If your dog won’t take treats during training or behavior modification how can you progress in your training or behavior modification program? This is a good question, but there are fortunately several solutions. If your dog is not taking treats during training, you will have to closely evaluate why this is happening in the first place and take the necessary steps to remedy this situation. Once you tackle the underlying causes, you are more likely to have success and your dog will likely start relaxing more and more.
Why My Dog Won’t Take Treats During Training?
This is very good question. There may be various possibilities and you will need some troubleshooting to get to bottom of the issue.
Obviously, you will need to rule our whether your dog is sick, which can you easily deduce if your dog normally takes treats during training, and now, out of the blue, he’s no longer interested. On top of that, evaluate whether the treats are stale, expired or subjected to some recall.
Is your dog’s tummy already full? Just like you, your dog may not be interested in eating if you train him right after a meal. Some dogs (especially, the most finicky ones) do best being trained at times away from meals or an empty stomach, while others, (think Labs), can care less as their tummies seem to lack a bottom.
And then, you will have to consider the environment. Is your dog very social or play oriented? Chances are, he values other people or dogs much more than food. This can be easily remedied with some of the tips offered below.
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Is your dog stressed? When dogs are stressed, they may enter a a fight or flight response, during which a variety of physiological changes take place. Among these physiological changes are increased heart rate, increased respiratory rate, increased blood flow to muscles (so the dog can sprint into action) increased blood sugar for a burst of energy, inability to focus, lack of impulse control and lower threshold for aggression and biting.
Among these changes is also an acute suppression of appetite because the blood flows from the skin and the intestines to the muscle for quick action. Just as a frightened giraffe in the savanna won’t eat when they sense a predator, your dog has more important things to do than eat a meal. This is the most common reason your dog won’t take treats during training if your dog is naturally prone to feeling anxious about certain stimuli or situations.
Dog Wont’ Take Treats During Training, What to Do?
If your dog won’t take treats during training your have to options. One approach involves making the treats more appealing to your dog, the other focuses on making the environment less threatening. Often, a combination of both approaches is what works best.
To make the treats more appealing, make sure that you are using high value treats. Ask the clerks at pet stores that hold training classes (Petco, Petsmart) and they can direct you to some high-value treats like freeze dried liver–which Ian Dunbar calls the “Ferrari of dogs treats or other types of treats that are particularly appealing to dogs.
Some trainers suggest to feed people foods. You can used boiled chicken breast, low sodium organic hot dogs, meatballs or string cheese. There are also homemade recipes for high-value dog treats. If your dog is prone to allergies or has a delicate stomach, consult with your vet first for advice on what treats you can give for your dog’s particular situation.
[adinserter block=”2”]On top of making treats more appealing, you would also have to work on lowering the intensity of the stimuli your dog is being exposed to. If your dog is too over threshold in classes, this often means she is too close to other dogs or people for comfort. When a dog is over threshold, as we have seen, there is little space for learning to occur (and allow positive associations to form).
How do you lower the intensity of the stimuli your dog is exposed to? Often you can accomplish this by adding distance (keep your dog farther away from the people or other dogs), or if you are in training classes, ask your trainer whether there is the possibility next time to have some sort of visual barrier placed between your dog and the other dogs.
Sometimes, dogs may not take treats, but they are open to other forms of reinforcement. You can provide praise, pats or if your dog is in the mood for play, you can use a toy or a game to reinforce desired behaviors. And for dogs who are super social, you can sometimes use this trait to your advantage. Reinforce your dog’s wanted behaviors by allowing him brief interactions with people or other sociable dogs with the help of your trainer.
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