What is a “reward marker” and why do we teach it?
You only need rewards to train a dog. We never use aversive methods. Force-free, reward-based training, such as Fun Not Fear® is based in science and ethics. But how to effectively reward, and to reward the right things? The answer is simple.
A reward marker is a wonderful thing. We use a marker to tell our dogs exactly the moment they get something right, so they can pinpoint quickly what caused their reward to happen.
This speeds up the process of teaching our dogs by an incredible amount, enabling us to teach more intricate things.
The world is full of noise. People talk a lot, and our dogs do not speak a human language too well. We all need to communicate within this world to thrive. With other humans, we can simply ask them something, and they understand. It comes naturally to us. Our dogs need to be shown which noises, actions or words to listen out for.
By teaching them those cues, we make life easier for the dogs as well as ourselves. While teaching, we must communicate the desired action of the cue to our dogs. In order to do this, the first thing we must teach our dogs is a reward marker. This informs your dog they have picked the right action, and that action leads to a reward. It is the start of all communication between you and will become their favourite sound, as you bond and learn together using reward-based methods.
What to use?
Technically, you can teach your dog anything is a reward marker, so long as you can use it to pinpoint the exact moment they did something right, and that the noise itself is not aversive. We tend to use a clicker, or a verbal “good” or “good dog, ” or you might choose a hand signal if your dog is deaf, or even a scent or a gentle touch if the dog is deaf and blind.
A verbal marker is convenient, but your voice can get lost in the noise of everyday life. A clicker is a more distinct noise and can be picked out from the racket more readily. However, you then have to have the clicker with you at all times.
I use a clicker for complex tasks, but a verbal marker for easier ones when teaching my dog. (I taught Twyla both markers mean a reward.) First time puppy/dogparents, may find it easier to teach just one reward marker, and that is all that is needed.
It is important to note a reward can be anything the dog enjoys, but it is often quicker and more convenient to use food.
How to teach it
Dogs do not automatically know what a click, or a “good dog” means. We have to actually show them. In time, their reward marker will be one of the most important things they learn, and one of the best noises they ever hear coming from you. It is the start of you and your dog being able to have a conversation that both of you can understand.
To do this, we begin with one click, or one spoken “good dog” (or one of whatever marker you are using.) This is to test if our dog has any negative associations with the sound. Taking this step may sound silly, but it is particularly important as we can never be 100% sure that the click, or the words, were not previously used before something aversive, especially in a dog who has come to us as a rehome or a rescue.
If the dog seems fine after their test, we can begin. Let’s assume your dog is a “he” and we are using a clicker, but you can substitute freely.
Charging Up A Clicker
Note – A treat or reward must ALWAYS follow a click, even if you click by mistake.
- Have a stash of high value, small, soft treats that your dog loves. Think cheese, chicken, turkey, sprats, rather than kibble and boring biscuits. We want to reward him lots of times, but not use so much food that he gets a tummy ache, so make the treats tiny.
- Throw a piece to the floor. You dog should go and get it. Immediately click while his mouth takes the morsel. Repeat a few times (maybe 5 or 10). One treat = one click.
- Now click BEFORE you throw the food. So click, throw the food, your dog goes and eats it. Repeat a few times. One click = one treat.
- Lets see if your dog has paired the click with the reward. Click, then watch for a couple of seconds to see if the dog looks for a treat. He did? GREAT! Reward him and go to step 5.
He didn’t? Let’s practise some more. Reward him for that last click, and then carry on click-treating a few more times. - Once your floofer understands a treat follows a click (and we know this because they look for a treat when they hear a click), you can add in a few seconds gap (or pocket fumbling time) between the click and the treat. The click tells the dog they are being rewarded. Have regular click-treat sessions to keep the clicker “charged up” in your dog’s mind.
- Now you use your clicker to reward behaviour you would like to see more of. Your dog will listen out for the click, and work out what he did right before the click happened, to make it happen again.
Example.
If you are teaching a “sit” **. You may choose to lure the dog into position with a treat in your hand. As the bottom touches the floor, you instantly click, and then give the dog their treat. Repeat a few times, until the dog is sitting quickly in anticipation of hearing the click. Now add the cue word “sit”, when you know the dog is going to perform the behaviour anyway, and repeat a few more times. After a fashion, the dog associates the word “sit” with the action. They then sit on being asked to, to earn their click-treat.
Fumbling
We’ve all been there. The dog does something amazing. You go to reward them, and suddenly Gandalf himself couldn’t magic up a reward into your hand from the treats in the corner of the treat pouch. By the time you have fished one out, doggo is off digging up the roses instead, and the moment has passed.
The click also allows you time to get into the packet of treats under the poo bags and your phone in the bottom of your coat pocket.
You pinpointed the action for which the dog is being rewarded. So now you can fumble. Without the click, the dog finds it far more difficult to know which behaviour they were being rewarded for. By the time you have fumbled, they might have moved onto sniffing or doing something else. You will then accidentally reward for the something else, and not the behaviour you wanted.
So, what will you use as your reward marker for your dog? See how it speeds up your training!
If you need any help with training your dog, or your dog’s behaviour, don’t forget we have our in-person 121 business Locke’s Dogs AND the online Fun Not Fear® Club to help you!
** Yes, I know not everyone teaches a sit, and to get the dog to sit repetitively can be bad for the hips. Neither is it necessary at roadsides, when a “wait” will do. But it is down to individual choice and many people with healthy dogs find a sit useful. So we will use it as an example. But as always, keep sessions short and tailored to your own dog’s needs.