# Training a dog with High Food Drive



## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

For this thread, I'm speaking of 'Parlor Tricks' and not OB training. 

Hondo, my GSD doesn't have high food drive. I can easily train him as he enjoys just making me happy. He'll continue to work with me, but you can tell he finds it pretty boring. 

My Lacy has high food drive. If I can figure out how to show him to do something, he'll do it...a zillion times as long as I continue to provide the treat. The world can explode around us and he'll remain focused on the treat. It doesn't matter what the value of the treat is. It can be kibble or chicken. His focus remains the same. 

If you take away the treat, he will lose focus and start chasing butterflies. He is 14 months old. 

The problem I'm having is the longer I train (per training session) the more excited he gets. The more excited he gets the quicker he will lose the plot. He'll focus on the request, but his body will...get all jiggy with it. 

An example is I'm teaching him to 'back'. I use the treat as a lure. After a couple of attempts he backs up a few steps. Click, treat. I'll do it a couple of times he'll comply, click, treat. He's excited he's a good boy and he gets the treat. 

So later we repeat, he complies, click, treat. Now I want him to take a couple more steps and I begin to withhold the lure. I give him a hand signal, he backs five or six steps. Click, treat. Everyone is excited. Now he's got the idea. He knows what I want and he knows what will get him the treat. 

I provide the hand signal, he takes 5 to ten running steps backwards and then does some type of Irish jig at the end. He is so excited that he knows what I'm asking him to do and he's going to get his treat, his body just explodes.

I'm concerned if I click and treat he'll think the jig is part of the trick. If I don't click and treat he'll think he didn't comply. If I wait till he's finished the jig he returns to me and sits - again he'll think that's part of the trick if I click and treat. 

I've tried clicking before he takes the last step - he'll jig at the sound of the clicker. If I withhold the clicker, then what's the point of using it? I haven't tried that yet...I wanted to see what others thought first.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

If he keeps doing the jig, You might need to take a few steps back in training and then slowly move up to more steps but only clicking/treating when he is not dancing around. Maybe keep the training session shorter so he doesn't get too excited?
Have you tried using a target or something instead of a treat lure? Maybe that would help him keep focused and not get too excited.
Also it may help to keep the treats off your body, if you are training in a stationary place where you can easily pick one up quickly to reward, like have them on a nearby counter or surface.
This is going to sound weird but if he is food crazy maybe try using less exciting treats, enough to keep him wanting to work for them but not so interesting that he gets frenzied about it?

If he tends to focus only when there is a treat, have you tried using variable reinforcement?

Sorry if you've already done all this, I wasn't sure from your post. If you have, I'd just say don't click and treat if he dances because he probably will begin to think that is part of the trick.


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## KristiM (Oct 18, 2011)

I have a dog with very, very high food drive. I find that for some tricks/behaviours that the clicker is "too much" instead I use a very calm goood as a marker or in some cases I'm silent. You could try that, might work for you, might not.


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## GSD246 (Jan 17, 2012)

This might not be helpful but I would have loved that jig. When I'm trick training and the dog offers me something I didn't ask for I take it and try to get them to repeat it. I love unique tricks and I don't see too many dogs doing a nice jig.


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