When you’re rewarding a static exercise such as contact position, you can be a pez-dispenser, doling out one small treat after another until the dog leaves the contact or you release him.

But when you’re trying to build drive and motivation, make your treat presentation exciting and fun. Invoke your dog’s chase instincts and make him have to “catch” the reward.

Throw a treat-pouch, then race your dog to it. Open the pouch and let your dog stick her head in and grab a mouthful of treats.

Release and make your dog chase you backwards for the treat. Draw short, straight lines with the hand holding the treat while you move backwards away from the dog.

Mark YES and throw a treat to the floor in front of the dog; as he goes out to eat it, race away and make him chase you for a second treat.

For agility, have him chase you in a circle. With the dog on the outside and you at the centre-point of the circle, hold the treat with the back of your hand facing forward and the treat held in your finger-tips back towards the dog. Move the treat away from the dog so that he chases it in a circle. Only draw a quarter-circle in the beginning — we don’t want your dog to lose interest because he can’t catch it.

Rewarding in this way helps satisfy your dog’s chase and catch instincts, while also teaching him to follow your hand — a skill we’ll rely on later in agility.

Only go as fast and as far as your dog lets you. If he loses interest and wanders off, you’re making it too hard or not rewarding frequently enough.