I have a 4 year old lab who responds very well to food or toy rewards during training. He really seems to have no preference over a tug or a ball, but I was wondering if I should only use one or the other? He is not allowed to play with toys unless I am playing with him so any toy is great to him! I just don't know if I should stick to one toy over all the rest so that he knows 100% that it is a reward for doing a good behavior or if any toy will work.
He knows basic obidience and some tricks. I don't have any specifics for him (like competition type training) but I also don't see the limits to what he can learn. I just want to make sure that I am not giving him mixed signals!
Reg: 11-04-2008
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I use balls for everyday play / reward / obedience. We go play in the park and he will fetch the ball etc. I only use interactive play, as all rewards etc. come from me.
I try to save the tug for a special occasion or if I want to really hype him up and play tug as a reward. Most dog prefer one above the other.
You won't give him mixed signals by using different toys, if you vary the reward for your dog it will be more fun for him and he'll be more interested.
For example (using food) if you had a dog that chases joggers, you try to call the dog back - he knows that he will get a dry biscuit treat if he does, which is more rewarding, getting the biscuit or a fun game of chase? If sometimes he got given a chunk of cheese or a whole chicken instead he would be more likely to come back.
Im new to the forum, and very new to training my dog, in fact I am having difficulty getting my dog play drive up at all, she seems very bored and not very interested in food or toys.
But I seem to remember reading somewhere that you should vary your food rewards, ie one time sasauage, then liver then something else so the dog never knows what to expext, so I would imagine if the dog really has no preferance for what toy you use then you can vary toys as long as the dog really has the drive for the toy.
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Ball or Tug? Or Both?
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