Rewards
Positive reinforcements can be anything that the dog finds rewarding -
special food treats, the chance to play with a tug toy, social interaction with
other dogs, or the owners attention. The more rewarding a dog finds a particular
reinforcement, the more work he will be prepared to do in order to obtain the
reinforcement.
Some trainers go through a process of teaching a puppy to strongly desire a
particular toy, in order to make the toy a more powerful positive reinforcement
for good behavior. This process is called "building prey drive", and is commonly
used in the training of Narcotics Detection and Police Service dogs. The goal is
to produce a dog who will work independently for long periods of time.
It is important that the dog is not "bribed" to perform. In dog training, the
term "bribery" means that the dog is aware of the presence of the reward before
he is asked to complete the command. Experienced trainers will hide the reward
from the dog, and only produce the reward once the dog has already complied with
the command. The goal is to produce a dog who will perform even on occasions
that the handler has no reward to offer, since the dog's training has taught him
that the handler may have a reward even if the dog cannot see it.
