JACKPOTS

FOOD FOR THOUGHT....

Lets say you got paid $10 for mowing the neighbors lawn and then the next THREE times you mowed the lawn, you only got paid $1.  Would this inspire you to continue to mow the lawn? If this happened to me, I would simply find a better paying job with some consistency to the pay.  

---

My take on Jackpots (giving a handful of treats instead of one treat after a click when shaping a behavior) 
Many people click and jackpot their dog simply because they get excited that their dog is starting to understand what they are training.  However, I think it is important to look at the information you are giving the dog. Does the dog know that the jackpotted behavior was better than any other behavior or movement?  What if the very next repetition the dog offered was same behavior that got clicked and jackpotted but this time was only given one treat after a click?  I suspect that this will decrease enthusiasm to continue the training session.

IMO, When a trainer gets excited and jackpots "after a click" and the behavior itself is still in the process of being trained (for instance you are at rep 3 of 5), it DEVALUES the 1 treat per click option.   This inspires you to start giving many treats per click and then it becomes a handful and where does it end?

A handful of treats at the END of a session
After I am finished with the last click/treat for the training session, and I have given that last treat, I often toss a handful of treats on the floor or in a snuffle mat to allow the dog to scent and scavenge.  This is done as a reward for an entire training session, NOT as a reward for the dog's brilliance of one behavior during a training session.

Bobbie Lyons, CCFT, KPA CPT