Session 112: Avoid Making Your Dog Too Crazy with Food Treats

I don’t typically use food as my standard training method (which you’ve probably learned if you’ve listened to my podcast for a while). There are instances where it is helpful, and there are very different methods depending upon your dogs age, personality, and upbringing, etc. I’ll talk about instances where I use food for training and areas for you to consider as well.

I will answer a specific question from an email I received from Mitch, regarding specific mistakes of using food all the time.

Assess whether it’s actually an issue. I’ll show you some things to look for.

If you determine that it is a problem, experiment with some different techniques. I’ll give a few things to try that I’ve used when training other trainers, including posture, demeanor, and more.

I talk about “marker” training as an option, and will discuss downplaying treats as a reward as part of this.

I will also talk about redirection, and the comparison and contrast of training methods to use depending on the type of challenge you face.

Enjoy, and hopefully this helps!

I detail some of the behavioral patterns I talk about in this episode using techniques related to Skinner’s Four Quadrants.

You can find those by clicking the link for episodes 73 (part 1) and 74 (part 2).

Leave me a voice mail and hear yourself on a future show! Call (844) 364-7929.

If we use your voicemail in the show, we’ll send you a free video training series! OR if you don’t like free stuff … Email your questions to me: sean@thedogsway.com.

All the Best,