Excuse me, nikki, what now?!?!
Yep you've read it right and here's why.
Firstly the practical point of view.
Having treats in your pocket is
- Stinky
- Crumbly
- And when you forget they're there....a bit gross.
OK but what about from training point of view?
There are many aspects which are relevant here but I am going to look at Dopamine.
Dopamine is part of the reward circuitry in the brain, it promotes the feel good feeling, the pleasure system, and this can be easily activated by food and winning the food (think food falling of counter tops! or earning that amazing reinforcer after a quality recall!). It is what makes reinforcers such a powerful thing in dog training.
Dopamine circuitry can even be activated by the expectation of the 'thing'. Think knowing its time for that payday treat lunch, your dopamine is already triggered. But then.....the lunch place is closed....oh no!
If the 'thing' does not happen or appear the dog can experience a Dopamine drop, or crash. In extreme circumstances this can lead to shows of aggression, but more commonly an increase in frustration and disengagement.
Baring this in mind, if you have your treats in your pocket, but also your phone, keys, gloves as examples. And your dog is used to you dispensing treats from your pocket so they have expectation......what will happen when you get a glove out? When you get your phone instead?
This ruins the consistency you have built up in training with your dog as you put your hands in your pockets all the time but not always producing a treat.
If you are using a treat pouch however, you are only putting your hand in the pouch for a treat!
I could honestly go on for hours about how this can affect different breeds, different ages (yes adolescent dogs, I am looking at you!)
So, make that pocket redundant, invest in a treat pouch and supercharge your dog training!
