What's your favorite training treat?

OliviaB said:

Gunner is very laid back and isn't extremely food motivated. When doing a training session, I'm having trouble finding a good treat that keeps his attention. The treats I have now he doesn't get really excited about. What's your dog's favorite treat? What have you found that keeps their attention and keeps them excited about training? The brand and type would be helpful so i can order offline if needed....

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Sometimes it's also about building the excitement for training and training at the right time. Do you have him work for any of his meals?

I pick 'foodies' so mine work for kibble. They'd work of pieces of cardboard to boot but if I had a non-eater I'd try some regular string cheese, chicken and if that all failed, I'd make tuna brownies. However, I'd also mix in regular kibble with all those so he doesn't get stuck just working for high value treats. Make training fun, make it seem like a game, stop when they want more.

Living with Dogs - Canine Coaching



This is kibble. See how at the end, he still wants to PLAY the game. I might do 5 sessions of this with some play in between. Then take a break for an hour, 2 hours, do something similar later. Engage the dog in the training.

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Is he motivated by toys or play? You don't HAVE to use food at all.

That said,
Hot Dogs
Bits of Cheese
Deli ham (I use this to wrap any medications)

Are deemed pretty irresistable around here.

(Also, the pet store near me used to carry samples of Natural Balance dog food rolls - I'd cut them up and use them in lieu of hot dogs. She loved them and they were a little less greasy on my hands. Haven't done that in a while, though.)

Also, if you work him before supper rather than after he'll be more likely to be interested in the treats. (Of course, remember to cut back the amount you feed if he's going through a lot of training treats. )

When I fed Delta kibble I would sometimes make her work for her entire supper. Hey, if it requires working for, it's inherently got to be better, right?

While training around home and doing fun stuff with Lottie (like shaping which she LOOOVES and would probably do for nothing!) I just use kibble, but when we are teaching a new behaviour or doing something harder like something agility related I up the reward a little and use little bits of cheese... for any work off the property we use something meaty... either little bits from a big roll of dog food or cut up sausage, she goes nuts for any kind of sausage!

But as said above, you don't HAVE to use food, if your dog is motivated by toys, rough play, getting to run around, ripping up tissues... use anything your dog enjoys- a reward is a reward because your dog finds it rewarding, not because you think it should be rewarding.

Make sure your dog is hungry when you start a training session too!

Definitely, you don't always need to use treats! A short round of tug, or fetch, can be a great reward!

I use all kinds of things for treats.

Hot dog
turkey meatballs
cheese (string cheese or cheddar)
cooked chicken
roast pork
ham
Canine Caviar dog food (I won a bag online; the individual kibbles are a perfect training treat size!)
Cheez-its
Cheerios

Basically, when I'm getting treats ready prior to going on our walk, I look in the fridge and see what we have for leftovers! :lol2: