Treat Training Dogs ? Good or Bad....
It’s a debate that will never be resolved, whether or not to treat train your dog, so let’s look at the 3 ways in which you can treat train your dog, and the pros and cons that go with those methods.
Luring
First off, and seemingly the most popular is ‘Luring’ the act of showing your puppy / dog the food and using it to move or entice them to do something, like sit, with the food being placed almost on the nose of the dog and ‘luring’ the dog into position, with the dog ultimately being given the food for complying. You are not actually training them, you are teaching them to follow the lure / food, and at some stage they will be given it.
Bribery
The art of showing the dog the treat, then giving the dog a command and the dog obey. Then again if you dangled a £50 note in front of my nose I would do almost anything (yes almost !) to get it.
With the above options, you are offering the reward before the dog does what you want it to do. So you are increasing the chance of them only complying when the food is in view!
Reward
The most effective way of using food is after the event, with it kept out of site before you command the dog. The dog is focused more on the handler and trying to offer up the correct behaviour to prize that treat from the handler.
In practice…..
Teaching a sit with a lure / bribe
You would take hold of the treat and place it in front of the dog’s nose, while you try and push their backside down, or drawing the treat upwards from the nose raising the body and the backside hitting the floor. You then give the treat, dog is therefore focused more on the treat and getting it than actually obeying the command.
Now, with the treat as a reward, it’s out of site, whilst you command the dog, then put the dog into the sit and then reward it. You are teaching them that Sit = Sit = ‘Good Sit’ = Reward (food) Carrying out a behaviour first, to trigger the reward.
