Dog Training with Food or Treats

By Josiah Neuman CMT
Neuman K-9 Academy, Inc.

When I began the Academy, I was against food or treat training. As a trainer, I feel it’s important to take a dynamic approach when communicating with a dog. I develop a training plan, that not only gets us from point A to B, but builds the bond between dog and handler. There is no question in my mind, that training with food works. It is safe, forgiving of judgment and timing errors, and helps the novice handler.

The three most widespread arguments against employing food, as a motivator in training are:

1. The dog will only work when treats are present.
2. Distraction proofing with treats is ineffective.
3. It cheapens the bond between dog and handler.

The first argument maintains that food trained dogs, always need to see food up front, and this can be caused because of poorly executed food training. Our training program takes the dog through four phases of training. The dog learns to perform with no treats or food, regardless of the circumstances.

The second reservation to food training is that it will be ineffective, if the dog is distracted with a competing motivator; something the dog wants more than the food/treat. I believe that food is a valuable tool, in teaching the dog various commands. Food alone will not establish control. I enforce commands in a later phase of training, and this is necessary to proof and generalize a dog's behavior. Therefore, we are able to train and establish control at all times, regardless of the distraction.

The last, and more popular argument people have, in regards to food training, is the feeling that the dog “should” perform without it. Once food is used to train the dog, it is believed that the dog has been corrupted, and the bond between person and dog has been dirtied. I feel the opposite; the dog has to eat anyway. No one will ever convince the dog that food is a bad thing, or that he/she shouldn’t like it. The choices are to either give it for free, or use it as a tool to teach the dog, which we feel is constructive training.

Neuman K-9 Academy Training with Food Article

Simply put, we teach the dog that they have full access to food and treats. We are not in competition for the food or attention. The dog learns that they control their access to the food. Many handlers find that they become more powerful, than if they had used heavy handed correction, or coercive handling

If you would like more information about the types of training offered by Neuman K-9 Academy click here!