Which dog treats should I use for training?
Which dog treats do you use during training?
Did you know that the dog treats you use during training could be the difference between an enthusiastic student and one who isn’t?
Picture the scene:
The house is a mess, there are muddy footprints all over your nice clean floor and you know you have to mop it, again!.
Would you be more willing to get the job done if there was a nice bottle of wine as a reward than if a bag of kale was on offer?
If you are anything like me the floor would be mopped in no time and I would currently be relaxing with my nice bottle of Malbec.
Our dogs also have things they prefer to work for, so choose their reward wisely. Even better, ‘ask’ your dog.
There is no one reward that works for all dogs.
Some prefer food while others a game of tug. The best way to find out is to work with the dog in front of you. Offer them a choice and see which one they are the most enthusiatic about.
I often hear clients say that their dogs wont respond to known cue, or, if they do its super slowly. While they may not be offering them kale as a reward, they are often offering something the dog finds abit boring. They are amused that I can get a super speedy sit with a piece of cheese or hotdog.
“High value” rewards.
You will hear these referred to as ‘high value’ rewards. Its a treat (or activity) that our dogs will do just about anything for. In this house its dried liver.
The trick is then to keep these treats for times when you are teaching something new or if you really want their attention. Let them know whats on offer and see how quickly they respond.
Cutting the cost:
When you do alot of training shop bought treats can work out quite expensive. Why not have a play around and see what else your dog will work for?
A few ideas:
- Home made liver cake – simple and cheap (it smells abit when you are cooking it but it’s worth it). Click here for a recipe. You can substitute the liver for tuna or chicken.
- Cheese – I buy the cheapest cheddar I can find and cut it up into really small pieces
- Hot dogs or those little cocktail sausage
- Dehydrated meats such as liver. I pick up meat in the reduced aisle at the supermarket, chop it up and dehydrate it. You can pick up a dehydrator really quite cheaply nowadays a there is no limit to the things you can dry out. There are even facebook groups dedicated to it.
Remember to reduce your dogs regular food if you are using dog treats for training.
You can also mix their regular kibble in with the tasty stuff so it takes on some of the flavour.
Get in touch if you want some training advice or to share a bottle of wine!
Happy training!
Kate
