101 PRs

Steve White's 101 reinforcers, and other clicker list posts One of my favorite pastimes is reading the daily posts on the Clicker List, an Internet newsgroup devoted to clicker training. Posts range from pleas for help from beginners to complex scientific analysis by leaders in the field of behavioral psychology. This is a teaching list for positive reinforcement. Humor and good feelings abound. Whining, criticism, and rebuke are not encouraged. Here are a few gems from recent days, with comments of my own.

A trainer new to the conditioned reinforcer asked what the difference was between reinforcement and bribery. Seemed to him that if the dog knew he was carrying treats, the dog would assume he deserved them. Clicker trainer Shirley Chong responded:

"David Allan asks: I'm certain that the smell on my hand after touching even the smallest tidbit must signal the presence of a walking hot dog dispenser. Is this not bribery or have I missed the point?"
Well, David, yes and no. If you have a hot dog slice on your person, whether it's in your hand, your pocket, or your backpack, does that mean you will automatically give it to your dog?
I don't know about you and your dog, but my dogs adore just about anything small enough to go down their throats--and I happen to live and eat here, too. So the presence of food is not necessarily an indication of a dog about to be fed in my house. (It's the sound of the click, not the presence and scent of the food, that tells the dog it's going to actually get something. KP)

Second, I prefer to get the treats off my body as soon as possible. They are in a bowl or other container, sitting somewhere near where we are training.

Third--if it's a problem--get into the habit of constantly carrying treats. What you are talking about is the presence of the scent of food as an additional cue to the dog. So treat it like any other additional cue--figure out ways to fade it!

And finally--if the dog can predict what your reinforcer is going to be, then you need to find a greater variety of reinforcers. Toys, special games, scratches in that perpetually itchy spot--all these can be used as reinforcers. Don't let your dogs ge t complacent.

M. Shirley Chong
The Well Mannered Dog

Shirley's post prompted Police K9 trainer, Steve White, to add some thoughts of his own:

Date: Fri, 8 Nov 1996 03:17:15 -0800
From: Steve White
Subject: Re: Click...HUH?

Okay, I can resist no longer. Here's a list of the things I've used as PRs [positive reinforcers]:

Foods: Hot dogs, Cheerios and other cereals, freeze dried liver, crumbled ground beef, chicken pieces, beef trimmings, ice cubes, Pounce cat treats, Pedigree Tandem (Break one piece into 3 or 4), Alpo Beef Bites (Cut one piece into 6 slices), Alpo Beef Burgers, Rollover, kibbled dog food, string cheese, left over steak pieces, hard boiled eggs, sardines (Hey, they were left over too), Atta Boy treat sticks, Snausages, trout pellets, rabbit pellets, red licorice (blame my kids for this one), Corn Nuts, carrot slices, Wheat Thins, Cheese Whiz, popcorn, french fries, ice cubes, bread crust, croutons, rice cakes, pureed liver, dried liver, canned cat food (use a spoon), broken fortune cookie pieces, cooked pasta (many forms), rice balls . . ..

I'm sure there's more, but I can't remember.

§Objects/toys: Tennis balls, Kongs, rope tugs, squeaky toys, lacrosse balls, old shoe soles, garden hose, automotive heater hose, hand towels, PVC pipe, milking machine sleeves, Frisbees, sticks, firewood, Cressite balls, boat bumpers, buoys, bicycle tires, burlap sacks, puppy tugs, protective sleeves, ring suits, leashes, tracking harnesses, firehose squares, street hockey balls, hockey pucks, soccer balls, basketballs, Boomer balls, Ultra balls, folding chairs, five gallon buckets, carpet rolls, tires, saplings . . .

Again, I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting.

§Activities: Fetch (see above), get in the kennel, get out of the kennel, go into the house, go out of the house, get in the car, go out of the car, eat dinner, fight the water hose, belly rub, back scratch, wrestle, play with other dogs, play with the cats, play with the kids, running, Down, heeling, jumping, chase the laser spot, tracking, building searching, target stick, swimming, dope searching, article searching, cuddling, praise from me . . .

. . . and the list goes on . . . and on . . . and on . . . and . . ..

As you may be able to tell, I do LOTS of opportunistic training. I've also been blessed with animals that learn to love some activities so much that they become reinforcers for other behaviors (Thank you, Dr. Premack.) [David Premack is a psychologist who demonstrated that a favorite activity can be used to reinforce, or reward, a less favored activity: i.e. watching TV can be used to reinforce doing homework. This is known as the Premack Principle.]. Again the list is limited only by your imagination and your dogs' desires.Once a dog becomes fluent at retrieving, it can become a powerfully reinforcing behavior. Take advantage of your dog's/breed's propensities.

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