out the big guns.
I want you to write down three of your dogs favorite rewards
and maybe it's steak or cheese or chicken
or peanut butter or something.
I want you to write it down
and I want you to use those high-value rewards
when you get an extra great effort from your dog
or for skills like teaching the recall for example.
I want them to think it's the greatest thing in the world
for him to get that extra special steak treat
when he sits in front at the ending of that recall.
It can one day save his life.
Number two, toys.
And the kind of toys I'm talking about
are the kinds of toys that you can engage with your dog.
We talk often about the game of tug.
That's a great way to build a relationship with your dog
but it's also really rewarding and really motivating
for your dog to tug on that toy back and forth.
But I don't want you to give your dog
access to those toys all the time.
Tuck them away.
Put them somewhere special.
That way when you're working on a skill
that's really challenging for your dog
or you need a high-value reward at the end of the exercise,
you've got it and it's special.
You've kept it for those special events.
And your dog will be super motivated when they earn it.
Number three is playing.
There are some dogs who value play over everything else
when it comes to being a motivator.
We have an instructor whose dog
actually loves to go splash in the water
more than anything else in the world.
When he does a really great job
of whatever skill they're working on,
she can send him to the nearest body of water,
he'll go have his splash and then come right back.
But you need to figure out your dogs currency of play.
What's that kind of play that they really like?
And not all dogs are the same.
We used to have a Border Collie named Jitterbug
and when I'd race her in fly ball
her favorite thing was to get back to me,
I'd clap my hands and pat her side.
That was her favorite thing.
I'd run around in a circle at the end of the run
and I'd be clapping my hands and patting her side.
She loved it.
Maybe you have a rough and tumble dog,
the dog who likes to be pushed away a little bit
and you can make loud noises.
Maybe raising the tone of your voice helps.
Oh boy!
You need to experiment a little bit
and find out what the favorite type of play for your dog is.
Now one thing to keep in mind with all three of these,
you need to use the most appropriate one.
The recall is a great example of a skill
where the motivator can be interchangeable.
Sometimes I'll call my dog back and have them sit in front
and I'll reward them lots of times with steak or chicken
or cheese or something that they absolutely love.
Or recall them back to a tug toy and make it have a
fun game of tug when the get to me.
But when you're working on a stationery skill
or walking on a loose leash
a tug toy isn't really a great choice.
The one motivator you've always got is your voice.
Continue to praise your dog
even between rewards if they're working hard
and doing a great job.
And that's all I have to say about that.
Did I make it?
I can't see the timer.
Is it two minutes?
Did I make it under two minutes?
Oh I couldn't tell if I was going over or not.
I apologize.
In future weeks I'm gonna have to pare it down.
I hope you enjoyed this first episode
of 2-Minute Training Terms.
And I hope you found it helpful.
If this is your first time with us
make sure you hit that subscribe button.
We publish new videos every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
to help you do something awesome with your dog today.
On that note,
I'm Ken.
We'll see you on Monday.
(light-hearted music)