Treats - Why Treats?

Why use food?

Just as we need encouragement and payment in exchange for doing a job, your puppy also needs a payment for a job well-done. She is not able to think and plan for the future.  She will not learn a new skill just because it may help get a more interesting job in the future. Your dog lives in the moment and will focus where ever it finds a payoff--right now! Your puppy's environment provides lots of payoffs--interesting smells, movements to follow and tastes to try.

Gimme here:  If your dog training instructor tells you not to use treats to train your dog - well, "nuts" I say.  As in, he or she is a nut.  You just ask that stingy so-and-so how many times you can come to dog training class without paying for the class.  If he expects to be paid to do the work of teaching you to train your dog, then your wonderful dog should also be paid for working for you.  Dogs work much cheaper than humans.  I'm just saying.

It is a challenge for humans to be more interesting to their puppies than the environment is.  But humans are clever! We can provide our puppies with great smells, unpredictable movement of toys and extremely tasty treats. We can introduce activities that provide a puppy with puzzles to solve. When you are unpredictably fascinating, your puppy will find it worthwhile to pay attention to you.

Do remember:  If you are also unpredictably punishing, your puppy may not want to be around you, as the uncertainty of unpleasant experiences outweigh the possibility of wonderful experiences.

A puppy or dog who loses interest during a training session is probably finding the payoff to be too little for the amount of effort required. Lower your standards so that your puppy is successful and receives payment more often. As puppy gains confidence through many successful trials, you will be able to slowly raise your standards again.

Which Treats?

When shaping behaviors it is best to be able to have as many trials as possible, with very little time between the trials. Small bits of food can serve as convenient payments during a shaping session. You want your dog to eat the treat quickly so that you can go on with the next shaping trial. You also want the treat to be valued enough by your puppy so that they continue exploring the learning puzzle.

Some guidelines for food treats

Soft, moist treats can be swallowed more quickly than crunchy ones.
Smelly and tasty treats are more valuable.
You can use less of a treat that your puppy really loves.
Use the most valuable treats for the most difficult learning tasks and situations.

Possible treats
Roll-over
String cheese
Cheerios
Refrigerator jerky
Bread
Nuked Hot Dog slices
Liver Brownies
Nuked or boiled beef liver
Nuked or boiled chicken

Beyond Food
Food is not the only thing you can use as payment for a job well-done. Tummy rubs, a game of fetch or tug and other activities can also be used as a payoff. As you get to know your puppy you will become more and more aware of what is motivating to her. As your training relationship develops, knowing what motivates your puppy will be very valuable for you.

Remember – the puppy always decides what is motivating, i.e. they don’t have to like it just because you think they should...