What helps an animal learn a new behavior fastest? Standard practice has assumed that learners need a large number of trials to learn a new behavior, and given the numbers of repetitions required, each reward, usually food, is small. In other words, lots of tiny treats one after the other, in order to get in a large number of reps–sort of like working out at the gym. But, what if you threw that on its head, and gave very large rewards for each correct behavior, a small number of times? That’s what the creative authors of a study did, published in Science in May of 2026(opens in new tab), and found that “very large” rewards “led to . . . Animals [who] learned faster, became more efficient in reward collection, remained engaged in the tasks, and showed across-session improvements compared with smaller reward magnitudes.”
“We further showed that these effects could be well explained once one appreciates that the efficiency of learning is determined by three critical components: (i) the learning rate, (ii) the ability to capture learned improvements from prior sessions, and (iii) the extent of sustained engagement in a task. In our study, large rewards improved all three aspects. Large rewards produced longer, more sustained activity of DA neurons during reward consumption. “ (Gong, Martell, Dudman, and Coddington, 2026)
The bold words are mine, because I want to emphasize that the driving force of learning rate, improvement, and engagement is the hormone dopamine(opens in new tab) (DA in the quote above). Dopamine, often called the “pleasure hormone,” is actually more about what is called motivational salience, or “seeking,” (opens in new tab) in the words of the brilliant neuroscientist and beloved rat tickler, Jaak Panksepp(opens in new tab).
I only read the free summary available in Science (as a retired academic I no longer have access to all of these journals without buying each article–anyone still have access for us?), and can’t tell you exactly how much the “very large” rewards were, except to say that they were described as one to two orders of magnitude larger than the usual food bits given.
This reminds me of something used by some in the training world, called “Jackpots.” Jackpots, or giving a dog an extra large reinforcement for a particularly good response, have become controversial in the dogosphere. You could spend a long time online reading about how great they are, or how they are merely foolish “feel good” replacements for us humans, and/or there is no research that supports their use. I have used them for decades, but have advised, admittedly with no data behind it, that it is more effective to give dogs multiple treats one after the other, rather than a handful of treats after one behavior. I honestly was playing this by gut and experience but, again, no data.
Without any good research, why do I still use them? Because in my experience dogs appear to be astounded by them. They’ll gobble one treat after another given in rapid succession (each one, in my lexicon, preceded by Good!), then look at me with huge eyes, as if astounded. I’m making assumptions here, of course, not knowing what is happening in their brains, but their behavior seems to follow the researcher’s description of a dopamine dump. Their expressions change, their body posture changes, and if feels like (going out on a limb here) that it had a significant effect on their behavior.
I would love to have a discussion about this! Do you use Jackpots? Why? And what about fields in which food isn’t used as a reinforcement?I’m thinking of the classic advice of some of the great Border collie trainers: Say you’re working on something difficult, alternating between hard and easy during a session, but end with the dog doing the easiest and most fun of all–a long, long outrun and fetch, in which you put your hand over your mouth and stop worrying if the dog comes too fast, too slow, or off line. Just let the dog work all by itself for a relatively long time without inference from you. It’s basically one big jackpot. Or is it? Am I crazy to make that analogy?
My last request is (well, on this issue anyway, I am not “going aloft,” as my mother used to say, any time soon) that please, please someone replicate this with dogs! The research above was done with mice. Next steps: Dogs. PhD dissertation topic anyone?
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Well, now we aren back on the farm, but last week we spent our vaca days in Michigan playing with dear friends, eating at a gazillion restaurants, and enjoying the waters of Walloon Lake and Lake Michigan. (“Michigan,” by the way, is from the original Ojibwe name, Michigami(opens in new tab), meaning “great water,” or in my favorite translation, “a REALLY large body of water. Click on the tab above for the correct pronunciation. It’s worth it, honest.)
Our trip was book-ended by crossing Michigami--it really is a HUGE lake–on two very different ferries. We took the USS Badger (opens in new tab) from Manitowoc, WI, to Luddington, MI, which if you haven’t done it is akin to time traveling back to 1959. You can sit in a central seating area (Bingo anyone?), on a top deck in the breeze, or snuggle in a tiny but cozy stateroom like we did. On the way back we took the Lake Express Ferry (opens in new tab)from Muskegon to Milwaukee–newer, smaller, and faster than the Badger, at 2.5 hours travel versus 4+ on the Badger, with a much shorter time offloading your vehicle. Here’s the Lake Express docking in Muskegon.
This is my favorite photo of the entire trip. David, Julie, Jim, and I (next photo) ran into these adorable young men jumping into the lake off the Petosky Breakwall(opens in new tab). I seriously considered tossing my cane away and jumping in beside them. Jim is grateful that I did not. I probably am too. But, still . . .
We saw other dear friends outside of Grand Junction, Matt and Kelly Elvin, the owner of
Tip Top Tails Dog Training(opens in new tab). If you are in the area, I could not recommend them highly enough.
The four of us took the Lindy Lou(opens in new tab), or, it took us, on an hour long tour of the South Haven marina. I have never seen so many boats in my entire life in one place! The Lindy Lou is a “fan-tailed river launch that brought passengers from larger ships to the resorts and dance halls of South Haven. Apparently, that town was hopping!
Here’s my favorite photo of me and my handsome guy from the trip. And no, I’m not sharing. (I’m reminded of what someone once said to me : “This is John. My John.” Message received.
Have a some wonderful weeks, and don’t forget to weigh in on Jackpots! I’m all ears.
