Intrinsic Motivation: Dogtor Feel Good

Many people experience training problems with their dogs and I think this is partly due to misconceptions around motivation. Motivation is a condition of wanting something and being focused to behave in a certain way in order to attain that something. The behaviour has a purpose; a goal, the fulfilment of some need, interest, desire, preference etc.

Motivation is what spurs a dog to act. So is there some secret to motivating your dog? No, you simply train your dog using what your dog wants, likes, and needs to achieve the behaviours that you want.

Foundation Training

From the very first day your new puppy or rescue dog enters your home start laying a motivational foundation for your dog. This foundation will stay with your dog and will keep him working and cooperating with you during the learning phase of training, and once behaviours have been learnt. This is why it’s called foundation training, if you build it, it lasts.  However if you don’t take the time to build a solid foundation in the early stages of training, what you will find is that further down the line, cracks develop; your dog’s training will break down.

A dog with a strong social drive naturally has the desire to be actively involved as part of a team, this is not every dog’s nature, but with effective motivation you can build this. The end goal in the final stages of training is for your dog to find the activity undertaken with its handler to be intrinsically rewarding. This is why laying the motivational foundation is so important in the early stages of training, don’t make the mistake of thinking that your dog should just naturally comply with your requests, or “do it to please”.

Intrinsic motivation is built by engaging in fun training activities with your dog using primary motivators such as food and play, moving on to life rewards once behaviours have been learned to reliability. Intrinsic motivation simply makes your dog feel good on the inside, by using ongoing positive reinforcement training this motivation is shaped and steadily becomes generalised.

Life Rewards

Many owners miss the opportunity of using everyday life rewards to motivate their dog. Take the time to observe your dog’s behaviour – when at the park what does he like doing, when in class what does he like doing, when at home what does he like doing?  Make a note of the everyday activities your dog enjoys doing, in different environments, and use these activities as a reward to motivate your dog, make them contingent on desirable behaviour.