Treats for Training

[Merla Pearl]

Hi, I brought Barney home a week ago. He is now 10 weeks oold and doing very well with his crate training. He doesn't done anything in his crate for four days appicon but needs to go out every couple of hours. I get up once in the night too. He really is doing well. However, I am trying to train him to do other things such as wait before he comes out of his crate and look at me when I give him his meals. My question is from what age can we start giving treats as rewards for good behaviour and what treats do you recommend for young puppies? Thank you.

[imogene]

I don't see why you cant start using treats right away. I did with both of mine. I made sure they were healthy protein based treats - there are lots available now, but when we started I was using small bits of boiled chicken or kibble for training treats. I have seen freeze dried chicken at our pet store - that looks perfect for training. Remember to keep the training rewards small - no bigger than a piece of kibble, and if your worried about the extra calories you can always reduce his meals by a bit to account for the extra calories the treat will add to his diet. Frenchies typically are food motivated so if your training is going well without treat you probably find the using food based rewards an effective way to get your dogs attention with new commands.:)

[Dexy_Doo]

We did the same thing with Dexter, we started his positive reinforcement training right away. I bought a clicker and did the click treat method. I give a command, wait for him to do it, click, give a treat and love. It works real well and you have to be consistent. Good job on the crate training:) Dexter wasn't the fastest at learning not to make a mess where he sleeps.

Good Luck

[Merla Pearl]

Thanks so much for the suggestions. I just wasn't sure about adding anything to his diet at such a young age. I will try chicken from tomorrow. I also wondered about peas. Anyway, I desperately need to get some more eye contact happening with him so hoping the treats work. Thank you.

[mdenglund]

Our girls LOVE little pieces of broccoli, so I would think that peas would be okay. They are just the right size, and frozen ones would be a nice cold treat when it's hot outside. We also give our girls frozen blueberries, yummy:p Just no grapes or raisins, onions aren't good either, but I'm sure you weren't going to use onions for training:lol: I hope the training is going well. Frenchies are the best. Keep us posted.

P.S. Our girls can get a little gas after broccoli, so use with caution, but it's their fav so we give it to them in little bits.

[psshiss]

Congrats on your new addition.appicon

I'd definitely use food treats for your training. We got our little guy at 12 weeks old and started puppy school the next week. We used treats to train sit, down, etc. At first he was very treat motivated and I was worried about him becoming treat dependent. But, after working with him over the next few weeks, he got so he didn't need the food rewards. He's in Good Dog Obedience school right now and while it's nice to have treats for new commands, if I happen to forget them, he still does just fine.

Our trainer was big on 'focus' and taught us to use their name, and as soon as they would look at us they got a treat. It really did teach Baxter to respond pretty promptly. He's almost nine months old now, and I still practice this.

Good luck!

Patty and Baxter

[lovemyfrenchy]

Treats are a positive way to reinforce postive or taught behaviors. Bullies can be slightly
hard headed.:lol: And are also very food motivated.. Fresh veggies such as carrots are a good treat. or just the oldfashioned holistic biscuit. As they learn your commands start to give the treats less frequently. And give them love instead. Only because if you don't they will start to think everytime you ask them to sit or other commands they should get a treat and they will expect that! Yes, definitley congrats on your new family member! appicon

[Mackies mom]

I just thought this was a good place to share that (keep your fingers crossed)..... Mackie is finally pottytrained!!! She's nearly a year and a half and we haven't had any accidents lately, Yeahhhhh Mackie!! WOOHOOOO! We're so proud, consistentcy(and goodies) do pay off! Have patience!!