{"id":7044749,"date":"2026-08-23T08:52:05","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T08:52:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/size-matters-when-using-treats-as-reinforcement\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T08:52:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T08:52:05","slug":"size-matters-when-using-treats-as-reinforcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7044749","title":{"rendered":"Size Matters (When Using Treats as Reinforcement)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-84797\" src=\"http:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Woman-Gives-Dog-A-Treat-And-Ge-178927402-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Woman-Gives-Dog-A-Treat-And-Ge-178927402-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Woman-Gives-Dog-A-Treat-And-Ge-178927402-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Woman-Gives-Dog-A-Treat-And-Ge-178927402-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Woman-Gives-Dog-A-Treat-And-Ge-178927402-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Woman-Gives-Dog-A-Treat-And-Ge-178927402-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Woman-Gives-Dog-A-Treat-And-Ge-178927402.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>What helps an animal learn a new behavior fastest?<\/strong> Standard practice has assumed that learners need a large number of trials to learn a new behavior, and given the numbers of repetitions required, each reward, usually food, is small. In other words, lots of tiny treats one after the other, in order to get in a large number of reps\u2013sort of like working out at the gym. But, what if you threw that on its head, and gave very large rewards for each correct behavior, a small number of times?\u00a0 That\u2019s what the creative authors of a study did, published in <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/science.aeb0813\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science in May of 2026<span class=\"sr-only\">(opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a><\/strong>, and found that \u201cvery large\u201d rewards \u201cled to . . .\u00a0 Animals [who] learned faster, became more efficient in reward collection, remained engaged in the tasks, and showed across-session improvements compared with smaller reward magnitudes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWe further showed that these effects could be well explained once one appreciates that the efficiency of learning is determined by three critical components: (i) the learning rate, (ii) the ability to capture learned improvements from prior sessions, and (iii) the extent of sustained engagement in a task. In our study, large rewards improved all three aspects. <strong>Large rewards produced longer, more sustained activity of DA neurons during reward consumption. \u201c<\/strong> (Gong, Martell, Dudman, and Coddington, 2026)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>The bold words are mine,<\/strong> because I want to emphasize that the driving force of learning rate, improvement, and engagement is the hormone\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dopamine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dopamine<span class=\"sr-only\">(opens in new tab) <\/span><\/a>(DA in the quote above). Dopamine, often called the \u201cpleasure\u00a0 hormone,\u201d is actually\u00a0 more about what is called motivational salience, or <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC8406748\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cseeking,\u201d <span class=\"sr-only\">(opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> in the words of the brilliant neuroscientist and beloved rat tickler, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jaak_Panksepp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jaak Panksepp<span class=\"sr-only\">(opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>I only read the free summary<\/strong> available in Science (as a retired academic I no longer have access to all of these journals without buying each article\u2013anyone still have access for us?), and can\u2019t tell you exactly how much the \u201cvery large\u201d rewards were, except to say that they were described as one to two orders of magnitude larger than the usual food bits given.<\/p>\n<p><strong>This reminds me of something<\/strong> used by some in the training world,\u00a0 called \u201cJackpots.\u201d Jackpots, or giving a dog an extra large reinforcement for a particularly good response, have become controversial in the dogosphere. You could spend a long time online reading about how great they are, or how they are merely foolish \u201cfeel good\u201d replacements for us humans, and\/or there is no research that supports their use. I have used them for decades, but have advised, admittedly with no data behind it, that it is more effective to give dogs multiple treats one after the other, rather than a handful of treats after one behavior. I honestly was playing this by gut and experience but, again, no data.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-84796\" src=\"http:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Purebred-Jack-Russel-Terrier-T-296012407-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Purebred-Jack-Russel-Terrier-T-296012407-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Purebred-Jack-Russel-Terrier-T-296012407-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Purebred-Jack-Russel-Terrier-T-296012407-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Purebred-Jack-Russel-Terrier-T-296012407-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Purebred-Jack-Russel-Terrier-T-296012407-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Purebred-Jack-Russel-Terrier-T-296012407.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Without any good research, why do I still use them?<\/strong> Because in my experience dogs appear to be astounded by them. They\u2019ll gobble one treat after another given in rapid succession (each one, in my lexicon, preceded by Good!), then look at me with huge eyes, as if astounded. I\u2019m making assumptions here, of course, not knowing what is happening in their brains, but their behavior seems to follow the researcher\u2019s description of a dopamine dump. Their expressions change, their body posture changes, and if feels like (going out on a limb here) that it had a significant effect on their behavior.<\/p>\n<p><strong>I would love to have a discussion about this! <\/strong>Do you use Jackpots? Why? And what about fields in which food isn\u2019t used as a reinforcement?I\u2019m thinking of the classic advice of some of the great Border collie trainers: Say you\u2019re working on something difficult, alternating between hard and easy during a session, but end with the dog doing the easiest and most fun of all\u2013a long, long outrun and fetch, in which you put your hand over your mouth and stop worrying if the dog comes too fast, too slow, or off line. Just let the dog work all by itself for a relatively long time without inference from you. It\u2019s basically one big jackpot. Or is it? Am I crazy to make that analogy?<\/p>\n<p><strong>My last request is<\/strong> (well, on this issue anyway, I am not \u201cgoing aloft,\u201d as my mother used to say, any time soon) that <em>please, please<\/em> someone replicate this with dogs! The research above was done with mice. Next steps: Dogs. PhD dissertation topic anyone?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-84798\" src=\"http:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Bully-Icream-1409430-300x202.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"202\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Bully-Icream-1409430-300x202.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Bully-Icream-1409430-1024x689.