09/27/2026
âWhy do I need to feed so many treats?â
Because weâre still teaching. Food isnât a bribe, itâs communication, and it isnât something I expect you to carry around forever. Itâs a way to clearly tell the dog, âYES. Thatâs exactly what I wanted.â
When a dog doesnât know a behavior, we have to give timely, valuable feedback in order to make that behavior clear and valuable to the dog.
Dog still pulling on a walk? Not coming when called? Not holding a stay? Your reinforcement probably isnât frequent/valuable, or the behavior isnât clear. Reinforcement helps clarify what Iâm asking and what behavior should be offered in the future.
Once the behavior is learned and reliable, we can absolutely start changing how we reinforce it.
Food can become less frequent. We can use praise, toys, play, access to the environment, sniffing, moving forward, or other things the dog finds rewarding. We can vary reinforcement and eventually ask for more before paying. BUT, If the behavior isnât reliable yet, the dog still needs information about what weâre looking for.
Think of it like teaching someone a new skill. If I give you no feedback while youâre learning, then get frustrated when youâre wrong, thatâs not particularly fair.
Dogs arenât being âspoiledâ because weâre reinforcing them. Your dog isnât going to become obese because we use small treats in training (count them as part of their daily caloric intake)!
Be comfortable paying your dog for a job well done, teaching them what works, and gradually building the skills you ultimately want them to perform without needing a treat every time.
