Tips & Treats to train your dog!

A lot of first time dog owners are unsure on how to train their furry friends. What methods do I follow to train my dog? What is positive enforcement and how do I use it to train my dog? Are there any pros and/or cons on using this technique? 

Training your dog is necessary. Whether you’ve got a brand new puppy or an older dog that needs to learn a few new tricks, training your dog can be exciting and overwhelming — especially if you are new to dog training yourself.

The Humane Society of the United States defines this method as follows: 

“Positive reinforcement training uses praise and/or treats to reward your dog for doing something you want him to do. Because the reward makes him more likely to repeat the behavior, positive reinforcement is one of your most powerful tools for shaping or changing your dog’s behavior.” 

Reward your dog with treats

Dogs tend to learn faster and have more fun when they get rewarded for good behavior. Using treats while training dogs is more like bribery than training. Dog treats are a means of making sure your dog is eager when it’s time for a training session. 

Dog treats are your best bet when you want to lure your dogs to get the behavior you want from your dog, and then let your dog know that it performed the behavior correctly. 

Dog treats are also a great way to reward your dog to recognize it has done something right. If you lure your dog into a sit, give it the treat the second its rear end hits the floor. This works for all behaviors: you have to give the treat immediately so your dog associates the action with the reward. 

Keep your dog treats small 

Do not give your dog a handful of treats every time you reward it. Instead, use the smallest treat your dog will work for. Treats should be your ways and means of getting the expected behavior consistently from your dog. 

Is there such thing as too many treats?

Giving a lot of treats, your dog may gain weight, which is not ideal, especially for larger dogs. Obesity causes a number of health problems, so it is important that you adjust your dog’s regular feedings to account for any treats he gets during the day. Keep in mind that your dog’s treats should only make up about 10 percent of its daily diet. 

Busting the Treat Myths 

A common misconception people have about using treats for dog training is that their dogs will only perform for treats. Once your dog has learned a new behavior, you can phase out the treats, only giving it a treat every once in a while. After trying this method, most dog owners find that using treats to train a dog makes training fun and rewarding.