Should You Be Concerned About Training Your Dog With Food?

Ten things you absolutely must know about using treats in dog

training.

“I don’t want to train my dog with food treats because, if I do, then I will always have to bribe him with a treat to get him to listen to me.”

Sound familiar?

This is a common misunderstanding about the correct use of food as a tool in dog training.

There is a wealth of new scientific research about dogs, how they think and how they learn. Today’s reward based training systems are the result of all these amazing discoveries about our canine companions.

Dogs are like us humans in many ways but in some things there are critical differences. For now, let’s talk about how dogs and people are alike. I think you’ll soon see why correctly using food as a reward in dog training gets excellent and lasting results.

Like us, dogs want to know, “What’s in it for me?” The more valuable the pay off, the harder they will work for it. Dogs value attention, play, toys, games, access to stuff they want, and their space. However, very high on their list of values is food.

All of the stuff a dog values can be appropriately used as a reward for desirable behaviors, but food has some distinct advantages:

1. Because food is identified with survival, dogs have a lot of respect for those who control the food sources.
2. Using food makes the rewards consistent and easily repeated to reinforce a behavior.
3. You can use extra special treats as a big reward and create variety with the kinds of treats you use. Variety is healthy in any diet.
4. Using homemade treats is easy and puts you in control of your dog’s diet. It isn’t necessary to feed large quantities. The tiniest tasty bit is enough.
5. Food is neutral and does not carry any potentially confusing emotional baggage. Dogs read us and pick up on our emotional shifts that change the message they receive from us when we talk or interact with them.
6. Dogs enjoy their training because they understand what they need to do in order to earn their “pay”.
7. Using food as a reward makes the use of punishment and negative language unnecessary because the consequence of the dog not offering the desired behavior is simply withholding the reward.
8. In the initial stage of teaching a new behavior, food can be used as a “lure” and quickly faded away when the dog has learned the new behavior.
9. The frequency of giving a food reward can very easily be reduced until the food reward is given only randomly.
10. Because you are in control of the things the dog values and desires, you can expect your dog to make the choices that will cause you to give him what he values.

Everybody wins!

And yet, there’s a grain of truth in the objection: “I will always have to bribe him with a treat to get him to listen to me.”

If you bribe your dog with food, (pay first, then work) you will get nowhere fast in training your dog to do anything. Bribes turn the tables and let the dog become the trainer. However, using food as a reward (work first, then get paid) makes training successful and fun for everybody!

The deal you offer your dog is simply, “If you give me what I want then I will give you what you want.”

Dogs are like us.  They work for a nice pay day.

What should you use as a training treat?

Make sure the treats you use in training are nutritious.  Avoid products made outside the USA and those that contain chemicals, preservatives, colors and sugar.

If you want to make your own healthy and delicious treats for your dog, it is much easier to do it than you think. I have taught my training clients how to prepare treats in just a few minutes that really get their dogs motivated and excited to work.

I am happy to share those recipes and tricks with you as my gift to thank you for visiting, commenting and sharing.

I have collected all my favorite recipes in a new eBook,

Best Dog Treats.

• It contains a Basic Recipe with tons of simple variations using wholesome fresh ingredients.
• You also get detailed instructions for some One Ingredient Treats.
• You’ll get my favorite Bucket List recipes, the ones that I have not gotten around to trying yet.
• There are high protein recipes and some of my tried and true old favorites.

Click here and your FREE copy will be sent directly to your inbox.