Train a dog without treats using positive reinforcement

Treats are a great motivator for many pets. Positive training methods are primarily associated with rewarding the dog with treats for correctly performed commands and behavior. However, using food in training is not suitable for all dogs. How to train a dog that does not want or cannot eat treats during training?

Fragrant pieces of sausage, cheese or homemade cookies can be a great motivation for almost any dog. However, you need to take into account the nature of the pets. Among them, there are those who accept treats from the owner’s hands only when they are very hungry. And during training, the dog may silently look at the hand even with the most attractive tasty piece, but not take a crumb. You can’t starve the dog! If the animal has a chronic disease, allergies or obesity, then treats are completely contraindicated.

How to train a dog without food?

A reward for training a dog can be anything that brings it joy and pleasure. Therefore, you can reward your pet without food. Make a list of activities that bring real pleasure to the dog.

Of course, it is worth excluding from this list inappropriate activities: chasing cats or eating garbage and all sorts of, in the owner’s opinion, nasty things. You can find many actions that are quite suitable as a reward for performing a command:

fun errands
toys
tug of war
running after the ball
praise and petting.

How to reward a dog with a toy for good behavior?

Using a toy as a reward is a great way to keep your dog interested and learn commands very quickly. When training, use toys that are not available to your dog in everyday life. Hide such a toy after the end of the lesson, this way you will make it more attractive and always new.

If the dog is very active and loves to run, then you can use a ball as a reward. After the dog correctly executes the command, throw it a ball, give your pet pleasure. If the dog is not yet trained to give the ball, buy several identical balls for encouragement and give one ball for each correctly executed command.

Dogs, especially puppies, love playing tug-of-war. Buy or make a toy like this from an old T-shirt or thick rope. It will not only serve as a great reward, but will also help strengthen the bond with your pet. This reward is more suitable for developing correct behavior in your pet than for teaching commands. For example, you can reward your dog for calm behavior when meeting other pets or for walking correctly next to its owner on a walk by playing with a rope.

However, it is better to use the rope when the dog already knows how to release the toy on command. Of course, you should allow the dog to “win” sometimes, so that it has constant motivation to perform the exercises. This game is best used between commands or at the end of training.

How to reward your dog with a sniff?

Allowing your dog to explore different smells with its nose is also a great motivation for many dogs. You can use a special mat with pockets for this, in which pleasant smell sources for the dog are hidden. For a correctly executed series of commands at the end of a training session, your pet can be rewarded with such a wonderful game,

Well, and on a walk, the opportunity to study the exciting smells on the street is also a great motivation. To develop the correct behavior, for example, when training a dog to a leash, After the correct behavior on a leash, you can release the dog. Say the command “run” or “walk” so that the dog can run and enjoy searching for pleasant smells for him.

How to reward a dog with praise?

Not all dogs respond equally well to verbal praise and petting. In different circumstances, a pet can either respond to affection or not pay any attention to it at all. Everything is individual, because there are pets for whom a kind word, a smile from the owner and affection are the best reward in the world!

Watch your dog, and if it willingly works for praise, then do not skimp on compliments. You are lucky to meet a wonderful friend in life who is ready to do everything just to please his owner.

Therefore, use this method of encouragement wisely. Do not pet the dog, calming it down when it is scared or angry with someone. Otherwise, you will get the opposite effect, the animal will start to behave in a way that you do not want at all.

Pay more attention to your dog, notice what makes it happy, how best to apply this or that type of encouragement in practice. A variety of encouragements is a guarantee that the dog will not be bored, and it will always wait for a pleasant moment and happily perform the required commands.