Feeding treats in dog and puppy training

As a positive-reinforcement-style dog and puppy trainer, I use food rewards all the time in my work. However the way in which I deliver those treats varies quite a bit, depending on what I’m working on. I get asked about this a lot by my clients so I thought I’d share with you how I decide where and how to deliver food rewards.

Mouth

This is the most common way to feed a food reward. For example, a dog sits, and then we mark and feed a food reward directly to the dog’s mouth. It’s direct and easy.

Floor

But what if I’m training something in which I need the dog to look away from me so that I can do another repetition of the exercise? For example, if I’m teaching a dog or puppy to respond to his or her name, I want the pup to may eye contact with me. If I reward directly to the pup’s mouth, they may just keep looking at me. If I drop that treat on the floor, the puppy has to look away from me to eat the treat and now I can “reset” or start another repetition more easily, as the dog is finishing their treat.

Toss

Tossing a food reward means the dog has to move to access it. Sometimes I use this method as a reset, when I need the dog to change its physical position, and sometimes I use it to give the dog the opportunity to move as well as reset. For example, if I’m working on teaching Stay, I like to toss the food reward to give the dog the opportunity to get up and move because it’s a challenge for most dogs to hold still and, well, it’s boring. Tossing the reward keeps them engaged. The distance should be short; maybe 2-3 feet from the dog.

Scatter

A scatter isn’t technically a reward; it’s more like a distraction that you create for a particular reason. It involves multiple treats delivered over a small area all at once and the purpose is to keep your pup occupied while something else is going on that you would like them to ignore.

Let’s say you have a dog that likes to lunge at passing bicycles. Although you will certainly work on changing this behaviour at other times, while that’s going on, you still need to walk your dog, so you might use a scatter as a distraction to prevent your dog from practicing this behaviour.

Jackpot

A jackpot is also a multi-treat delivery but it is definitely a reward. A big reward! Let’s say you’re working on teaching your dog a new behaviour that’s particularly challenging. You’ve been training in baby steps and making progress, when your dog finally “gets it”. You might then reward your dog with a whole lot of treats to say, “Excellent, bubba!”

It’s important to have a good idea of how you’re going to deliver food rewards before you start your training session. Think about what your dog needs to do and if they need to look away or move away from you at any point. If you’re going to toss the food reward, make sure you know which way you’re going to toss is and make sure the area is clear, so that the food can’t roll under a piece of furniture, for example.

Have fun and happy training!