Without motivation there is no training
The first task in the training of everyone is to find out what motivates them.
All animals are motivated by food, water, sex and the avoidance of negative stimuli - these are unconditional reinforcers. Many animals can be motivated by play, attention, socialization, or the possibility of access to certain desired goods.
There are two types of motivation:
- Using rewards, motivation is created by a desire to acquire them. If it is not hard to get them, it increases motivation - motivation breeds success and success breeds motivation.
- Using the aversive methods, motivation is created by a desire to avoid negative stimuli. The animal will do as little as is enough to prevent negative correction to happen.
The type of motivation has an impact on the speed of learning. Studies on foals at the University of Rennes (France) clearly show a much higher speed of learning in animals reinforced with food in comparison to the ones trained using aversive stimuli (pressure). In addition, the animals trained using rewards are more curious, more likely to interact with trainer and willing to experiment.
If you use food, dog / horse / chicken works for food, not for you.
Trainers, who argue that animals work to please their caregivers seem to be unaware that the only "motivation" they use is pain. The animal theoretically works "for us" because the only positive reinforcement is praise. In fact, they work not "for us", but only to avoid correction.