Bob Minchella's dog owner counseling

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11/21/2024

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"My dog only listens when I have treats" .
I hear this from frustrated owners all the time. But here's the thing - if your dog only responds when they see treats, that's not actually a problem with treat training.
.
It's a problem with HOW the treats are being used.
Here is the important distinction: Treats should be a reward that comes AFTER your dog responds to a cue. They should never be part of what *signals* your dog to perform the behavior.
So when you ask your dog to sit, what should happen?
Correct order: You give a cue (verbal or hand signal) → Dog sits → You mark and give the treat ✅
Incorrect order: You show the treat → You give the cue → Dog sits → You give the treat ❌
.
See the difference? In the second scenario, you've accidentally made the treat part of the cue itself. And this happens SO often…
People hold treats in their hand, wave them over their dog's head for a sit, or flash them to get attention.
When you do this, your dog learns that the complete cue for "sit" is actually "human says sit AND has visible treats."
No visible treats? Well, that's not the same cue anymore! 🤷🏻‍♀️
(The same goes for using treats to e.g. make your dog come when called by shaking the treat bag).
The good news? This is totally fixable.
If you have made treats a part of your cue, here is how you can reverse this:
Show your dog a treat, put it in your pocket and ask for a cue. Mark & reward from your pocket when they respond!
Next, show a treat, put it on a table or shelf next to you, ask for a cue - mark & reward.
After that - show a treat, put it on a table next to you, take a few steps away and cue - mark & reward.
Over time, we can fade out the “showing of the treat” as part of the cue this way without changing the picture so drastically that our dog doesn’t understand what’s going on.
(I will post a video in the comments that illustrates this!)
This small change in your training mechanics can make a huge difference in how well your dog responds - with or without visible treats.
Remember: Treats are consequences, not cues.
Keep them that way, and you'll see much better results without having to “show what you got” before your dog responds to you.
Have you caught yourself doing the "treat wave" before? What changed in your training when you started keeping treats hidden until AFTER your dog responded?