In This Video
Your puppy is wiggly, excited and not quite ready to settle in, so how do you get her on the same plan? This video lays out a “frequent flyer” rewards program for early training: a high rate of reward in what we call the Goldilocks Zone, about 8 to 12 rewards per minute, rep after rep, with smooth delivery. You'll learn how to practice the pace with a one-minute timer and when it's time to slow down.
Key Moments
- 0:07 — Ready to train, and your puppy isn't
- 0:40 — The key to engagement: rewards, and lots of them
- 1:11 — Frequent flyer miles and your dog's loyalty program
- 1:43 — Build attention span gradually: train fast
- 2:13 — The Goldilocks Zone: 8 to 12 rewards per minute
- 3:17 — Keep momentum: reward and move to the next rep
- 3:49 — Practice with a one-minute timer
- 4:20 — When to slow the pace, and when to start fast again
Full Transcript
The doggy frequent rewards program. Once you've watched the video front to back for the first behavior you're excited to teach your pup, you've chosen an optimal location to train and you've carefully considered possible distractions. You're laser-focused and all set to take off, right? You begin with the first step. Your dog is wiggly and excited. Apparently she's not ready; she'd rather run circles around you and bite her tail than settle in for training. Whoa, settle down there, Miss Fuzzy Tutu.
How do you get your frisky pet onto the same plan? The key to engaging your cavorting canine: rewards, and lots of them, especially in your early sessions.
Have you ever used frequent flyer miles? Even if you just end up with a magazine subscription, it sure feels great to receive a bonus, right? And don't those reward miles get you thinking, “If I just traveled more, I could earn my free trip sooner”? The right loyalty rewards program can get you to go the extra mile, literally.
Turns out your dog is no different, especially in early learning. It's up to you to ensure your dog's interest remains high. Soon enough, training will become your pet's absolute favorite game, but you'll have to build up your pup's attention span gradually. When you first start training your dog, you'll want to train fast. Not so fast that you begin flapping around like Henny Penny, but fast enough to keep your exuberant pooch focused on training. And rewards, rewards, rewards.
Here's the frequent flyer rewards plan that's tailored just for your pup. In the early steps of each behavior plan, your goal is to keep your rate of reward delivery high. You'll want to dial in what we call the Goldilocks Zone: not too many, not too few, but just right. That Goldilocks Zone is about 8 to 12 rewards per minute.
You're thinking, whoa, 8 to 12? That's a lot more than the sad little bag of peanuts your flight attendant tossed your way. And it is. Now you know why we recommend you train before serving up supper. Keep those rewards coming, mile after mile. Only in training, you're rewarding for reps rather than miles. You want your dog to repeat the behaviors rep after rep after rep.
No coffee breaks for you once you begin the training session; best to have that double espresso beforehand. You want to keep the momentum going. As soon as your dog has performed the behavior, deliver a reward and move swiftly to the very next rep. Flying in these rewards on time and with a smooth delivery is where your practice with the pouch, learned in the Game On video, will come in very handy.
To get yourself used to the Goldilocks frequency and timing, set a one-minute timer, then count your rewards as you deliver them. This will help you build your skills until the Goldilocks pace becomes more natural for you. You'll love the way your dog responds, and challenging yourself to beat the clock can be a lot of fun for you too. It's a great way to see your gains as you and your dog both improve. The experts you see in training, the ones who make it all look so effortless? They started out with a timer too.
You'll want to continue your generous rewards until your dog realizes that training sessions are the best game going. Once he's eagerly coming back for more, or whenever your dog has performed the new task, you can slow the pace down a bit. But when you begin training each new behavior, be sure to take off from the Goldilocks Zone. Every new lesson and each new behavior you want to teach is always best achieved by rapid reward at the start.
When you set yourself up for success in the earliest stages, you'll be impressed with just how high you and your companion can fly. Dogs are incredibly clever, and when you meet them exactly where they're currently at, with the right rewards, you'll be astounded at how quickly they reward you with great behaviors.
Your puppy turns toward you, you mark “yes” and deliver a reward. Then you arrange another easy win. Frequent, clear feedback helps a beginner discover what works.
Updated written companion · October 2026. The earlier video demonstrates frequent rewards in early training. The guidance below reflects our current Go Anywhere Dog® 5.0 approach.
Why Rewards Work in Puppy Training
A puppy turns toward you. You mark “Yes,” deliver a snack, and give them another easy chance. Soon that turn is happening more readily. That is reinforcement at work: the consequence makes the response more likely.
We build complex skills through achievable attempts worth repeating. Food is useful currency, but the learner decides what actually functions as reinforcement. Play, movement, access and relief can all change what happens next.
The world is teaching between your lessons
The counter occasionally pays in chicken. A squirrel pays in chase. Jumping may produce attention. Your puppy is getting consequences all day, including when nobody has announced “training time.”
The world keeps paying. Our teaching has to account for it.
This is why a cheese cube cannot be the whole plan. We teach and maintain the wanted response, manage access to competing payoffs, and use understandable limits. Reinforcement is essential; it is not the name of every tool in the program.
Make the response clear, then make it worthwhile
A food lure can help a beginner discover a movement. A marker can identify the attempt we want. The consequence afterward strengthens that attempt. Those jobs are different. Showing food before a response is not automatically bribery.
As the movement becomes predictable, add the cue and fade the lure. Keep reinforcement working. We want the word or hand signal to matter, without requiring a visible snack as the opening bid.
When the plan stops working, read the learner
First, are they upset? A frightened, frustrated or overwhelmed puppy is still learning. They may have less access to the skill we want while learning what the situation predicts and whether their person helps.
Then check the skill. Has it been built here, with these distractions, at this distance and duration? Check the payoff too: value, timing, frequency and whatever the environment is offering. Sometimes better food helps. Sometimes more distance helps. Sometimes the next step needs to be smaller.
Confusion needs teaching. Distress needs support. A fluent response competing with something wonderful is a different decision.
Boundaries begin now
We protect skin, pause rough play, use gates and arrange manageable choices from the beginning. For not performing a taught cue, our deliberate loss-of-access tool comes after relevant fluency and a check of present capacity. We remove something desirable without adding pain, fear or intimidation.
A time-out can protect play and give dog and human breathing room. A parent joins when their presence can comfort; an upset adult may need a break too. Read both ends of the leash and the rest of the room, then help arrange a better next attempt.
Food can change jobs. Reinforcement continues.
As a response becomes dependable in a setting, we can adjust food frequency and use appropriate life rewards: access to play, permission to greet, movement together. Keep paying generously for hard work and new conditions. Watch the response as you change the plan; maturity does not do this teaching for us.
Fade the lure. Keep the reason to respond.
We are building skills for a real life, including excitement, frustration and the occasional difficult experience. Your job is not to make life trouble-free. It is to know how to teach, hold a fair boundary and help your puppy recover.
Explore the complete Boundaries Without Trauma® framework. Puppies starting under 16 weeks begin in Puppy & Me, and dogs 16 weeks to a year start in Life Skills 101, both at our Eden Prairie school. For dogs of any age, we also come to you with in-home training.
Until next time, have fun and enjoy your dog.
— Jody & your Dog Life Coaches
