Let’s Talk About Reinforcers & Distractions

Reinforcers & Distractions

Pick Wisely, it’s all determined by your learner (your pup)!

Higher value distraction needs to have a higher value reinforcer (reward).

• The learner (your dog) gets to choose the value of a specific reinforcer
• Experiment to find out what reinforcer your dog likes
• Be creative and have fun with it!

Now, can you:

• Identify 5 to 10 Reinforcers for your dog
  • Assign a low, medium or high status to each
    • Ex: cheese – med/high, hot dog- med/high, dog treat – low/med, dog food – low, chasing a squirrel – high, greet a dog – high
• Identify 5 to 10 distractions for your dog
  • Assign a low, medium or high status to each
    • EX: walking around the house – low/med, kids playing outside – med/high, another dog – med/high, squirrel – high, moving cat – high, sent on ground – med/high

• The key to picking
  • Understanding how the learner (your dog) sees their world… what matters to them
  • Pair distractions and Reinforcers wisely
    • Use the high level Reinforcers for the high level distractions
      • If paired inappropriately training will suffer
      • If paired wisely, everyone is successful! 

Adding the D’s – there are 3 of them: 

• Distance – moving away from the dog could be inches up to the length of the house.

• Duration – time before your dog moves or you move to your dog.

• Distraction – anything from: movement, toys, sounds and food.

When starting, make sure to only add one D at a time. The Ds can be very difficult for your learner.