Use Dog Treats for Training
Dog treats for training. Trust me when I say that Bailey’s preferred method of training is by the use of dog treats! We have successfully used dog treats for training Bailey to do her tricks. I have tried the clicker method and the dog treat method of training and I have found that a dog will try really hard to learn when you have a tasty treat in hand.
How can you use dog treats for training your dog? When you are trying to train a dog to do a new trick, or just to sit or stay, patience and dog treats go a long way toward succeeding and having fun with your dog. What you need to do is to state a clear command and make sure that you always use the same command. For example: to a dog “Sit” and “Sit Down” are two different things, so you should pick one and stick to it. Once your dog makes small effort to do what you want reward them with a small treat or piece of a treat. Repeat this process rewarding your dog with a treat each time he makes progress in doing what you are trying to train him to do.
Dog Treats can also be effective for training your dog to break a bad habits. Recently Bailey started getting into a bad habit of pulling away from me on the leash when I would try to get her closer as a car approached. This was a habit that needed to be broken quickly. To train her to break this habit I had a few options, I could have gotten a training collar which would inflict a bit of pain when she would pull. Instead, I chose to use dog treats for training. I started by rewarding her for coming quickly when I would say “Come” when there were no distractions. After a week or so of this she was coming much more quickly. Then I started using dog treats to reward her when she would come when there were distractions. Now she happily comes quickly when I call her close even when there are distractions and she would have ignored me in the past. Chock one up for using dog treats for training! And as I mentioned, Bailey fully endorses this method!
Here is a great video about how to find out what treat will be the best to train your dog with.