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Bully-Icream-1409430-768x517.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Bully-Icream-1409430-1536x1034.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Bully-Icream-1409430-600x404.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bigstock-Bully-Icream-1409430.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>MEANWHILE, back on the farm:<\/strong> Well, now we aren back on the farm, but last week we spent our vaca days in Michigan playing with dear friends, eating at a gazillion restaurants, and enjoying the waters of Walloon Lake and Lake Michigan. (\u201cMichigan,\u201d by the way, is from the original Ojibwe name, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/?v=2481994775573524\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Michigami<span class=\"sr-only\">(opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>,<\/strong> meaning \u201cgreat water,\u201d or in my favorite translation<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jaak_Panksepp\">,<\/a> \u201ca REALLY large body of water. Click on the tab above for the correct pronunciation. It\u2019s worth it, honest.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Our trip was book-ended by crossing Michigami-<\/strong>-it really is a HUGE lake\u2013on two very different ferries. We took the <a href=\"https:\/\/ssbadger.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USS Badger <span class=\"sr-only\">(opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a><span class=\"sr-only\">\u00a0f<\/span>rom Manitowoc, WI, to Luddington, MI, which if you haven\u2019t done it is akin to time traveling back to 1959. You can sit in a central seating area (Bingo anyone?), on a top deck in the breeze, or snuggle in a tiny but cozy stateroom like we did. On the way back we took the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lake-express.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Lake Express Ferry\u00a0<\/strong><span class=\"sr-only\">(opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>from Muskegon to Milwaukee\u2013newer, smaller, and faster than the Badger, at 2.5 hours travel versus 4+ on the Badger, with a much shorter time offloading your vehicle.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the Lake Express docking in Muskegon.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-84780 alignnone\" src=\"http:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2951-300x211.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"541\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2951-300x211.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2951-1024x721.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2951-768x541.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2951-1536x1082.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2951-2048x1442.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2951-600x422.jpeg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 541px) 100vw, 541px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>This is my favorite photo<\/strong> of the entire trip. David, Julie, Jim, and I (next photo) ran into these adorable young men jumping into the lake off the <a href=\"https:\/\/petoskeyarea.com\/places\/petoskey-breakwall\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Petosky Breakwall<\/strong><span class=\"sr-only\">(opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>. I seriously considered tossing my cane away and jumping in beside them. Jim is grateful that I did not. I probably am too. But, still . . .<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-84774\" src=\"http:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2872-300x199.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2872-300x199.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2872-600x398.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2872.jpeg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-84771\" src=\"http:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2858-300x225.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2858-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2858-600x450.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2858.jpeg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>We saw other dear friends<\/strong> outside of Grand Junction, Matt and Kelly Elvin, the owner of<br \/><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/tiptoptails.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tip Top Tails Dog Training<span class=\"sr-only\">(opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a><\/strong>. If you are in the area, I could not recommend them highly enough.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-84777\" src=\"http:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2948-300x225.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2948-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2948-600x450.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2948.jpeg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>The four of us took the <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/michiganmaritimemuseum.org\/explore\/our-fleet\/lindy-lou\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lindy Lou<span class=\"sr-only\">(opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a><strong>,<\/strong> or, it took us, on an hour long tour of the South Haven marina. I have never seen so many boats in my entire life in one place!\u00a0 The Lindy Lou is a \u201cfan-tailed river launch that brought passengers from larger ships to the resorts and dance halls of South Haven. Apparently, that town was hopping!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-84776\" src=\"http:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2932-174x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"174\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2932-174x300.jpeg 174w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2932.jpeg 371w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 174px) 100vw, 174px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Here\u2019s my favorite photo<\/strong> of me and my handsome guy from the trip. And no, I\u2019m not sharing. (I\u2019m reminded of what someone once said to me : \u201cThis is John. My John.\u201d Message received.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-84773\" src=\"http:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2866-225x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2866-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/www.patriciamcconnell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2866.jpeg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Have a some wonderful weeks, and don\u2019t forget to weigh in on Jackpots! I\u2019m all ears.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What helps an animal learn a new behavior fastest? Standard practice has assumed that learners need a large number of trials to learn a new behavior, and given the numbers of repetitions required, each reward, usually food, is small. In other words, lots of tiny treats one after the other, in order to get in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7044750,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98079],"tags":[7633,59038,299,9941],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-7044749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-matters","tag-reinforcement","tag-size","tag-treats"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Size Matters (When Using Treats as Reinforcement) - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7044749\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Size Matters (When Using Treats as Reinforcement) - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What helps an animal learn a new behavior fastest? 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