Reinforcement is a Process

Reinforcement is a Process

The great thing about reinforcement is that it's a process—meaning you can tweak it, adjust it, or even completely reshape your approach with rewards. If your training revolves around rewards, it’s essential to establish a clear structure and "language" for how you and your dog interact with them.

This is especially critical for highly motivated dogs. They need to learn how to compose themselves or 'behave' around valuable reinforcers. In fact, teaching this skill should come first—it makes everything else easier to teach.

In this clip, you’ll see an eager dog who basically struggled to control herself in the face of food rewards. My first goal was to teach her to relax for a food reward, and eventually give me some space. Same with toys. And eventually apply those rewards to more advanced skills like "down" or heeling. Helping her to find a different way to 'behave' towards the rewards I was using translated to better focus and self-control in her overall behavior.