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Dog Training With Treats

Dog training with treats is a common and very successful method of positive reinforcement dog training. In training your dog with treats you are providing him with a motivating factor, and something to work towards as a result of his correct actions. The treat in question does not necessarily have to be food related. It can be any type of treat that your dog is motivated to work for. Every dog is different and while this may be surprising to some, not all dogs go crazy for food, biscuits or other canine treats.

Many dogs would much prefer a favorite toy to a cookie any day. Tennis balls and kong toys often top the list of favorites and some dogs would do absolutely anything just for one throw of their prized toy. The key to dog training with treats however is to always leave them wanting more, especially when that treat is a toy. The general idea with this training method is that when your dog has correctly responded to the cue word you have given him, you will reward him for that action with a treat. Do so by throwing his favorite toy for him to retrieve. He will undoubtedly bring it back to you expecting more of the same thing. It’s important to remember here that this is not playtime, this is training time. If you turn the reward into a full blown game of fetch, eventually your dog will get tired of it and will no longer want to perform for that reward when you get back to the task of training him. Always leave him wanting more and this will provide him with ample motivation to work for his favorite treat.

For those of you whose dogs will work only for tasty snacks and who couldn’t care less about a silly tennis ball, your particular challenge is a little bit different. You certainly don’t want to run into the problem of your dog gaining excess weight during his training period as a result of all those yummy motivators. That’s why you need to make sure that you find a healthy treat that comes in small, easy to eat morsels. You also want to stay away from larger food items that will take time for your pet to eat; otherwise you’ll spend more time waiting for him to consume the treat than actually training him, and in the process he’ll become so sidetracked with his reward that he’ll forget what it’s original purpose was.

There is yet another type of reward that you can use when it comes to dog training with treats. Occasionally, you might come across the rare dog who is motivated neither by food or toys, however when it comes to physical affection, for him nothing beats it. Sometimes all a dog wants is a little one on one time with you and to know that you are proud of him. For this dog, a great tummy rub or a soothing ear scratch is all the motivation he needs.