It's easy to see how important reinforcers are in Operant Conditioning. We all work for reinforcers every day. I am writing this article partially because of reinforcers. There is a mailing list, I give input, people reply positively to my input, my input on the list increases. You can see how well it works.
Dogs are no different.
No learning is necessary for these reinforcers to increase the likelihood of a behavior. In dogs, primary reinforcers include food, water, procreation, and sometimes certain predatory behaviors. Conditioned reinforcers are things that are paired with a primary reinforcer to the point where they have the same meaning as the primary reinforcer. This is done through a process known and classical or respondent conditioning. In humans, money is a conditioned reinforcer.