What does everyone think when I say "Rewards and reward based training"? Most people will think treats. but I think we need a discussion about what rewards actually are.
Reward = what the dog wants. as simple and as complicated as that.
Here are some examples.
When housetraining a dog, we all know to reward the dog when it does it's buisness, but what is a very powerful motivator? a walk. What if, instead of giving a food treat, you immediately took the dog for a walk? and I dont mean walking the dog and during said walk he poos, I mean taking a dog to his toilet spot, then immediately after elimination, he gets a "good BOY! Lets go for a walk!", and away you go.
A game of tug or fetch, will often be a stronger motivator for a dog than food. With Oliver, when I want him wound up for certain tricks, I'll use a ball instead of treats, if I want him calm, I use treats, both are motivating, but one is really, REALLY special!
Another not very thought of reward is removing a dog from a fear inducing stimulus. In that way, I reward Ollie for growling when he's afraid (as stated on the other thread that this idea came from)
Another one is allowing a dog to get to go play with another dog, or off leash time. I'll often use off leash rewards. I ask Ollie to heel, he heels for however many steps we're working on, I click then unclip the leash and give the "go play" command... HE LOVES IT! and he's less distracted when being motivated by off leash play, than with food.
And getting to do his favorite trick is also motivating for him... jumping up into my arms is his absolute favorite trick, and after an excellent performance of a complicated trick, I'll often ask for a "jump up!"
For Mouse, she is extremely motivated to give kisses, so I may let her give me a kiss as a reward.
And for some dogs, a pat or a cuddle is more than enough.
Every dog is different, what they want can be anything. You can have rewards more powerful than any treat out there, if you just take the time to ask "what is it you want?"
Reward = what the dog wants. as simple and as complicated as that.
Here are some examples.
When housetraining a dog, we all know to reward the dog when it does it's buisness, but what is a very powerful motivator? a walk. What if, instead of giving a food treat, you immediately took the dog for a walk? and I dont mean walking the dog and during said walk he poos, I mean taking a dog to his toilet spot, then immediately after elimination, he gets a "good BOY! Lets go for a walk!", and away you go.
A game of tug or fetch, will often be a stronger motivator for a dog than food. With Oliver, when I want him wound up for certain tricks, I'll use a ball instead of treats, if I want him calm, I use treats, both are motivating, but one is really, REALLY special!
Another not very thought of reward is removing a dog from a fear inducing stimulus. In that way, I reward Ollie for growling when he's afraid (as stated on the other thread that this idea came from)
Another one is allowing a dog to get to go play with another dog, or off leash time. I'll often use off leash rewards. I ask Ollie to heel, he heels for however many steps we're working on, I click then unclip the leash and give the "go play" command... HE LOVES IT! and he's less distracted when being motivated by off leash play, than with food.
And getting to do his favorite trick is also motivating for him... jumping up into my arms is his absolute favorite trick, and after an excellent performance of a complicated trick, I'll often ask for a "jump up!"
For Mouse, she is extremely motivated to give kisses, so I may let her give me a kiss as a reward.
And for some dogs, a pat or a cuddle is more than enough.
Every dog is different, what they want can be anything. You can have rewards more powerful than any treat out there, if you just take the time to ask "what is it you want?"
). There is nothing wrong with him, food just isn't all that important. If I introduce treats (I'm talking hotdog sausages!) into training involving a football Zac instantly becomes halfhearted. When the last treat is gone you can see him switch on, "Great," he says, "now that stupid food is out of the way we can really get going!"
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).
Dog goes on tugging owner towards every dog it sees.
) really challenged me and my training philosophy. When he was a puppy, the ONLY thing he cared about was attention. The absolute best reward I could give him was praise and petting. He could care how incredible the treat was, he didn't want it. He learned his basics only being rewarded with praise, which he was completely satisified with. When Mudflap joined the family she taught him how fun toys were, and that's when his tennis ball obsession was born. Now he does take bits of rolled dog food for rewards sometimes, but burns out VERY quickly, so I try to use his tennis ball as his jackpot. When we're working on greeting people or being comfortable in the presence of people, the best reward I can give him is to take him away from people. So if he greets someone on his own, or relaxes with a stranger or two around him, then we'll go off by ourselves and either just sit together or have some tennis ball time, just the two of us. Time with Mom and toys are still his favorite rewards. 
but it teaches us a lot about training and rewards 
. Maybe a little far fetched but you always said his brain is wired wrong.
. Is it just the recall jackpot?
He gets to play with his beloved tennis ball when he willingly leaves the cat. Not as rewarding, but still a very high value reward for him. I suppose I need to get him a couple of sheep to reward him with. LOL, I can imagine my conversations..."I have three dogs, a cat, and three horses. And my dog has two sheep."
Mini-revelation. I know what I'll be researching after work!