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Treats can be a wonderful tool when training. Some dogs may be willing to do just about anything for your approval and affection, but a lot of other dogs need a little more incentive than that. Enter the treats.
Unfortunately, it's easy for a dog trained with treats to become treat-dependent, meaning that he won't do anything that's expected of him unless a treat is dangled in front of his nose. Essentially, that dog's managed to train you with treats rather than the other way around. So just where do you draw the line and how do you use treats without making your dog dependent upon them?
The key is to use treats only during the learning phase of the training process. This basically means that you should use treats as a reward when your dog is learning what's expected of him. Once he understands what's expected of him, the treats should be replaced with another type of reward for his good behavior, a pat on the head perhaps, or a ‘good dog'. Take the ‘down' command for example. Place a treat in front of your dog's nose. Say the ‘down' command as you slowly lower the treat to the floor, and reward your dog with the treat once he's lying down. Use a treat repeatedly until your dog understands the ‘down' command and the behavior expected of him. Once your dog has put the behavior together with the command, then replace the treat with your other reward.
One mistake that people make when using treats as rewards after this learning phase is always showing the treat to the dog in order to get him to behave as desired. Rather than responding to any command, the dog learns instead to respond to the treat. If you still choose to occasionally use the treat as reward after the learning phase, you can help combat this problem by not letting your dog see the treat until he has shown the expected behavior. The treat then is not the motivation but the reward, a nice little unexpected bonus if you will.
There is one possible exception to this rule and that's the ‘come' command. This is one of the most important commands for a dog to learn, after all this command is not only about your convenience but about your dog's safety and protection as well. Unfortunately, the ‘come' command is one of the most difficult to teach. The key is to get your dog to want to come to you. If you're competing with a host of other temptations, this can be difficult. Combining a treat with your praise, however, is often the best way to increase your appeal in your dog's eyes.
Overall, treats are an excellent way to reinforce your dog's good behavior. Just remember that they are a powerful tool and should be used wisely. Back to Dog Training |
