How to train your dog with treats

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Blog by dog owner, Kate

Positive reinforcement can create behavioural change in your dog, and one of the best ways of rewarding your dog is by using dog treats. This blog tells you how.

With an embarrassing track record of two badly behaved dogs, I finally think it is time to train our anxious and aggressive 2-year-old mutt (she is also very loving by the way, which is why it is worth the effort).

In this short blog, I spoke to friends, looked up professional advice and have put together the following top tips for training a dog using treats:

  • Rewards are better than punishment. Many of us have learnt through bitter experience that the carrot is always better than the stick. Punishment teaches fear and inhibition, whilst rewards instil confidence and pleasure.
  • Use tasty, high-quality treats as a reward. It may seem obvious, but a dog must really value a treat for it to be effective. So, when you initiate the training for a particular task always start off with food morsels that your dog really likes.
  • Use small treats, so they can be used repetitively. Treats should only account for a small part of what your dog eats each day, otherwise they can lead to obesity, or affect the consumption of main meals. If you are going through an intensive training period, you may need to temporarily adjust your dog’s regular feedings to account for any treats they get during the day.
  • Hand out treats in moderation when a task has been completed. If your dog sees you holding a treat, it may tell them that a treat is going to happen if they do what you want. In other words, you may be teaching your dog to only react when they know a treat is coming. It is best to conceal the treats and only show them when your dog has completed the required behaviour.
  • Practice the task in an environment where there aren’t a lot of distractions. To reinforce a behaviour, it is good to first practice at home, for example by asking your dog to come to you and then rewarding them. Later, when you are at the park and there are a lot of distractions, get them to come, and thanks to all the previous repetition, they will know that you really value that behaviour.
  • Use concise and clear language. When asking your dog to complete an activity, do not use complete sentences, but simple short verbal instructions. Words like “sit”, “stay”, “down”, “heel” or “come”. Be consistent in the words used and the tone.
  • Give the treat immediately once the task has been completed. It is very important to reward your dog immediately, not 10 seconds later! Otherwise, your dog will struggle to associate the good behaviour with the reward.
  • Reward the dog in the exact position you’re rewarding them for. For example, don’t make them sit to receive the reward, or they may think they are being rewarded for sitting rather than the good behaviour. This can be confusing for your pet!
  • Do not reward bad behaviour. If your dog does something bad, never give them a treat or a reward for backtracking on that bad mistake. You will be rewarding bad behaviour. For example, if you dog runs after a cat, only to finally return to you after much cajoling, do not reward your dog.
  • Do not rely entirely on dog treats. Incorporate other positive reinforcements, such as praise or petting into your training routine, not just small, edible treats.
  • Reward completion of unpleasant events. Regularly reward your dog for having unpleasant things done to them, such as washing, grooming, or clipping of toenails. That way, an unpleasant task, becomes a little bit more bearable for everyone concerned!

Trusty knows that dog treats are an important part of your training toolkit. Here are a few recommendations for the perfect doggie training reward:

 

 

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