I have an avocado tree that has started producing fruit. For the last three years, in progression, two avocados in year one, several more in year two, and this year, a few more. I had plans for sharing these fruit, until recently, a varmint stopped my plans in its tracks.
The thing got not one, but two, of my precious reserve. And they were not nearly ripe enough to get tasty after being in a paper bag for several days. In fact, they were material for the garbage can.
So I set up a trap, figuring the varmint was a rat, and for four nights, I got nothing. But last night, besides the peanut butter, I put a roasted peanut in its shell atop the peanut butter. By morning, I found the varmint in the cage. The peanut had been eaten as well.
Luigi, my senior Dobie, alerted to the catch as soon as he went sniffing around in the yard. I’d actually forgotten about it until he raised a ruckus. So I grabbed the rat in the trap, and moved him onto a table till I could set him up in a box for later relocation.
But the thing that struck me about this catch is that the rat had opportunity for peanut butter for 3 out of the 4 nights, but he chose to eat the unripen avocado instead. It wasn’t until the peanut got put into the game did he go for it. More proof that finding what’s motivating works on all animals. In this case, a rat. With dogs, finding the right treat, toy, or life activity at a particular time of day is what makes the dog training session so much more productive.
Motivating dogs to learn is an important part of the dog training process. It’s basic, and when a dog blows training off, it’s most likely because of uninteresting motivation. Though setting criteria too high can also be the problem. To find out which is the issue, do the following test. If the dog takes a freebie, a free treat, without working for it, then the problem is the criteria, or what you’re asking of the dog. The criteria may be too hard, he doesn’t understand, or some other issue. But if he doesn’t take that freebie, then the the type of treat is the motivation problem.
By Helen Verte
Certified Pet Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed, Certified Trick Dog Instructor
Offering dog training expertise in Broward county Florida
