Another training issue is that our rewards aren't motivating enough for the dog at this time.
(When writing this, I thought a lot about people who struggle with their dog's recall in public. A recall in public should ALWAYS be thought of as a work in progress. )
Some or all of these are usually involved.
1. Our rewards aren't high enough value.
2. Our rewards are too hard for the dog to earn.
3. There are competing rewards in the environment.
These three things make an enormous difference to a dog's training enthusiasm and interest in working with us.
1. Our rewards aren't high enough value.
The minimum energy level we want from our dog is settled interest and willingness to work. We don't want them so chilled out they don't want to do anything, nor do we want them so excited that they can't think straight.
If we want our dog to work energetically, we need a reward that encourages that energy. This can be high value food or a toy. Interaction with us can also be high value. When we genuinely enjoy playing with our dogs, we add value to toys and build our relationship. We can also praise with enthusiasm and deliver food in different ways. If we're only as interesting as a rock, that's about the level of interest we should expect from our dogs.
Value is decided by the dog, not by us. What the dog wants now and is enthusiastic about getting can be considered high value.
Expecting a dog to always work well for the same predictable food rewards delivered by boring rock people is very optimistic and usually unrealistic.
2. The rewards are too hard for the dog to earn.
This is really common. Dogs are asked to do a lot of work for not very much pay. It's a motivation killer. They lose interest, slow down, become reluctant to comply, and/ or find other things to do. No amount of luring with a piece of food will get their attention back if they have realised that it's going to be REALLY HARD to get that food. I mean - why bother?
3. There are competing rewards in the environment.
There are pretty much ALWAYS competing rewards in the environment. Things to watch, play with, chase, sniff, listen to... (Environmental rewards are a huge issue when working on a recall, as an off leash dog can easily choose them. )
If the dog is choosing environmental rewards, we have options.
Go somewhere else and/ or up the value of our rewards (including making ourselves more interesting) and/or reward a lot more regularly.
A dog who isn't hungry, or is tired or unwell or stressed may not be interested in food. They very likely won't want to play with a toy either. It's never worth compromising your dog's wellbeing for a bit of training. They might just need a relaxed walk, or sleep to rest and recover.
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