Is Praise More Important Than Treats?

What matters more to dogs—rewards or their relationship with their human?

We often wonder whether dogs follow commands just to get treats, or because they genuinely care about their bond with us. To explore this, researchers looked into dogs’ preferences and the choices they make.

The results? When given a choice between food and praise from their person, many dogs valued both equally—or even preferred praise over food (Berns, Emory University, 2016).

Thirteen dogs took part in the study. They were trained to associate one toy with a treat and another with praise. Researchers then showed the dogs the toys while scanning their brain activity. For four dogs, the praise-associated toy triggered a stronger response. Nine dogs showed similar brain reactions to both toys. Only two dogs reacted more strongly to the treat-associated toy.

Then came the second part. The dogs were placed in a Y-shaped maze, with one path leading to their person and the other to a bowl of food. Dogs whose brains had reacted more to the praise toy now chose their humans. Dogs who reacted more to the treat toy? They went for the food.

So, when thinking about what motivates dogs, we can’t reduce it to food alone. A strong bond with a human—and their praise—can be just as motivating, if not more so.

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Gregory Berns, How Dogs Love Us: A Neuroscientist and His Adopted Dog Decode the Canine Brain, New Harvest 2013