Treat Training Fails the average dog

February 10, 2004--What is it like to train a dog without treats? Difficult I guess, but what is more difficult? Spending money on these little incentives for the next fifteen years. Here is the math: $5 per week for treats, multiplied by 52 weeks equals the small sum of $260 per year. Over the course of the dog’s life a person may spend up to $4160 and you can multiply that by two for the other dog in the family, a whopping $8320 spent just on bribing your dog.

So why all the hype in the use of treat training and why are the majority of trainers and people promoting the use of treats? The answer is simple. It is the easy route and usually produces fast results. We want quick results but forget about long-term benefits. Training a dog with food incentives does not teach them a new behavoir, the results are a sort of false positive and the pattern of a bribe for good behavior sets up the animal for inevitable failure.

Treat training:
- Cruises counter and tables
- Steals food
- Takes food from children, or other 'easy target'
- Jumps up at people
- Promotes food related aggression
- Promotes dog to an alpha status
- Many times owner becomes co dependant on the treat for control
- Encourages negotiations between dog and owner no respect
- Canada has one of the highest obesity rates in dogs around the world
- And you get to spend more money

Training your dog without the use of treats may take more time at the beginning, but you will achieve true positive results. Treat-less training has fifteen years of proven success. You get to build a special bond that last’s a lifetime but this bond is enveloped with respect. Dogs are pack animals. By nature they want to lead and they can be masters of manipulation. Unless yours is paying rent, most dogs live for free. Here's what you should expect from your dog.

No Treats:
- Respect is earned
- Cruising counters are minimal or non existence
- Does not promote dog jumping up on children, or other 'easy target'
- Minimal or non existence in begging behavior
- Minimizes stealing food
- Does not promote food related aggression
- Promotes a healthy weight not encouraging obesity
- Builds a healthy bond of respect
- Appreciates the treat when given as a dessert
- Saves you money

In my 15 years studying and working with dogs, I have found that most owners have been to on average three trainers, yet minimal change is made in the dog's behavior. Upon introducing the dog to treat-less training and educating the animal about its position in the domestic pack, respect is learned and behaviors are changed. When the hierarchy within the house has been established with positive training, the battle for control is over; now the owners can enjoy the companionship of man's best friend.

It is our responsibility to educate our dogs, knowing that we will get a reliable result anytime we need to issue a command. Whether it saves the sandwich sitting on the edge of the counter, or saves the dog walking on the edge of the road.

Creator of the Dog Day Care phenomenon, Brad Pattison has trained dogs in packs and individual, opened the first learning institution to certify trainer/educators to work with dogs with out using any bribing techniques. 250 769 5358 kaisha@direct.ca




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