Nerdy Dog Training: Location Specific Reward Markers

Location specific reward markers - what are they and do you actually need them when you're training your dog?

I’ve titled this post “Nerdy Dog Training” because I believe it’s exactly that. 90% of dogs and owners would probably never use these and they would be absolutely fine without! Having multiple reward markers is sometimes too much for both owner and dog and there is no point doing it half-heartedly. If you don't have time (or the inclination) to teach these reward markers then there is simply no need. This level of specificity in dog training is generally very useful when training more difficult tasks, such as Trick Training, Competitive Obedience and other, more complex activities. They can be useful for adding duration to tricks or making a trick look neater, but generally wouldn't be needed for teaching a basic Sit or Stay.

But training my dogs is my hobby so I like to fine tune it and push me and my dogs to see how good we can make it which means communicating as much as possible with them and ensuring I make myself as clear as possible.

Location specific reward markers do exactly what they say on the tin - they let the dog know exactly where they’ll be receiving their reward. It helps in trick training a lot because I can easily build duration in different positions. I currently use these three most frequently:

"Yes" - take the reward from my hand. This marker does not change regardless of the position of my hand. I am essentially telling my dog: "Wherever my hand is, you can break position to take the reward from me, however that looks".

"Treat" - stay in position, I will bring the treat to you. When I say this, the treat is delivered straight to their mouth. This is very useful for rewarding the dog when they're in a position I would like them to stay in, for example if they are standing on something and I would like them to stay there.

"Get it" - take the reward from the floor. This is exactly the same as "yes" but the reward will be on the floor rather than in my hand.

For all of these, the reward could be a toy or a treat. We have a few other cues that can be used in similar circumstances but these are my solid three!

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