Category: Getting Started ¤
  Author: Steve White ¤
   Title: 40 Primary Reinforcers ¤

This is the body of the post I made in November as a part of the "Click, DUH" 
thread. It's not some sort of learned tome, it's just something I came up with 
off the top of my head as I watched the thread develop. Hope it helps.

---------------------------------------------------- 
Okay, I can resist no longer. Here's a list of the things I've used as PRs:

Foods 

Hot dogs
Cheerios and other cereals
Freeze dried liver
Crumbled ground beef
Pounce cat treats
Pedigree Tandem (Break one piece into 3 or 4)
Alpo beef Bites (Cut one piece into 6 slices)
Alpo Beef Burgers
Rollover
Kibbled dog food (Nutro Max)
String cheese
Left over steak pieces
Hard boiled eggs
Sardines (Hey, they were left over too)
Atta Boy treat sticks
Snauages
Trout pellets
Rabbit pellets
Red licorice (Found out tonight my wife's been sneaking this one in)
Corn Nuts
Wheat Thins
Cheese Whiz
Popcorn
French fries
Ice cubes
Bread crust
Croutons
Rice cakes
Pureed liver
Dried liver
Canned cat food (use a spoon)
Broken fortune cookie pieces
Cooked pasta (Many forms)
Rice balls
        I'm sure there's more, but I can't remember

[Annotation: Since this post was included in the archives it has been
				determined that raisins and grapes can be toxic to
				your dog. I have removed references to using them
				from this article.  -- Jim

Objects/toys 

Tennis balls
Kongs
Rope tugs
Frisbees
Sticks
Firewood
Cressite balls
Boat bumpers
Buoys
Bicycle tires
Burlap sacks
Puppy tugs
Protective sleeves
Ring suits
Leashes
Tracking harnesses
Firehose squares
Street hockey balls
Hockey pucks
Soccer balls
Basketballs
Boomer balls
Ultra balls
Folding chairs
Five gallon buckets
Carpet rolls
        Again, I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting


Activities 

Fetch (see above)
Get in the kennel
Get out of the kennel
Go into the house
Go out of the house
Get in the car
Go out of the car
Eat dinner
Fight the water hose
Belly rub
Back scratch
Wrestle
Play with other dogs
Play with the cats
Play with the kids
Down
Heeling
Jumping
Chase the laser spot
Tracking
Building searching
Target stick
Swimming
Dope searching
Cuddling
Praise from me
        Again, the list goes on . . ..


As you may be able to tell, I do LOTS of opportunistic training. I've also been 
blessed with animals that learn to love some activities so much that they become 
reinforcers for other behaviors (Thank you, Dr. Premack). Again the list is 
limited only by your imagination and your dogs' desires.

As far as food is concerned, I much prefer small, soft foods that go down 
quickly, but I'll use whatever is handy. Once a dog becomes fluent at 
retrieving, it can become a powerfully reinforcing behavior. Take advantage of 
your dog's/breed's propensities.

---------------------------------------------------- 

Adios,

Steve White
Port Orchard, WA

"Every handler gets the dog he deserves."
          Motto: London Metropolitan Police Dog Section