Building Value for Food Reinforcers

 “My dog won’t take treats” or “Treats don’t work for my dog” are common reasons given for reluctance when using food as  reinforcement. The reality is EVERY dog needs to eat food to live and thrive. Increasing the food value may or may not make a difference. 

First things first! If your dog has issues with food, it’s worth a trip to the vet to make sure there’s not physical reason your dong doesn’t want treats. Issues like, sores, abscesses, infected teeth or gums, esophageal reflux, digestive biome issues, or anything that affects any part of the alimentary tract can cause issues with eating or taking treats. 

Nick taking a cookie from Cindy in the kitchen. 

The next, most common issue is making sure the dog knows how to take a treat. Most dogs will seek out food at some point in their lives. If the dog is too assertive with treat taking, this can lead to unintentionally punishing the dog when teeth hit flesh and we reflexively pull our hand away, often with a flinch and a yelp as sharp teeth meet flesh. This isn’t intentional, it’s a reflex. Some dogs learn to take treats with less gusto. Some dogs, like Nick are so sensitive that they no longer want to take treats. 

If you have a land shark that tends to let teeth hit skin, thin gloves might be the solution. The extra layer protects your skin so you can give the treat without pulling away in pain. This may prevent accidental nips during treat procurement. 

What about the dog who won’t take a treat? 

Nick is such a dog. His issues are multifaceted. He now knows how to take a treat directly from my hand, either end of a closed fist, from my palm and is getting better at taking them from the floor, and a zen bowl in most situations. 

We achieved this by going to the least stimulating environment and giving treats for very easy behaviors, such as standing near me, almost as quickly as he could take, chew, and swallow. I started with high value, to Nick treats. Adding motion to the treat in your hand will add value to the treat since your dog will have to follow your hand to get your treat. 

His current favorites are string cheese and meatballs that  have been cut up. 

Next we want to teach that it’s permissible to eat off the floor, on cue. I do this by placing a piece of food on the floor next to me and letting my dog eat it. Once my dog can consistently eat the food off the floor, I add a “get it” cue or marker to let my dog know that food is now available. As my dog starts to understand this, I start tossing the food a little farther from me.  It can be helpful to use a food that shows up easily on the floor. Mozzarella string cheese tends to be easier to see on a brown floor than a piece of kibble or meat. 

Nick learning to eat off the ground at the zoo. 

As your dog starts to understand that getting a treat on the floor is acceptable, adding animation, by tossing it, will add the value of the chase to the food. 

I like to pair food with play. This has been invaluable to Nick. I’m a big fan of interrupting our tug games with a treat several times during the game. I tend to end these games by throwing a prey dummy with treats in it and allowing him to settle and eat that. 

Once you know that your dog knows how to take, chew and swallow you want to evaluate when your dog has issues. If the environment is too overwhelming, eating is often the first thing to disappear. You also want to make sure you’re not relying on high value foods too much. I feed most of Nick’s meals in training, so use either Lucy’s Beef Roll dog food, Fresh Pet, or Red Barn Lamb Roll most of the time.  

Once your dog is consistently taking treats in a quiet area, it’s time to start gradually adding distractions to eating. If at any time your dog stops eating, the environment is most likely too overwhelming, and you need to move to a quieter environment. 

Nick eating food from a zen bowl, in public. 

There is help for dogs that aren’t super food motivated. It may take a little extra effort to build food motivation. It’s well worth the time. 

The Treat Drop Game

This is a game that Penny likes to play with dog owners to help them learn to deliver reinforcement effectively while watching the dog to know when it is time to drop the treat.

1. Place 10-15 treats in your dominant hand so that you can drop the treats out one at a time. Hold this hand slightly higher than your dog's nose.
2. Place your other hand slightly lower than your dog's nose to catch the treat. (Depending on your dog, you may need to hold your hands really close to their nose, or further away to prevent them from knocking all the treats out of your hands.)
3. Drop the treat while saying the "Get It" cue, attempting to catch the treat with your other hand and feed it to the dog.
4. Watch the dog carefully! The moment they stop chewing you repeat Step 3 until you are almost out of treats.
5. When you are running low on treats drop the rest of your treats on the floor in front of the dog with the "Get It" cue to end the session.

With some practice, you can also learn to drop treats one at a time consistently while your dog catches them. You can then use this as a way to provide reinforcement for your dog in future training sessions. Cindy calls this the Magic Hand game. You're dog will most generally focus so much on the hand, waiting for the next treat to drop that they are able to ignore distractions in the environment.