Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - FE555: Reward Placement Matters

Registration

There are no scheduled sessions for this class at this time. We update our schedule frequently, so please subscribe to our mailing list for notifications.

Registration will begin at 9:30 AM Pacific Time.

Enrollment limits: Gold: 12 students, Silver: 25 students, Bronze: unlimited.

Gold Level includes access to all course materials and the ability to post questions and videos to the course forums. Students will receive instructor feedback on written and video assignments.

Silver Level includes access to all course materials and the ability to participate in the discussion forum. Students may ask GENERAL questions about course materials and may submit two, one-minute videos for instructor feedback. Any questions specific to your dog MUST be accompanied by a video.

Bronze Level includes access to all course materials and the ability to read all questions and answers posted in the class forums. Students will not post questions or submit written or video assignments.

For more details, refund policies, and answers to commonly asked questions see our FAQ page.

Course Details

Where and how we reward behaviors matters. There are lots of ways that we can reinforce our dog’s behaviors and how we do it impacts our dog’s enthusiasm, accuracy, ring readiness and commitment to the behavior. We can speed up training by rewarding the dog in position for stays. We can build distance behaviors by throwing the reward to the dog in agility. We can reinforce at the source of the scent in nosework. We can keep the rewards in a cookie jar or on top of the crate and teach our dogs to work without rewards on our body to prepare them for being in the ring at a trial. We can use it to speed up shaping, speed up the dog’s understanding, build distance, and improve accuracy. We can use it to test the dog’s commitment to wean off of rewards, to work towards the ring picture, and to build ring ready exercises. Reward placement is smart training. We can work smarter instead of harder and we can achieve faster results and happier, less frustrated dogs in the process. We will work on teaching the dogs a duration reward marker and we will work on practicing with rewards off of your body as well.

This is the system I use for building, assessing, sequencing and weaning off of rewards. It's the system I use for fixing a behavior. When a behavior isn't as precise as I'd like it, I look at reward location and the steps for building, assessing and weaning off of rewards. When a behavior is nice and accurate then we can move on to assessment, testing, sequencing and weaning off of rewards.

This class will emphasize 3 areas: 1) Understanding reward strategies, 2) Applying reward strategies to strengthen behaviors and fix weak behaviors, and 3) Applying reward strategies to assess how strong (and how ring ready) our dog’s performance of the exercises and behaviors are. We will also be discussing the benefits of teaching different reward markers for different reward types and locations and we will work on switching between reward markers or types of rewards.

Gold students can choose a skill that is in their dog’s repertoire to practice that applies to the reward strategies being discussed. Feedback will be given on timing and the effectiveness of that reward strategy for that behavior. Students can also choose to work on refining their communication and clarity to their dogs with their reward markers. Check the syllabus to see which reward strategies will be included in this class.

Speed up your training! Work smarter instead of harder!

Syllabus

View Full Syllabus

Week 1:

Strategic Reinforcement vs Location Specific Markers

Come get the reward from my hand (food or tug toy)

Purpose:

To build more value to being close to the handler (recalls)
To place the dog exactly where the dog needs to be to do another repetition or the next behavior in the chain (luring the dog around to face the cone)
To help the dog on the path towards the next behavior in successive approximation (placing the reward above a mat)
To encourage motion
To encourage enthusiasm
To work on how the dog moves into a particular position

When wouldn’t we want to use this reward location?

When we want the dog to remain at a distance or remain in position

Heeling specific reward placement for food and tug

Week 2:

Remain in position (food or toy)

Purpose:

To build more duration (chin rest)
To build more thoughtfulness (rewarding in position for agility contacts)
To encourage the dog to remain in position (stand stay)
To build value to that location, position or behavior (rewarding on a platform)
To build value to a distance behavior (rewarding with the dog’s feet on a paw target)
To prevent the behavior of drifting towards an undesired behavior (stays with motionless feet)

When wouldn’t we want to use this reward location?

When we want to encourage motion

Get it from the floor behind you (food or toy)

Purpose:

- For distance, duration and out of motion behaviors
- To build more enthusiasm
- To prevent forward motion
- To build value to where the reward is (send dog back to container of treats or toy for position changes at a distance)
- To add complexity to a fluent behavior (heeling past a toy or treat on the floor)
- To prevent an undesired behavior (forging while heeling)
- To reduce the number of rewards and work towards the ring picture (catch up heeling)
- Can be used to build a reinforcement event

When wouldn’t we want to use this reward location?

