Toy Or Food Drive?

This all came up because I've been forced to evaluate the use of only one. I've always had pretty balanced dogs with food and toy drive, and prefer to use one over the other for training specific things. Now, I have a dog with no food drive (she had it as a puppy, but does not now) yet plenty of toy drive. I've never been in this situation, and have had to rethink (and am still rethinking) how I train certain things. I wouldn't typically train beginning obstacle performance, or jump training (recall to heels), or stays with a toy. Those are usually things I would teach with food.
As has been pointed out, food can be used even in places where a toy often would be. I'm finding it much more challenging to come up with ways to use the toy in place of where I would traditionally use food.
 
I don't think I can choose one or the other. I like having the option of both. I think treats are a great tool when you're teaching something new, like the equipment for the first time and small sequences or marking correct behaviors.

I like to use toys as a reward for the end of a run, to teach distance and to help with drive.
 
Sharon said:
It is not hard to build drive with food or toys.Both my guys are food and toy motivated.I use food as a reward and you have to make sure you feed iit correctly when you are doing contact equipent.
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my experience with my boys is not different from what DF describes in her blogs
http://denisefenzi.com/2012/04/09/balance-food-and-toys/
¨With these considerations and interests in mind, I moved forward with each training session – always considering the balance between learning new skills (often with food), encouraging play with me (often with a tug) and rewarding movement (with either a ball, tug or food).¨
I find that teaching precision skills or shaping works much better with food but getting dog to speed up out of DW works much better with thrown ball.
 
Toy or Food Drive

SheltieChe said:
I find that teaching precision skills or shaping works much better with food but getting dog to speed up out of DW works much better with thrown ball.
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Not really!!I have no problem with my two guys what so ever with speed going or comming off the DW.I think I can count on one hand maybe 3 times I have ever used a toy.Even at almost 12 years old my older boy still has speed and drive as well as my younger one all done with food.I have distant on my dogs taught with food .I can stand and have my dogs in a sit stay and send them 100 feet away .I have also taught my older dog to run a baseball diamond on command while I stand on the pitchers mound.No toys involved .
 
HopeShelties said:
This all came up because I've been forced to evaluate the use of only one. I've always had pretty balanced dogs with food and toy drive, and prefer to use one over the other for training specific things. Now, I have a dog with no food drive (she had it as a puppy, but does not now) yet plenty of toy drive. I've never been in this situation, and have had to rethink (and am still rethinking) how I train certain things. I wouldn't typically train beginning obstacle performance, or jump training (recall to heels), or stays with a toy. Those are usually things I would teach with food.
As has been pointed out, food can be used even in places where a toy often would be. I'm finding it much more challenging to come up with ways to use the toy in place of where I would traditionally use food.
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I too am more liking balance approach and think I would care enough to try to bring food drive back. I looked over the notes from Playbuidling course with DF her suggestion is to introduce as much activity into food as you can.
¨make the food as active as possible and combine it with other dog´s interests. For example, food as prey (chasing, jumping, hunting) is a lot more interesting for dog than handing it over¨.
 
SheltieChe said:
here is what I mean
http://agilitynerd.com/blog/agility/training/coaching-speed-and-motivation.html

¨Chase me¨ games will be huge pay off in this case
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I understood what you meant. Again I have not found it hard to build drive with food. I can use food in any place a toy can be used even chase games. Ember my I do not give a fig about toys dog taught me that. She is also the dog that no interest in chase games. I didn't get any speed out of her until I stopped trying to get her to chase me and taught her to run ahead of me. Turns out she likes to be chased. Who knew.
 
For me food= control and toys = drive. Id hate to choose though. I run and reward mostly with orbee tuff ball and when I want to reward contacts on dogwalk or see saw I give him food. If I had to choose Id keep toys, because my sheltie loves plays and I dont believe that drive created by food is the same. I can tell when I have food in my hand he's more focused on food than anything else and it's like he's chasing the food. It's just my opinion and experience, I don't say that running with food is bad :) Every dog is different.
 
The problem is this dog has become very finnicky about food in general, and it is a struggle to even get her to eat at times, let alone interact with it. Nothing medically wrong that vets can find, but is often too thin because she refuses food. So until she gains some interest in eating more than a few small bites a day, I'm unlikely to get her to interact with food at all while training.
 
oh, this is totally different, paws crossed for recovery, hopefully appetite will return! I would like to hear update to see what you will figure out.
 
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