Problems Associated With Food Training Methods

There are many techniques that can be applied to training a dog. Very often, you will find a person who treats his or her dog as a part of the family. It therefore becomes important to make sure that a dog is well trained to be obedient as well as disciplined to make sure one can live with the dog. Untrained dogs do not make great pets. However, different dogs require different training. This means the training you give to your dog will be determined by the tasks you want your dog to perform.

Dogs love food. Some people take advantage of this characteristic and use food to train their dog. Treat training is where the owner gives the dog a treat whenever he or she wants the dog to do something or after it has done what it was asked to do. Despite the amazing results from this technique, there are problems that arise.

One of the biggest problems with this type of training is when your dog gets used to getting food before they perform what they are asked to, he or she will never do so without the food. This is not what we want as a trainer or a dog owner. Rewarding a dog before or after performing a certain task makes the dog lazy. What you should ask yourself is, what will happen if you don't have the food around? The answer is very simple; the dog will not do as you ask him or her.

Another thing to consider when using food or treats is calories and weight. Giving too many treats just might give you and over weight dog unless you compensate by giving your dog more exercise.

Many trainers refuse to train using food or treats and prefer to use motivational methods that include both physical and verbal praise. They find that physical and verbal praise is something you always have with you and you don't have to carry treats around in your pocket.

This type of training requires the dog to do the exercises that it has been taught out of mutual trust and respect rather than being bribed with food.

Does this mean that treat training is all bad? Not at all and for some dogs it just may be the method that works best. I always say that every teacher needs to know more than one way to teach a child in the classroom. The same is true for a dog trainer. As a dog trainer you should know multiple ways to accomplish the task and use the one that works best for your student.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Problems-Associated-With-Food-Training-Methods&id=9129936