When we want to build more focus on the handler or when we want the dog to remain in position

Switching between come get it from my hand, remain in position and get it from a bowl

Week 3-

Get it from the floor (food or toy)

Purpose:

To assess the dog’s commitment to a behavior
To build more enthusiasm
To practice distance behaviors
To build value to where the reward is (send dog to container of treats or toy for distance work)
To practice having the rewards off of the handler’s body (sequencing exercises for agility)
To add complexity to a fluent behavior (heeling past a toy or treat on the floor)
To build value to being far away from the handler (go on for agility)
To encourage forward motion
To reduce the number of rewards and work towards the ring picture
Can be used to build a reinforcement event

Get it from a bowl (food or toy on the ground)

Purpose:

To assess the dog’s commitment to a behavior
To build value to where the reward is (send dog to container of treats or toy for distance work)
To practice having the rewards off of the handler’s body (sequencing exercises for agility)
To add complexity to a fluent behavior (heeling past a toy or treat on the floor)
To build value to being far away from the handler (go on for agility)
To prevent an undesired behavior (eat this food instead of lunging at the barking dog)
To encourage forward motion
To reduce the number of rewards and work towards the ring picture
To encourage enthusiasm
Can be used to build a reinforcement event

Heeling specific reward placement for food and tug

Switching between come get it from my hand, remain in position, get it from a bowl, get it from floor in front and behind

Week 4-

Reward in the right hand for heeling

Purpose:

To prevent the dog from heeling with their rear wide
To prevent the dog from forging while heeling
To ensure that the trial picture looks similar to the practice picture

Heeling specific reward placement for food and tug

Scatter

Purpose:

Soothing to the dog
Activates the seeking system
Great management technique to prevent the dog from practicing undesired behaviors (lunging and barking at dogs or squirrels)
Calm the dog down in a new environment
Give the dog something to do when there is a distraction passing to build an appropriate behavior

Switching between come get it from my hand, remain in position, get it from a bowl, get it from floor in front and behind, heeling specific reward locations, scatter

Week 5-

The reward is off of your body

Purpose:

To practice having the rewards off of the handler’s body
To reduce the frequency of rewards
To work towards the ring picture

Heeling specific reward placement for food and tug

Training in Flow

Purpose:

Allows you to see if there are gaps between earning reinforcement and the next repetition
Allows you to see if the behavior reduces in accuracy or enthusiasm with predictable, tiny increases in environmental distractions
Placing food away from the retrieve object when working on holds
Delivering food while dog is in a stand after completing a roll over

Switching between come get it from my hand, remain in position, get it from a bowl, get it from floor in front and behind, heeling specific reward locations, scatter, remote reinforcement

Week 6-

Reinforcement Events

Purpose:

Allows you to create a reinforcement history that can create a strong habit of responding to a cue even in the face of an instinctual non-response to the cue (come when called away from critters)
Allows you to create a reinforcement history for a duration behavior with a longer reinforcement event
Really beneficial for behavior chains

Heeling specific reward placement for food and tug

Switching between come get it from my hand, remain in position, get it from a bowl, get it from floor in front and behind, heeling specific reward locations, scatter, remote reinforcement, reinforcement events

Building Behavior	Assessing Behavior	Preventing Undesired Behaviors	Reducing frequency of Rewards
Recalls	Moving into position such as down or sit	Treat magnet to another position	In a loop of sit to stand to sit where we are focusing on the dog sitting from a stand, we can reward in the reset position (the stand)
Cone sends when we want the dog to automatically return to the handler after going around the cone	Assessing commitment to a send behavior such as a send to mat- the dog steps onto the mat then we reward from our hand. After 5 reps of that does the dog still commit to going to the mat	Collect into heel or side position in agility- preventing extension when we want collection	Luring the dog into position to do another repetition- luring the dog to come to heel position to do another rep of cone sends
Loose leash walking	Releasing the dog from a stay
Leave that alone and get the reward from my hand instead	Assessing commitment to an out of motion behavior (drop on recall)
Recall over a jump	Straight line heeling (reward from right hand)
Hold an object	Left turn heeling (reward from right hand)
Go to a target (go outs)	In agility assessing the dog’s ability to collect after a sequence of extension behaviors
Recall to heel position
Right circle heeling (reward from right hand)
Right turn and about turn heeling (reward from right hand)
Collect into heel or side position in agility

FE555: Reward Placement Matters - Smarter Training by Design

FE555: Reward Placement Matters - Smarter Training by Design

Registration

Course Details

Syllabus

Prerequisites & Supplies

Sample Lecture

Building Behavior

Assessing Behavior

Preventing Undesired Behaviors

Reducing frequency of Rewards

Recalls

Moving into position such as down or sit

Treat magnet to another position

In a loop of sit to stand to sit where we are focusing on the dog sitting from a stand, we can reward in the reset position (the stand)

Cone sends when we want the dog to automatically return to the handler after going around the cone

Assessing commitment to a send behavior such as a send to mat- the dog steps onto the mat then we reward from our hand. After 5 reps of that does the dog still commit to going to the mat

Collect into heel or side position in agility- preventing extension when we want collection

Luring the dog into position to do another repetition- luring the dog to come to heel position to do another rep of cone sends

Loose leash walking

Releasing the dog from a stay

Leave that alone and get the reward from my hand instead

Assessing commitment to an out of motion behavior (drop on recall)

Recall over a jump

Straight line heeling (reward from right hand)

Hold an object

Left turn heeling (reward from right hand)

Go to a target (go outs)

In agility assessing the dog’s ability to collect after a sequence of extension behaviors

Recall to heel position

Right circle heeling (reward from right hand)

Right turn and about turn heeling (reward from right hand)

Collect into heel or side position in agility

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