To begin, observe what your dog values, says Bobbie Bhambree, certified dog behavior

consultant, certified dog trainer and owner of DogCentric Training & Behavior in New Rochelle,
New York. Is it playtime with a canine companion, going to the dog park, swimming or playing
with a dog toy?

Make a list of those fun activities, she says, and you’ll see where you can implement the
Premack principle in your dog’s training. Then, decide which behavior you want to instill and
which reward you’ll choose.

Scenario 1:
To illustrate this, Bhambree gives an example of how she trained her dog, Topper, not to bark
when she opened his crate door in the morning.

“Topper gets excited and expresses that excitement by barking,” says Bhambree. “I taught him
that if he remained quiet (a low probability behavior), he could exit the crate and join the other
dogs in the bedroom.”

Scenario 2:
In another scenario, Bhambree uses the Premack principle when training dogs to drop dog ball
toys at their owner’s feet. For most dogs, ball chasing is much more reinforcing than returning
the ball to you, says Bhambree.

However, your dog learns, over time, that there’s a relationship between the two: he must bring
the ball to you before you can throw the ball for him. Your dog quickly learns that dropping the
ball (a low reward behavior) results in getting to chase the ball (a high reward behavior).

Sitting and staying can also be taught by incorporating the Premack principle.