Making the Most of Treats in Pet Training

Training a pup or dog is essential to make things smoother and better in your daily life. Plus it makes sense to have your dog obey the commands you give it. Petting or praising the dog is an essential part of the training but treats can be used judiciously to make the process more interesting for your pet.

Treats are little incentives that hold your dog’s interest for longer and can give you desired results rather quickly, but you should know where to draw the line so the reward does not become a bribe.

Pet Training

You can use various treats like kibble, dry cereal, cooked bits of meat, pasta, hot dogs, cheese, vegetables and fruits. Soft treats area a good option as you can break off and give smaller pieces of treat each time.

Commands like “Stand” and “Down” can be easily reinforced with the help of treats. All you need to do is place the treat near the dog’s nose and slowly raise it or lower it as you verbally give the command. Always remember to praise and pet your dog even as you give it the treat.

Your touch and praise should be as important as the treat. When the dog has learnt to respond to your command, give the treat intermittently. This will spike the dog’s interest and it will work harder as it does not know when you may reward its efforts with a treat. Whether or not you give the dog a treat remember to pat and praise.

Remember that special treats may be needed to hold your dog’s attention when trying to train it in areas like gardens and other public places. Kibble or cereal may not be enough to tempt the dog when there are other things to distract it.

When trying out the command “Come” it would be better to use treats each time the dog obeys. Keep using till you are sure the dog knows what you want.

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