Best Dog Training Treats: My Favorite Treats to Use as a Dog Trainer
Using treats or food rewards in training is essential to make quick progress in your training. After all, you like receiving a paycheck for your work, shouldn’t your dog also get his payment?
As a trainer I’ve worked with hundreds of dogs over the years, and all have different preferences for treats. I can’t tell you the amount of times people have told me their dogs aren’t treat or food motivated only for the dog to immediately take treats from me! Experimenting to find out what your dog finds most rewarding is key, but I’ve done some of the research for you and below are some of the treats I find most dogs love!
Hill’s Science Diet Mini Jerky Treats
These little jerky treats can be broken or cut up into smaller pieces. They can be a little crumbly but since they are a bit softer they aren’t nearly as bad as a lot of crunchy treats. They come in both beef and chicken flavors and most dogs I’ve worked with really, really like them.
Okay, well while this is technically dog food, it makes for a great treat! My own dog LOVES this and it serves as a great high value treat, but minimal mess compared to other meats like deli turkey which can be slimey. Because it is a complete and balanced food I also don’t have to worry about him getting too many of them and instead I can just decrease his supper a little bit without worrying he isn’t getting all the nutrients.
A staple for a lot of dog trainers, these small, chewy treats are low calorie and come in a variety of flavors. I’ve never had a dog refuse them and most pet parents can easily find them at pet stores.
Kibble or Canned Food!
You read that right! Using your dog’s own food as a treat is a great way to reward them. While some dogs do need something a bit higher value, many dogs really enjoy working for their daily food. This is also great if you have a dog with a medical condition that requires them to stay on a specific food or if your trying to reduce calories to help your dog lose weight. You can play around with it by maybe soaking the kibble in hot water to make it soft and putting in a squeeze tube to give as a treat that way, or even baking some of the canned food to make a crunchy treat (here’s a recipe). If your dog doesn’t have any sensitivies you can simply buy a small bag of another flavor of the same brand of food you already feed or a completely new brand with a new flavor. My dog loves any kind of fish based/flavored kibble so if I see a good deal on a small bag, I will get it and use it as treats.
“Human” Food
I like using “human” food, meaning real meat, cheese, or fruit, if the dog likes it. Most of the time I use this if I want to make a big impact on the dog like for rewarding coming when called, or for a dog that has big feelings about other dogs, strangers, etc. Using a higher value treat such as these can help dogs who may be under a bit more stress. Let’s say you are unsure or worried about something in the environment, if someone gave you a $1 that might be somewhat rewarding, but if someone gave you $100, that would get your attention! The same thing applies to dogs, it often really helps to up the value of the reward.
Need more ideas? Check out my Amazon List of recommended dog treats! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
