“Using Treats is Bribery!”

I often hear people say that they don’t want to use dog treats during training as it’s “bribery” and the dog should ”just do what I tell it to”.

Would you work for free?

Many of us work to live, as opposed to live to work. If our boss suddenly announced that they weren’t going to pay us anymore would we still turn-up at the office from 9-5?

I’m pretty sure a lot of us wouldn’t.

I look at dog training in the same way. I want to reward my dog for a job well done, whether that’s sitting nicely or recalling away from that really interesting squirrel.

It’s not just me being all cuddly and fluffy, the science backs me up. The research shows that a dog is more likely to repeat a behaviour that is rewarded than one that isn’t. Not only do they learn quicker but also they retain the learning better.

Another concern people sometimes have is that they are going to have to carry treats around forever more.

Nope!

Once a behaviour is learnt we can (sometimes) substitute the food treat with something else the dog likes, such as attention or playtime.

Imagine if you worked in an office where periodically your hard work was rewarded with £1000 in tax-free cash. Would you be more inclined to work hard?

It’s the same for our four-pawed friend. If we still sometimes reward them with a tasty treat they are more likely to do what we have asked them to. They don’t know which ‘sit’ will be the “one” thats rewarded.

If your dog is prone to gaining weight remember to reduce their meals to accommodate any training treats. In fact why not ditch the bowl completely and use all their food for training?

Clicker training can speed up the learning process even more. Get in touch to arrange 1:2:1 Training session  and learn how.

Cheers
~Kate