Obviously, the training treat must be something the dog loves. You may have purchased a 10 lb top quality prime rib roast for your dog, but if he doesn’t like it or want it, then it’s not a good training treat.
Have a variety of training treats on hand. Whether you go to classes, or are going for a walk, or a hike, or a visit to the pet store or to visit friends, having a variety of treats on hand will keep your dog interested. If your dog is thinking “what do I get next, what do I get next” as opposed to “yea yea another piece of steak” he will be more attentive during training.
Food treats should be cut up or broken up into small pea sized pieces. You want your dog thinking about earning his next piece rather than taking 20 seconds to eat the one he just got and not remembering why he got it.
Packaged treats or home cooked treats? BOTH!! Definately both!!
Packaged treats provide convenience and shelf life and variety in flavor and texture. Watch the labels! Just like we can eat a few potatoe chips now and then but shouldn’t make a meal out of them (at least not often) your dog should not be eating 2 cups of junk food on a daily basis. Single ingredient training treats are the best. Many of the top shelf training treats sport labels that show just “beef”, or just “chicken” etc. These treats are optimum as far as healthy treats go. Some treats include other healthy ingredients as well. Learn to read labels and learn what ingredients to run away from.
Click Here to read our handout on nutrition and labels
Home cooked training treats are always a good choice. Left over meats make nice training treats. Cut them up into small pieces and either put them in a dehydrator or even in the oven on very low setting to dry out a lot of the moisture.
Some other considerations when selecting a training treat for your dog is shape and texture. Why is shape important? You don’t want your treats to bounce and roll around. Treat placement during training is important and sometimes downright crucial. During loose leash walking for example, if you are dropping the treats on the floor next to your left foot or a little behind you, and the treats are bouncing and rolling all over the place then the dog isn’t maintaining a nice position or getting his paycheck in that nice position, rather he is getting excited by the rolling and bouncing treats and not learning what you are trying to teach. (In that example, the dog is actually learning to ignore you and chase treats!) Texture is important too, for you mostly. Wet or greasy treats can be slippery and cause the dropsies which means the dog is getting freebies.
What are you training? What you are working on can also be a factor in what treat to use. Fast work such as Name Game, 4 on the Floor, initial sit training, etc when you want the dog to get paid and get back to work just as quickly requires a treat that the dog can eat in a fraction of a second and keep on thinking about how to earn another. Treats that take longer to eat, such as a dehydrated crunchy chicken breast for example, can be used for getting duration in a stay in the early stages of down-stay training. Or, treats that take longer to chew can be used to keep your dog busy while listening to a lesson so that he is not pestering you, especially important for young dogs in training or newly adopted dogs who are new to training.
So give some thought to what you are teaching, what your dog loves, taste, texture, size and variety and the importance of treat placement when you are selecting your training treat for the session.
Tug toys, balls, squeaks etc can all be used as a training treat. Some dogs are more toy motivated than they are food motivated.
Disadvantages of using toys for training is that they are difficult to hide. Treats can be put in a bait bag or pockets and be out of site but most toys are difficult to hide. While food is easier to work with, toys make a great training treat in many situations to teach impulse control, patience, etc.
If you are going to use toys as a training treat, it’s important that the dog never get his toys for free.
So give some thought to what you are going to use for training, and remember that every time you interact with your dog you have rewarded the behavior being exhibited in that moment.
