Kibble First, Treats Later: The Smarter Way to Train.
Kibble First, Treats Later: The Smarter Way to Train.
Let’s break it down: If we start training with super high-value treats, we’re setting ourselves up to hit a motivational wall. Think about it—if your dog will only work for steak, where do we go from there? Lobster? Filet mignon? By starting with kibble—their everyday food—we’re laying down a rock-solid foundation of food motivation that doesn’t rely on fancy snacks to get the job done.
Here’s how it works:
💡 True Motivation Starts Small
Training with kibble teaches your dog to value the process, not just the prize. If your dog is excited to sit, stay, and strut their stuff for kibble in the kitchen, you know you’ve built genuine motivation.
💡 Avoiding the Bribery Trap
When your dog learns to work for ordinary rewards, you’re not stuck in a cycle of constantly “upping the ante.” You don’t have to bust out gourmet treats for every little command. Training stays sustainable, practical, and stress-free.
But wait, what about the good stuff?
Once your dog is rocking it with kibble and nailing those basic skills, we can bring out the “big guns” (aka higher-value rewards) for more complex or challenging tasks. It’s like saving dessert for special occasions—it keeps things exciting!
The result? A motivated, engaged learner who LOVES training and works just as hard for kibble as they do for a big reward. That’s what we call real food motivation—the kind that builds trust, enthusiasm, and a strong foundation for whatever you want to teach next.
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What happens when you give a dog an enrichment toy? They sniff, paw, and explore their way to hidden kibble with the Snuffle Rope! 🐾 Perfect for mental stimulation, slowing down mealtime, and pure fun. #Dogs #trainingdogsonline #dogtrainingtips #enrichmentfordogs
Teaching foster dog Enzo how to down. Maybe 🤷♀️
Teaching a new dog, the down command.
Group class with foster dog.
WHAT CLIENTS ARE SAYING:
"Been a while since we did obedience outside since our time on the path usually just consists of Ally playing with her dog friends. But she’s still got it!
Funny story about my mom whispering “There’s people coming.” Ally was HIGHLY reactive towards strangers for a very long time, and still often will bark at them as they walk by if I don’t catch her attention in time. Today, a man turned onto the path unexpectedly and Ally was having zoomies dragging her leash. I was TERRIFIED because her first instinct is usually to charge / bark. Not today! She was running in the man’s direction, saw him, turned around and ran to my side and put herself into a sit with laser focus on me. I almost threw up I was so nervous and she handled it like SUCH A GOOD GIRL!! Huge win for her today!"
Pestery Puppies!
The value of markers goes WAY beyond just teaching basic obedience. When markers are charged/taught properly, we are able to communicate with our dogs regularly. Allowing them more freedom in the world as we know we have the ability to encourage behaviours we life but also stop behaviours we don’t like.
Below is a perfect example of markers used in a real life scenario.
Ah ah = you’re about to mess up, stop doing that.
Pup pup = reward/attention.
If you’d like to teach your puppies a marker training language, we can help!
Please visit us at www.trainingdogsonline.ca
Puppies !!!
Obstacle courses not only help build confidence in young puppies, but don’t properly also help them think and problem solve.
The only thing require for this exercise is a reward marker and a bunch of random objects, the rabbit is optional 😉
If you’d like to development your dogs ability to problem solve, we can help.
Please visit www.trainingdogsonline.ca
Marker Training in Action
Good = I like what you’re doing, keep doing it.
Break = End of a behaviour
Wrong = You offered the wrong behaviour, you get to try again.
If you want to learn our marker training language, please visit our website at www.trainingdogsonline.ca
Simple crate training steps
Confinement actually plays a very big role in your puppies development and training. Crate training is recommend in order to manage your puppies learning environment, to help with house training, prevent destructive behaviours and habits, and to help prevent social and isolation anxiety. Remember that puppies scream, bark and cry in the beginning stages of crate training. Do not feel defeated, this can take time. I recommend purchasing a noise maker to help give the puppy a constant sound to listen to, while also drowning out exterior noise as well. Here is a link to the one I have;
https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/lectrofan-lectrofan-noise-fan-machine-asm1007-white-asm1007/10406699?cmp=knc-s-71700000069416315&gclid=CjwKCAjw0On8BRAgEiwAincsHPS-rptM1MIr6vM3bwIu0mJuaD75yIS0Qjsae6N-c1-7h2Mx3ktwcRoC1SsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Things you will need to help make this process successful are; your puppies kibble ( mixed with higher value rewards if needed in the beginning stages.) . We prefer to have all puppies work for their meals as it gives us more opportunity to reward our puppies throughout the day (without having to spend extra money or create a fat dog) and it also helps create a better working relationship. You will also need a crate of any kind, as long as your puppy can stand up and turn around, you should be fine. The next thing we recommend is picking up some long lasting chews for your puppy. This will come in handy when we are trying to build on time in the crate. We will explain our choices for long lasting chews below.
We completely understand for safety and housebreaking reasons you are most likely crating your puppy even though he may not be fully loving the idea. That is completely understandable and we do the same here with puppies and adult dogs. The thing you need to keep in mind to make the crate more loveable to the puppy, is to make sure the good times outweigh the bad. That’s where active training will come in h
Place Command
Place Command is used to CREATE behaviours and to support our dogs through more difficult situations that may arise.
It gives them a stage to feel confident and perform in more difficult environments.
Teaching your puppies place will be invaluable as they mature and move through different developmental periods.
If you’re looking to start training your puppy, we can help.
Please visit www.trainingdogsonline.ca
Virtual Dog Training Made Simple. Your Dog. Your Pace. Your Place.
