sithspawn Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 Hi Just wondering what people have found is the best treat to use for training purposes. I have been using natures gift liver flavoured treats for my puppy but they seem to give him an upset stomach. I stopped using them and have instead been using bits of his food at meal times to entice him to do commands. This works, but of course can only be done at meal times. ANy suggestions on good treats? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdayz Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 i use sausage, fankfurter and cheese mainly. Cut up small though. Have just been told on a another forum of pumpkin ravioli cut up - good for delicate stomachs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FHRP Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 (edited) cabanossi and cheap sandwhich meat are my dogs preferred treats :rolleyes: Edited February 21, 2005 by FHR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 I tend to use sausage, cheese, cabana and roast chicken but the key is to change your treats around.... dogs get bored with the same thing. I'd put roast chicken as my dog's favourite though. :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 I use cheese and cocktail frankfurts. I prefer to use cheese because the smell of cocktail frankfurts eventually makes me want to :rolleyes: , especially in warmer weather but I will change around if they are getting bored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caffiend42 Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 liver treats but lately ice cubes seem to be doing the trick. What the... :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgm Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 you know I am really not trying to start arguments, but I do find myself genuinely curious as to the different ways in which people think about dog training. For instance I find the idea of dogs becoming bored with certain treats to be very curious. Of course, it is true that my dog, I assume like most dogs, becomes bored during certain stages of training. My response however, is always to increase the difficulty - adding stronger distractions and so forth. This I find works unfailingly in terms of increasing his attitude and motivation. But I simply do not understand the idea of motivating your dog by changing to more rewarding food 'rewards'. What is this teaching the dog? - other than to work according to the reward on offer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonElite Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 I use liver (buy it raw from the butcher than nuke for 10 mion and cut to small cubes once cool) My dog loves it and only gets it as treats. A this is what he likes most there is no need to change. Liver is not available for general feeding - ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 Actually I find that stronger distractions make it more difficult if your dog is getting bored with the treats . . . the higher a distraction, the better the treat needs to be until the dog learns to ignore the distraction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgm Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 Lia: the higher a distraction, the better the treat needs to be until the dog learns to ignore the distraction. pgm: I have no doubt that is true Lia. But that is what I am questioning - the dog is being taught to work according to the reward. I don't btw, use treats, so I don't have this problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vehs Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 pgm - I can see what you are saying, I would get annoyed when instructors would tell me that I needed to have better treats and even their 'best' treats wouldn't work. If a dog isn't food motivated then that's that. I started to have problems with Dieter when I stopped bringing tidbits on our walks.. he would only work if he knew the food was there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgm Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 Vehs: If a dog isn't food motivated then that's that. I started to have problems with Dieter when I stopped bringing tidbits on our walks.. he would only work if he knew the food was there. pgm: I am inclined to say that your dog is very food motivated. He seems to have learnt exactly what you have taught him - do what I say and I will give you this. If you haven't got any of 'this', he (in my opinion) is quite entitled to decline the offer to work. Others might say that you failed to teach correctly - I can't comment on that. Though I am sympathetic to your plight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystiqview Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 Kabana here... KR Castlemane brand.. cheapest around supermarkets here compared to Hans or the ones in the deli. Use the occasional cheese... but cheese I use sparingly... suppose it comes back to the old days where they said not to give cheese to the dogs cause of lactose.. dunno.. In an emergency, I have dried liver permanently in the car... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sithspawn Posted February 21, 2005 Author Share Posted February 21, 2005 cool thanks for the replies everybody. I will probably head down to the supermarket tomorrow and pick out some cheap sandwich meat or something like that to start using. He is DEFINATELY a food motivated dog. He goes CRAZY if he thinks i have food and seems willingto do anything for it...i somtimes think that he might be a little too motivated by food actually... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna H Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 Mine don't get too many treats in training anymore, but when given... VIP Chicken Chunkers (broken into tiny bits) sends em nuts But the ultimate... is Iams dry catfood... perfect size for training too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vehs Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 pgm: yup Dieter is heavily food motivated, I should have structured that better as I meant other dogs. When it's available I can motivated D with a toy or a game... but it's when we are out and about that I want him to perform and he is at best slow about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snobbybobby Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 But I simply do not understand the idea of motivating your dog by changing to more rewarding food 'rewards'. What is this teaching the dog? - other than to work according to the reward on offer? Using food rewards, imho, is only just one part of a reward system for a "job well done". Personally, I find my dogs work for a baked liver/egg/flour/garlic mixture. They go "ape" and so do the shelter dogs where I volunteer. Even the most stressed will take these treats. I also know what goes into them - no preservatives except freezing! As humans we fight for better pay & conditions through unions. Dogs just shut down or go off on their own :fetch: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tess32 Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 Most people use food treats incorrectly anyway. If you shove it in your dog's nose and then tell him the command, he is being bribed. If various rewards are presented *after* the command, with no food in sight, that's a different story, especially when interchanged with toys or other reinforcers. Nat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidoney Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 If the dog has learned that "food in sight/smell" means possiblity of reward, and none means no possibility, then it won't do anything if it knows there is no reward. Probably the easiest answer is to get the rewards off your person - stash them around your training environment. Then use some kind of bridge and go to the reward. Make rewarding unpredictable. When the behaviour is learned, about 1 in 7 ratio gives high effort. Also vary rewards - not just one type of thing. You have already mentioned food. Praise and petting can also be rewarding to the dog. Getting in the car, going through the door, sniffing interesting smells - all can be controlled and used by you to reward the dog. Eg. training my puppy in the park. Comes to me when called - food reward (fast, easy, high value). Cued to sit and give eye contact - the reward is the release to go run around again. I am controlling her access to the things she wants to do. She is responding to my cue in order to get what she wants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 My guys go nuts over cabanossi and tuckertime cut up into small bits. The drops they did last night were awesome. Amazing what food can do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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