Using valuable reward for training can be effective when shaping good behaviors. The idea is simple. Guide a dog towards a behavior, reward for accomplishment. But what happens when your dog misbehaves? One might say teach a new behavior to replace the bad one. The problem is that now we are relying on the dog to choose a more valuable reward for doing a good behavior rather than the reward for doing the bad.
Example 1; Say your dog finds it highly rewarding to bark and attack the fence because there are dogs on the other side. You have tried to redirect your dog with their favorite toy, a piece of hot dog, or exciting voices in an attempt to engage away from the fence. You might find this works for a second or even a minute. The next time the temptation presents itself however, your dog makes the same poor choice time and time again despite your attempts.
Example 2; Say your dog barks and lunges at other dogs passing by. You were told to put your dog in a sit and reward with a treat for eye contact. So every time a dog passes you, you turn into a treat dispenser, feeding your dog at rapid pace to distract them from the trigger. You have tried multiple times to work on this with little to no progress. You eventually give up thinking your lack of consistency is the reason for lack of success.
Some owners may find success or will be satisfied with their dog's progress in these instances. Training should fit your lifestyle and goals. However, using food reward at inappropriate times can unintentionally reinforce or create the wrong state of mind. The missing link is proper discipline. Our dogs poor choices must be met with objection. The objection needs to be fair and meaningful enough in order to cause a deterrence from making certain choices. Balancing reward and discipline is vital to success.
What you will find is your dog changing their choices on their own and it is then we can reward those changes.
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