Using Treats to Train Your Dog

The best way you can train your dog or puppy is through positive reinforcement.  Not only is this an effective training method, it also allows you to form a special bond with your pup.  Training is about developing good manners, obeying commands, and teaching your dog to be a good canine citizen.  It is also a way for you and your dog to learn about each other and build a relationship based on love and trust.  A dog can be an irreplaceable companion and quickly become a true family member.  This is why training is so critical in that you teach your dog who is the “alpha” while the two of you develop mutual respect for each other.  And one of the easiest ways to train your puppy or dog is with a variety of treats.

If you are training your dog, or at least attempting to, and run into a few difficulties, it might be time to seek assistance from a professional dog trainer in Woodlands TX.  If you live in or near Woodlands, TX, you have the good fortune of being close to Puptown Houston.  All of Puptown’s trainers are dog owners, so they can relate to the challenges their students (and humans) are going through.  Puptown offers a unique training method in which dogs and puppies are exposed to a variety of real-world situations by multiple walks and being introduced to an array of different people, places, potential distractions, and even other animals.  This is only done with an owner’s permission plus private classes, doggy day camp, and even sleepovers are additional training methods available.

Positive Reinforcement Training

The Woodlands dog training specialists at Puptown base all of their training on positive reinforcement.  Yet this method requires ideal timing as a dog’s brain connects cause and effect very quickly.  Any behavior a dog exhibits must have a consequence within 1.3 seconds in order for a dog to associate these things with each other.  A pup needs help in “connecting the dots” of behaviors you are praising or reprimanding.   One of the easiest and most effective methods of positive reinforcement training is using a very simple and commonplace item:  treats.

A hungry dog is a motivated dog, and if you can find a treat your pup must have, this could be the secret to successful training.  As dog’s do love food, it is important to keep them motivated by food and treats.  Do not leave food in your dog’s bowl all day as this is a key way to devalue food.  It can also put your dog, especially a puppy, on an inconsistent potty schedule and make some aspects of training even more difficult.  Feed your pup separate meals and pick up any uneaten food after about 15 minutes.  Even with an “uber treat” dogs can be distracted so initially work with them in non-distracting situations.  Finally, make sure that you have a variety of treats for training, ranging from like, love, to your dog willing to perform acrobatics to have.  The higher the “stink level” the better, so get ready to purchase different levels of meaty, cheesy, and even fishy for treat training.

Teaching manners to your dog

To teach your dog manners, behaviors, and common commands, put there treat where you want your pup to be.  Some great examples are teaching them to sit, lie down, or walk well on a leash.  The bits of treat need to be tiny, this way you can work with your dog longer and instead of getting full, Fido is going to want you to keep the goodies coming!  It is also important to have a variety of treats not just for the “stink level”, but to make sure your dog won’t get bored with the treats thus lose motivation. Another tip in successful positive reinforcement is to keep things short.  A dog will not understand a long command but they can pick up on short and uncomplicated commands.

Not surprisingly, the most commonly used commands are watch me, sit, stay, down (lie down), off (a person, object, or another animal), come, heel (walk closely), and leave it.  If your dog has a chewing fetish, solve this by slipping a treat or “doggy paste” into a Kong-like toy to spare your shoes and provide yet another opportunity for positive reinforcement.  To have a well-trained pup, it just takes patience, communication, and consistency to create a friendship that will last forever.