Jackpot 101

When I was first exposed to the concept of jackpot training about 15 years ago, it was pretty basic: instead of giving your dog one cookie for a reward, give a whole bunch to make a bigger impression.

Then there was the question of delivery. The late Patty Ruzzo defined a jackpot as "10 to 15 pieces of food delivered over a period of time," so clearly the food was best given one piece at a time to enhance the experience. Woe to those people with snapping turtle dogs who took fingers with treats and spit out what they couldn't swallow.

Then someone came up with the theory that jackpots should be totally spontaneous and happen at any time during a training session. Although a jackpot could be a reward for effort or precision, it didn’t necessarily have to be linked to a specific behavior, leading the dog to believe that at any second he might be released to eat a whole handful of treats. This was intended to encourage attention and handler focus, as the dog never knew when the next bonanza might appear.

Along the line, I also encountered the school of thought that believed jackpot treats should be “extra special,” something different than the dog’s normal treats. Nice theory, although for the love of doG, none of my kids ever let a treat stay in their mouths long enough to taste it, so while I agree that oven-baked garlic Parmesan chicken breast IS tastier than a piece of hotdog, the finer nuances of this appreciation are probably lost on dogs who swallow everything whole anyway.

Like any training method, jackpotting is open to many different interpretations and like training with clickers, toys, pinch collars, etc., the method’s effectiveness relies on the trainer’s skill level and understanding of how dogs learn.

My second OTCh., Jamie, was not a dog who was inspired to paroxysms of delight by the whole obedience scene. He was a happy and reliable worker but unlike Connor, who was totally insane about doing obedience, Jamie needed a reason why: a reason to train, a reason to go in the ring, a reason to stop worrying about the stranger (judge) who was going to touch him on the moving stand. (Jamie did not approve of strangers. He approved even less of strangers who insisted on touching him.)

He was a total chow hound, however (having been raised with Shelties, what did you expect) and I used jackpotting with him for most of his competitive career. It worked nicely but hindsight being what it is, I made a couple of mistakes.

The first mistake was that I should have been more random with his jackpots during training sessions. A jackpot will have more impact at a critical point DURING an exercise - for example, as he was flying back to me with the dumbbell — than it will AFTER the front and finish. (What was I doing putting formal exercises together in training anyway? Bad handler! Bad!) He learned in spite of me. Good Red Dog.

Mistake number two was not implementing random jackpots during matches and group training sessions. Instead, I just kept feeding at the total end of the run-through like it was a formal trial and naturally, Jamie learned that the BIG REWARD came after he’d been in the ring for awhile, never in the beginning.

So at trials, our first few exercises in the class were lukewarm, the next two a little more animated and by the time the final exercises got there, he was sky high. Looking back at our obedience breakdowns through the years, he received wonderful scores on the final exercises in both Open and Utility, regardless of what they were, no doubt in anticipation of the reward he knew was coming. I had very effectively taught him the value of delayed gratification.

So, lessons learned.

For some reason, I have not done any jackpot training with Phoenix. I don’t know if I thought it was out of vogue or what (most likely, I just FORGOT!), but it was a tool I stuffed in the bottom of my metaphorical training bag and ignored until the Bridget Carlsen seminar. Now I can’t wait to introduce it into Phoenix’s training. DoG knows he, too, is a chow hound. And a tug hound. How totally awesomely wonderful it is to have a dog so easy to motivate! (God bless you, Catherine, AGAIN, for this wonderful creature.)

Due to copyright laws I can’t go into details about Bridget’s jackpot training method but she has a series of steps that build a foundation of understanding and motivation for the dog. She starts by building cue word for the dog’s food (Hungry! Supper! Let’s eat!) She also feels the jackpot is eventually best delivered off your body and away from the ring vs out of a pocket or treat bag on your body.

I asked her about this. She has a unique theory about keeping food on your body during training vs having it on a chair or in a bag (this is after the teaching phase is over). She said, basically, that it doesn’t matter whether the dog knows you have food on you or not because people who train continually with food on them, ACT DIFFERENTLY when the food is not there. So it’s not just the dog behaving differently in the absence of food, the handler is behaving differently too, since she may feel her cheese stick security blanket is gone. Definitely experienced that!

Anyway, Phoenix is working for all or part of his meals every day now to implement a jackpotting foundation. Working for meals is nothing new, I’m just using his food a little bit differently. Theoretically, you could jackpot to a play session with a toy, too, but Bridget built her food jackpot system for use with her Norwich terrier who did not have play drive.

Well, this has gotten out of hand, length-wise and I never intended this to be a training blog but sometimes words run away with me.

Hug your dogs and enjoy whatever you do with them today.