Dogs love treats. They can be a great motivator for training, or rewarding your dog for paying attention.
A well-trained and attentive dog makes life so much easier for you and for them. Treats are an essential part of helping you get and keep their attention.
But which treats to use? How to ensure that your favourite canine learns obedience without putting on weight and breaking your wallet?
For very early training, we have found biggest motivators to be cheese or chicken - but you will want to use these sparingly for obvious reasons.
For day to day training our go to treat is Barker and Barker grain-free treats. They come in pots with five-hundred treats per pot. Each treat is low-calorie, so it won't affect your dogs appetite or encourage weight-gain, and they are made without artificial ingredients. This means that you can use them frequently without worry. If you want to reward your dog for not pulling on a walk, or sitting nicely at the road-side waiting to cross they are excellent.
Sometimes, you will need something a little more interesting. If your dog is distracted or excited, the lure of a small treat may not be enough. For this you may want to opt for something higher value. A piece of real meat jerky will often be the right choice here - accompanied by an excited "What this?" cry.
The other type of treat that we have found very useful is a long chew. Something which will keep your dog occupied for a longer time, and because they can't just wolf it down.
Our puppy loves lambs-tails, and will spend quite a long time dismantling them, which is perfect when we need her to settle.
What about you? Are there any other types of treats you have found useful for specific circumstances? Pop you suggestions in the comments