Treats

To Treat or Not to treat

Well you have successfully chosen your puppy. Now the training phase begins. The question is posed, should treats be utilized for motivation during training? There are varying opinions on this subject. Some trainers say to use the insatiable appetite possessed by a pup or young dog. Others say that using treats is amateurish and unneeded.

What a dog owner needs to look at when deciding whether or not to use treats, is how the treat will be used to motivate their pupil. Using treats can be a great tool for getting their attention and motivating a pup or young dog. There are different methods that can be used, in concert with treats to teach these young pupils how to respond appropriately to certain commands. Once the pup understands and performs the command the motivating morsels can slowly be replaced with a soothing compliment. After the performance is perfected in response to the current command, you can use the well known puppy prize for a head start on future skills.

What matters most when deciding how to proceed with your early training is looking at what motivates your student. If the answer is “treats” then play on your puppy’s love of kibble, milkbones, or hot dog chunks. You can use their love for food to accomplish training goals with greater ease.

If you are still skeptical about the method of using food rewards for training then incorporate it for teaching at least one command. Hopefully after using this style for one facet of your pup’s education you will be able to decide “to treat or not to treat.”