6 Top Tips for Using Cobby Crunch as Your Go-To Dog Training Treat

13 . August .2024Katy van suilchem0 Comments

Training plays a huge role in your dog’s development, shaping their behaviour and strengthening the bond between you and your furry friend. Positive reinforcement is key to making lessons stick and dog treats are a simple but effective way to encourage your pup to follow commands and be on their best behaviour.

In this article, we’ll explore some top tips to maximise the effectiveness of using dog training treats and highlight some common pitfalls to avoid. By incorporating these simple strategies into your dog’s training, you can make sessions more productive and fun for both you and your pup.

1. Reward, don’t bribe!

Treats should serve as a positive reinforcement, not as a bargaining tool! Avoid using them as a bribe by keeping them hidden until your dog has successfully completed a task or shown good behaviour.

If the treat is always visible, your dog is likely to start performing tasks only with the expectation of a reward, which isn’t really the goal of training. Concealing the treats and presenting them at the right time ensures they’re seen as an exciting reward for good behaviour rather than some bribe that they’ve come to expect. This approach helps your dog focus and makes training much more effective.

2. Don’t be too slow!

Dogs have a short attention span so don’t wait too long to reward your pup for good behaviour. If you delay, they might forget why they’re getting the treat in the first place! Quick and consistent rewards helps dogs recognise the cause-and-effect relationship between their actions and the reward, reinforcing the desired behaviours.

3. Take the treat directly to your dog.

It's important to take the treat directly to your dog instead of making them get up to get it. For example, if you're rewarding your dog for lying down but make them get up to retrieve the treat, they might get confused and think they're being rewarded for getting up. To ensure they fully understand why they're receiving praise, reward your dog in the position you’re training them for.

4. Don’t reward bad behaviour

It’s easy to fall into the trap of rewarding bad behaviour, especially when you’re panicking. For example, if your dog runs off and you end up chasing them frantically, then they come back on their own, your first instinct might be to shower them with praise and treats out of relief. But doing this can actually encourage the wrong behaviour.

If you reward them simply for coming back, they might think running off is acceptable because they know they’ll get a treat when they return. Instead, save the goodies for when they follow your commands correctly from the get-go, rather than for backtracking on bad behaviour.

5. Don’t overly rely on treats

Dog treats are great, but if you use them too much, your pup might become dependent on them for performing tasks. Try mixing in other forms of positive reinforcement like toys or affection to keep things interesting and ensure your dog is obeying you, rather than the treats. Ideally, your dog should be following commands based on learned behaviour, not just the promise of a tasty dog treat!

6. Choose the right treats!

The final point - and arguably the most important - is that treats should be exciting! Keep your dog motivated by rewarding them with treats that are genuinely tasty and worthy of their hard work. In other words, boring treats won’t cut it! Dogs quickly lose interest, and if you expect obedience in exchange for mediocre snacks, the chances are their training will suffer.

For a treat that hits all the right notes, try our brand-new training treat, Cobby Crunch. These treats are healthy and delicious, making them the perfect choice for training without compromising on nutrition. Grain-free, cold-pressed, and hypoallergenic, Cobby Crunch features a tasty blend of sweet potato, venison, and lamb. Use them in moderation alongside Cobbydog’s complete cold-pressed dog food to help your pup thrive.

Ready to make training more exciting? Check out Cobby Crunch here.