Field Guide · Glossary
Rate of reinforcement
Learning scienceHow frequently reinforcement actually arrives during a piece of training, measured over time.
How it works
It is one of the most useful things to adjust and one of the least often examined. A rate that is too low leaves a dog with long stretches of unpaid effort, and a worried dog in particular will usually disengage rather than persist. The general rule is that difficulty and rate move together: when the work gets harder, the payment gets more frequent, not less. Handlers tend to do the opposite, raising difficulty and thinning reinforcement at the same time, which is where a dog most often falls apart.
What it looks like
A dog working near a busy path is paid every two or three seconds for the first minute. Once they are settled and offering attention freely, the gaps stretch. At the first sign of them fixing on something, the rate goes back up.
Commonly confused with
- Jackpot
- Rate is about how often payment arrives. A jackpot is about how much arrives on one occasion. Raising the rate keeps a dog in the game; a jackpot marks a single moment out from the rest.
Related terms
Gear that helps
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Treat pouch (clip-on)
You can't reward fast enough digging in a pocket. A pouch you open one-handed changes your timing, and this one has a magnetic close plus a built-in clicker.
High-value freeze-dried training treats
The paycheck. For reactive work the reward has to beat the trigger, so we keep these tiny, soft, and genuinely exciting, not everyday biscuits.
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