Healthy treats for training

Soft dog treats are also great for training because they are quicker and easier for your dog to eat compared to crunchy treats. Cookies can be a good one-time reward, but waiting for your dog to find all the pieces spilled on the floor during training is training time.
You can easily find soft food for dogs and some easy tips for dog training in Cuttin Blue Farms Blog.
 
Personally I don't think it's a good idea to use treats in training. I think most trainers would agree with that. You don't want your dog expecting a treat every time is does what you ask.
 
I used sheep lung pieces. Buy them most dog friendly stores. Not messy and reasonable priced. Kibble is a great treat.
Use treat as a reward in the beginning then randomly afterwards.
Tone of voice and praise with treat and continue without treats.
 
If I give a treat, I use kibble for puppies. If I buy dog biscuits, I buy the highest fat I can, because I save them for my dog after training or hunting and we have a drive back to my house or hotel. Helps to hold them over until I can feed them dinner and they haven't eaten all day. I just bought some treats made by Three Dog Bakery that have 19% fat. I am experimenting to see if my dogs have stomach issues with them but they are something I might take on multi day hunting trips. In general, I don't like dog treats or rawhide for day to day.
 
I use regular puppy kibble with plates to teach lab puppys heeling, backwards heeling, lining and casting.
Here is an example teaching 2-sided heeling/push-pull lining:
Pup later placed in qualifier field trials. 100 percent owner trained.
FRC.JPG
 
Personally I don't think it's a good idea to use treats in training. I think most trainers would agree with that. You don't want your dog expecting a treat every time is does what you ask.
I don't think most trainers would agree with you, in fact I think most trainers would encourage it. Jackie Mertens has about the best DVD you can buy Sound Beginnings and she highly encourages using treats. Combined with a clicker, treat training is the best way for early obedience.
 
I’ve done treats for early/ young yard work with great results.
Once we start doing field work- treats go away!
I agree with you and Zeb..but after the fun little puppy stuff…training is just that ….training..not negotiating..
After training… biscuits…my lunch..chicken nuggets…whatever
 
With this much snow and ice still in interior Alaska easter Sunday:
Scout_Snowpack_17April2022.jpg
the only training I do is fine lining to food bowls every feeding session with a 5 year old lab.
There is so much that can be maintained: eager obedience, 2-sided heeling, backwards heeling, push/pull lining, etc.
I attribute our success to the 1-minute training sessions especially focusing on push/pull lining.
FRC.JPG
 
if you're feeding dry food and the pup likes it just use that
 
Hatchlings are newly hatched baby birds. They have zero to very few feathers, with their skin almost bare and eyes not outright open. Hatchlings cannot walk or fly yet, and they are fully dependent on their parents.
 
In training, I just rely on extravagant praise and petting. Treats come, mostly undeserved, in the house--again, with extravagant praise.

Heck, every evening, I threaten Tinker with a savage beating if her food bowl isn't empty. Then, as both of us expect, I celebrate loudly about what a magnificent dog she is, and reward with two medium Milk bones.

Foolishness, I know, but it pleases both of us. 😁
 
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No need to buy any treats. Just put a handful of your dog food in your pocket, and give a few kernels of that. Works just fine, and not an add on gut rot that many treats can be. Simple, and they love it just as much. Costs you nothing in addition...
 
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