Military Working Dogs (MWD) Block 2 Practice Exam

Rewards in MWD training rely on the dog’s sense of body position. Delivering the reward for the last body position the dog takes before the reward reinforces the exact posture the dog should hold. This links the motor pattern to the reinforcement, so the dog learns to reproduce that specific position reliably in the future. If rewards were given randomly, there’d be no consistent posture to associate with reinforcement. If rewards were tied to the current position, the dog might shift to whatever position happens to be present at reward time, weakening the target posture. If rewards came only after vocal commands, the dog would learn to respond to the cue rather than hold the intended body position. By rewarding the last position when the reward is given, proprioceptive feedback solidifies the desired stance.