"People Food"

Because I am a positive reinforcement trainer I get a lot of clients who will say "I don't give my dog people food" or who will ask, "Won't that make him beg?".  So, I thought I would write a blog on the use of different reinforcers and whether or not this will cause problems with your dogs.

I sometimes use packaged dog treats.  Mainly, I use them when I am training at home.  My dogs are happy to work for Zukes or some other soft, small, easy to eat treat.  This is because at home my dogs are less likely to require higher value reinforcers.  I may switch to something higher value if I am working on something new or challenging or just extra attention.  However, when I am at a training class or some novel or distracting environment I know that it is likely I will need to be using higher value treats. 

For me, their are levels of value of treats.  I determine the level based on the animals response to them.  If they eat them, but aren't crazy for them they are probably fairly low value.  If they ignore them all together, they are very low value and basically worthless for that animal.  If the animal is crazy for them and locked onto them they are high value.  Generally, I would rate them like this:

Low value - kibble, charlie bears, milk bone or other hard type biscuits

Medium value - Soft store bought treats such as Zukes, Pupperonis, Carvers.  Or people food like Cheerios or popcorn.

High value - Human grade beef, chicken, fish, cheese, hot dogs, roll dog food.

Again, this list is not set in stone, it is a generalization.  I know plenty of dogs who work happily for the low value treats on my list, but those are dogs that are very "foody" and pretty much like everything, like my Dachshunds.  It is important to keep in mind that the dog gets to decide the value of the reinforcer, not the human.

People will sometimes worry that it is not healthy to give their dogs "people food", but if you are using good, healthy food, this isn't a problem.  Unless you have a dog that has specific intolerances or allergies, most meats, cheeses, etc will be fine for them.  If you have a dog with a sensitive tummy then perhaps go with boiled chicken or something more bland like that.  I pretty much use all of our leftover meat for dog training.  This includes lunch meat, steak, chicken, ham.  I have even taken leftover carnitas (pork) rinsed off all the sauce and juice and used that.  If you fed your dog only steak it wouldn't be a healthy, well balanced diet, but to use it for training is not an issue.  I even use peanut butter and cheese whiz when stuffing kongs, or when I need a soft, gooey type of treat.  Again, if your dog has an intolerance or allergy to a specific food then of course, don't use it, but I haven't found these things to cause problems for most dogs.  In my opinion, human grade meat is probably healthier than many of the processed treats made for dogs, so I am perfectly comfortable using them.  If your dog ends up with an upset tummy, try something more bland.  Never feed your dog chocolate, grapes, raisins or onions.

Another issue that clients bring up is will feeding people food teach their dog to beg.  My answer is "only if you feed it from the table or when you are eating".  Dogs would learn to beg just as easily if you fed kibble from the table.  Dogs don't bed because we are giving them people food, they beg because of the context of when they are given it.  If you feed them while you are preparing food in the kitchen, they will learn to come into the kitchen and stare at you or jump up or mug you or whatever they do to ask for some.  If you are a particularly sloppy cook and you drop food on the floor, they will learn to hang out in the kitchen while you cook.  If you feed your dog from the table when you are eating meals, they will learn, quickly, to come and stare at you and maybe scratch your leg or put their chin on your knee to ask for some.  They aren't just "doing this", they are "taught" this by those who feed them in those situations.  If "people food" only comes from a treat bag or is given to them only during training sessions they won't learn to beg from giving them. 

So, relax and use the reinforcers necessary to train your dog, just be smart about it!

Uh oh! My dog is guilty!

The other day my cattle dog Bill ate a cupcake off of the counter.  He licked the icing off another one.  My husband found the crumbs of the first cupcake and the frosting missing off of the other and said, "Oh man, someone ate a cupcake off the counter.  Hey, they licked the frosting off of this one!"  There are only two dogs big enough to do this but I was pretty sure which dog it was.  I didn't say anything but looked for Bill and found him lying down behind the couch looking very "guilty".  He looked the exact same way he looks when my husband raises his voice because his football team is losing, when something he is working on around the house isn't going his way and when he is losing at his video game.  Do you see where this is going?  Bill didn't feel "guilty" because he ate a cupcake, in fact, he didn't realize Rick was vocalizing about cupcakes, he responds that way anytime Rick is upset about anything.  Bill is very close and attached to Rick and freakishly in tune with Rick's emotions.  He is so sensitive to Rick's tone of voice in fact, that every time Rick raises his voice he slinks away regardless of what Rick is talking about or who Rick is talking to.  In fact, Rick has taken to saying, "It's okay Bill, it's not you" nearly every time he raises his voice to stop Bill from worrying. 

People are always saying that their dogs feel "guilty".  They say this because this is how they perceive their dog's body language, usually just after they have found something that the dog has done that they don't like.  What they don't understand is that the dog is not responding this way because he feels "guilt" or "remorse" over something he has done, in fact, the dog usually has not clue that he did something "wrong".  The dog is simply responding to the owner's tone of voice and body language.  If a person comes home from work, finds poop in the house, then has an anger meltdown because they have to clean it up, the dog will begin to look worried and afraid when the owner comes home.  It isn't because of what he did, it is because of his past experiences of his owner coming home and then getting angry.  By the way, a dog can find our reactions punishing regardless of how benign they may seem.  To some very sensitive dogs, something has subtle as a heavy sigh or look of disgust can be punishing to the dog.  It is so interesting to me how people are can be completely resistant to the fact that dogs have emotions (which they do) or they believe that they have emotions and because they do, they must be exactly like human emotions (which they aren't).

Dogs repeat behaviors that are reinforcing.  They also live in the moment.  I had a very hard time resisting those cupcakes, even though I had already eaten one!  Bill saw them on the counter and wanted one, so he took one.  I believe he saw it, wanted it, took it, ate it and then it was over.  He probably forgot about the cupcake the moment he was finished eating it (even though there was still frosting on his lip when I found him behind the couch!).  When Rick started to complain that a cupcake was eaten, Bill heard his tone and got worried like he always does.  There was no cupcake-guilt about it.  By the way, we didn't care too much that he ate a cupcake and Bill didn't get in "trouble" for it, we just felt stupid for leaving the cupcake container open on the edge of the counter.  STUPID!

There has been a video circulating on the internet of a "guilty dog".  The owner comes to the dog with a ripped bag of cat treats and says to the dog "Did you do this?  Did you rip open these cat treats?".  The dogs starts to do a series of appeasement behaviors including pinning his ears back, yawning, lip licking, squinting his eyes, and finally offering a full, submissive grin with all of his teeth showing.  People watch it and laugh and say that the dog is guilty, but the dog is not feeling "guilty" the dog is simply responding to the owner's tone of voice.  It's sad to watch actually if you know what is going on.  If you tested it (which I don't recommend you do since it's stressful to your dog) you would see that your dog will respond the same way if your tone and body language worries him.

The take away message here is "please don't assume your dog is feeling guilty", he is likely just responding to you.  Oh, and remember to put the lid back on the cupcake container before leaving it on the counter!