This post is part of the series in response to Dunbar’s 2012 Australian seminars. See index.

Dunbar described five reward training techniques:

Lure Reward Training
He called these ‘techniques that cause the behaviour’ and the ‘Plan A’ of dog training – that is, it should be the first option when teaching a dog a behaviour.  More about this method is outlined in my lure reward training post.

All or none reward training
Dunbar created ‘all or none’ reward training after thinking about dogs in shelter situations.  These dogs need to default to good behaviour, or just be ‘good’ without any verbal cues.  In all or none reward training, you just wait for the animal to do what you want, and reward it.  For example, if you have a dog on leash and wait long enough, they’ll eventually sit.  The term ‘all or none’ comes from the behaviour: He’s either sitting, or he’s not.  Dunbar advocates this way for inattentive or ‘crazy’ dogs, and suggests it should be the ‘Plan B’ in dog training.

Life rewards: Running, playing fetch. Much better than any boring treat!

Shaping (often with clickers)
Shaping is the process of rewarding steps towards the desired behaviour – such as, if teaching a retrieve, teaching a dog to first look at an object, then touch it with any part of its body, then touch it with its mouth, then touch it with its teeth, etc, etc.  Most clicker training works on shaping principles, and it is often used when training wild animals – like marine mammals in zoological parks.  Dunbar called shaping ‘okay’ as a ‘Plan C’.

Autoshaping

Autoshaping (or auto self shaping training) is the process of setting up an environment in such a way that the dog trains itself.  For example, stuffing Kongs with food teaches a dog to lie down, chew a chew toy, and not bark.  It’s the principles of Dunbar’s long term confinement area and praise of kongs.

Physical Prompting

Physical prompting is Dunbar’s least preferred method of training.  In his opinion, it’s pretty much a ‘no no’ for the reason that “it’s an earned privilege to touch an animal”.  It is hard to phase out physical prompting, and effective physical prompting is a skill.  The only physical prompting that Dunbar uses is in puppy classes, when puppies may be diverted from inappropriate behaviour by a collar grab and a treat.

Which reward training technique should we use?

Ian’s “Plan A” is lure reward training using food, fetch, or tug.

Ian’s “Plan B” is all or none training, especially for adolescent dogs.

Ian’s “Plan C” is normally shaping, but may be a Plan A for complex or specific behaviours.

Which rewards should we use?

“Ultra Mega Secondary Reinforcers” is what food and toys can become when paired with life rewards (like fetch and tug, or playing with other dogs, going for a walk, sniffing) on a frequency basis.  These food rewards are gradually faded out and replaced with life rewards.  The ultimate for dog training, however, is when the dog finds the behaviour self-rewarding.