10/06/2025
Treats 🥓🥕🫛
We get a lot of FAQ's about treats from our students and community members. Here are some of the questions and our usual answers:
1.) What kind? 🦴
Kibble is the #1 treat we suggest for our SDIT.
Most dogs will take kibble as a reward for training in the home or even the yard. Some will take kibble even when we start doing socialization, up to pet friendly locations. (TIP: You can up the value of kibble by adding food toppers, freezer dried or smellier treats in a baggie with kibble overnight, then separate out the kibble.)
2.) How many? ➕
The amount of treats you give per day depend on a couple factors. The size of your puppy or dog, what type of treats, (kibble vs separate treats), calories, and what your vet says. For instance if your using kibble, you can always separate out a small portion of their meal to use to train with, thus leaving room for a few other types of treats.
3.) How quickly should we up the value? ⏫
That also depends on several things. Are we sure the dog knows the behavior your asking for? Or do you need to take a step back to reinforce the skill? Are the distractions to much for any training? We don't want to up the value of the treat just to compensate for to high of a distraction. Instead, we want to address it in training first.
For instance if they never sat outside the house before, and you take them to the outside of a store and they can't engage or pay attention at all, then this would be addressed in training. Adding more valuable treats will simple teach the dog that "hey, I can get better treats if I don't pay attention". 🐶
If instead your SDIT knows how to sit, and they know how to sit anywhere in the house, outside, and parking lots. And you take them to the outside of a store and they are able to engage with you, but seem a bit distracted and slow to sit, then maybe up the value a bit just to help with the engagement.
4.) What about human food for treats? 😋
While we know there are certain types of human food that our SDIT can eat, we highly recommend speaking to your vet about the types you can give your SDIT, including how it needs to be prepared, the amount, and what to look for. Secondly, many human foods can be extremely high value so we want to be sure to use them wisely.
5.) Can I give treats just because? ❤️
Of course. Giving a treat now and then throughout the day, or a milk bone, or filled toy is a great way to reward your SDIT for simply being a dog. It's also a great way to work on settling. 😉
Be sure to check out the comments for several of our FREE youtube videos about treats.
