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Tricks or Treats: Why are Treats Used in Training?
There are few words I find myself saying more than “sit”, but one of them is most likely “treats”. Treats are a very important part of training, but why exactly is that? The first step to answering that question is to understand what part a treat plays in the learning process. A treat is actually what we call a “reinforcer” or “reward”. In training, we use this to increase the likelihood of a behavior being offered again. In all reality, anything can be a reinforcer as long as your dog likes it enough.
The main reason that treats are used as the main reinforcer in training, is that most dogs are food motivated. What exactly does that mean? Well, it means that your dog enjoys food enough to consider it valuable and offer to trade behaviors for food. Food is obviously an essential component of living, so it is safe to assume that most dogs are food motivated. While we cannot account for all dogs being food motivated, it is more likely for them to motivated by food than by toys or other motivators since there are few if any other motivators that are a necessity to live.
Additionally, using treats makes it easier to form and proof behaviors. Trainers often use a technique called “luring”; this technique consists of using a treat to lead the dog into a position. By using this method dogs learn very quickly, generally in a few repetitions. It also enables you to easily alter and improve that behavior once it has been taught. You can increase the criteria of the behavior before a reward is given until you reach the desired execution of the command. This opens up a lot of options when it comes to teaching fun tricks, and even useful behaviors like how to close doors.
Another reason treats are used is because it is very easy to remove the need for the treat once the behavior is learned by the dog. This is often called “fading the lure”. This can also often result in teaching your dog hand signals for commands in addition to verbal signals. This can be a vital tool when it comes to training and communication between dog and owner. Once the need for the treat has been eliminated, you and your well-behaved dog can spend time trading behaviors for real-life rewards. A common example of this is allowing your dog to sniff a mailbox (reward) as long as they offer a loose leash walk (desired behavior).
If you find the details of this process confusing, don’t worry. There are plenty of resources available online to help with dog training. You could spend hours going through endless amounts of articles, videos, and podcasts online, or you could employ the assistance of a certified and insured Dog Trainer. This will ensure that you get a trainer who has knowledge in the most up to date, science-proven dog training methods to assist you in your training journey with your companion.
