Episode #244 Why You Don’t Always Need to Reward Every Time – The Power of Intermittent Reinforcement

In this episode, Amy from BAXTER & Bella explains one of the most powerful concepts in dog training—intermittent reinforcement.

You’ll learn:

• What intermittent reinforcement is and why it works
• How it helps build stronger, more reliable behaviors
• Real-life examples for recall, loose leash walking, and tricks
• Common mistakes to avoid, like fading rewards too soon or accidentally reinforcing unwanted behaviors

If you’ve ever wondered when to stop rewarding every single sit or recall, this episode will help you understand how to make good behaviors last a lifetime.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Intermittent Reinforcement
• 1:29 Benefits of Intermittent Reinforcement
• 3:25 Real-Life Training Applications
• 5:18 Avoiding Common Reinforcement Mistakes
• 6:55 Conclusion and Resources

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Today we are talking about one of the most powerful concepts in dog training intermittent reinforcement. It sounds kind of fancy, but don't worry, it's something you already see every day and once you understand it, it can completely change the way you train your dog. Welcome to the Puppy Training Podcast. I'm Amy Jensen, founder of Baxter Bella, the online puppy school. Here we are all about helping you create the best possible experience raising a puppy, from training tips to practical tricks, all aimed at fostering a happy, well-behaved dog who truly feels like part of the family. So if you are ready to enjoy the journey and strengthen the bond with your dog, let's get started. Hey everybody, thanks for listening to our podcast. We had a big announcement at the 1st of September. We talked about our collaboration with Good Dog Service Canines. We are super excited to work with them. This has been in the making for a while and we are helping them build an online resource for you to train your own service dog from home. So the way it works is you start with us here at Baxter and Bella, you're going to do that first year of training with our program and then, at that point, we'll send you over to Good Dog and you can do your finishing training with them. So super cool. We're really excited about it. Check out our website for more information. You can also visit them at Good Dog Service Canines.

Speaker 1: 1:29

Okay, today we are talking intermittent reinforcement, and I know that sounds kind of like what is that, or is it necessary? But this, you guys, is a game changer when it comes to dog training. So let's start with the basics. Intermittent reinforcement means that a behavior is rewarded sometimes, but not every single time. So when we first get a puppy and we're teaching them a new behavior, we're like a PEZ dispenser. Right, they do something, we like it, we pay them, we pay them, we pay them, and I encourage you to pay them for that first year of life a lot right Now. In those first 12 months, though, we're going to start to change over to this idea of intermittent reinforcement. We reinforce every once in a while. In psychology, this comes from operant conditioning, and it's the same principle behind why slot machines are so addictive or why we keep checking social media to see if someone liked our post.

Speaker 1: 2:17

The possibility of a reward keeps us coming back for more. When we're teaching a new behavior like sit or come when called, we do want to reward consistently at first. That's going to help our puppy clearly connect the dots between their action and the reward. So it's important when teaching these new behaviors that our puppy understands I did this, I got a reward, I did this, I got a reward. And we have to pair that together consistently for them to learn that pattern of behavior. But once they really understand, we don't need to reward every single time. In fact, when we start mixing it up and rewarding unpredictably, we get three big benefits. First, we get stronger behavior. Dogs stay more motivated because they don't know when the jackpot will come, but they know it will come. Number two is persistence. They'll keep offering that behavior, hoping that this might be the time they earn something great. And number three is resistance to extinction, meaning the behavior sticks around even if you don't reward every single time.

Speaker 1: 3:22

Let's talk about how to use this in real life. Let's start with recall. Once your dog has a solid come, sometimes reward with a food treat, sometimes with a big game of tug and sometimes just with praise. Every once in a while give a jackpot reward like five food rewards in a row. This keeps recall strong. You can also take this concept and use a treat hierarchy concept. So they might get half a Cheerio this time and next time they get a praise and then the next time you play with them and then the next time you ask for two or three behaviors in a row and then all of a sudden they get a little piece of chicken. You can see why it's important to start out with consistent payments so they learn the patterns of behavior and they really understand what sit means and what come means. We have to have those established first. So, yes, we are using a lot of rewards in the beginning with these young puppies, but we do want to transition them over to this intermittent reinforcement as they grow and mature.

Speaker 1: 4:25

Okay, let's do another example. Let's talk loose leash walking, sometimes a food reward, sometimes permission to go sniff a bush, sometimes a cheerful good job that unpredictability is going to keep your dog checking in and, like I mentioned, reward them with a higher value food reward sometimes because they don't know when that next little piece of turkey is going to come, or that next little piece of chicken right or freeze-dried liver. So I'm not handing out those high value rewards very often, they just are coming once in a while. Okay, let's talk tricks. When you're practicing rollover or shake. Don't feel pressured to reward every single time, because a lot of this is just fun and it's playful and they love play. So keep it fun and surprise them here and there with those food rewards that they love. Or maybe they give you a high five and you toss their favorite toy to go chase.

Speaker 1: 5:15

There are a couple of important things to remember. First, don't start intermittent reinforcement too early. Your puppy again needs to fully understand the behavior first and be careful not to accidentally use this with unwanted behaviors. So while it works great for a lot of things, it can also work against us. For example, if your dog barks at you and sometimes you give in with attention, guess what You've just taught them? That barking pays off unpredictably and we don't want that. That makes barking harder to stop. Another example of intermittent reinforcement that works against us is counter surfing. That's where your dog puts their paws up on the table or the counter and tries to find food in your kitchens. We don't want that behavior. But unfortunately, if one time they do that and they get a piece of pizza, they're going to keep trying that behavior because, hey, that one time they found that piece of pizza. They're going to keep trying that behavior because, hey, that one time they found that piece of pizza. So we have to be really careful about the way that we structure our homes and manage our homes to set our dogs up for success so that they're not getting intermittently reinforced for unwanted behavior. All right, you guys remember, start with consistent rewards while teaching. Then, once your dog is reliable, we can mix it up, have some fun. Intermittent reinforcement keeps your puppy engaged, motivated and practicing good behaviors for the long haul.

Speaker 1: 6:34

Thanks for joining me today. If you'd like more step-by-step guidance on how this works, check out our online training program at Baxter and Bella. Our intermediate training course talks all about this concept and how to use life rewards things that naturally occur in your dog's everyday life that they like. For example, if they want to go outside, opening the door and letting them out is a reward. We call it a life reward and we explain that in our course. Have a great week and happy training. Thanks for tuning in to the puppy training podcast. I hope today's tips help you feel more confident and excited about raising your dog. Remember, with a little patience and consistency you can create a loving bond and a well-behaved pup who's a joy to have in your family. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe, leave a review and share it with fellow puppy parents. For more resources, visit Baxter and Bella online. Until next time, happy training.