Secrets to Using Food in Animal Training

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We know that positive reinforcement training is good for dogs (and cats!) because it keeps their brains active, helps to build the human-animal bond, and teaches them skills that help them live in a human world. But do you ever think about how it also provides enrichment in the form of little morsels of tasty food? This aspect of training is often overlooked by pet guardians, who sometimes grumble about the need to use food in training. But food is a great way to motivate your dog or cat to do particular behaviors or teach them to love something they aren’t sure about (or are even downright scared of). And as a bonus, because the food we use in training is not their daily kibble, it provides tasty bites of food enrichment.

Choosing treats and how to store them

The main role of food in training is to provide motivation. We can’t expect dogs or cats to do what we say just because we tell them, but they will work for food, in just the same way we will work for money to buy food, clothes, music, and other things we need or want. It becomes part of a contract between us and the pet: They follow our cue, and we reward them with a tasty piece of chicken or tuna.

Yet, we do have to think about what kind of food to use and how to store it. If we’re training at home, we can keep chopped pieces of cooked meat in the fridge to take out for training sessions. Packaged treats from the pet store or supermarket can also make great options.

Also, when going out and about, like taking the dog for a walk, we can store the treats in a little baggie in our pocket or get a bait bag or fanny pack to keep them in. (These are useful as storage for poop bags, too.) For cats, we can think of delivering the food via a dish or plate because they might not have learned to take treats gently.

But our own considerations are easily solved and will gradually become second nature. More important is the choice of treats to use in training. When we teach behaviours like sit or a nose touch to the hand, we’re going to do lots of repetitions in one session, so the treats need to be small. For important behaviours—like coming when called, and whenever we’re doing counterconditioning—we need treats with a big impact. This is when things like roast beef and sardines make great choices.

Many dogs won't work for kibble

Some dogs will work for kibble, and if you’ve got one like that (perhaps a Golden Retriever?), you’re incredibly lucky. Other dogs will make it clear they won’t unless you’ve got especially tasty rewards (some Siberian Huskies, for example). This applies to most cats, too, especially because they aren't used to being trained.

Most dogs find kibble to be a boring reward because they get it every day for nothing. So you need to find something that is a few steps up, or a lot of steps up, for certain kinds of training (like teaching your dog to come when called, or when counterconditioning to change their emotions).

We know that dogs are sensitive to the type of reward they get, because they will run faster to get sausage rather than kibble, and over time, they like variety (Riemer et al, 2018; Bremhorst et al, 2018). That’s perhaps not surprising; after all, we like variety too, and will sometimes travel a long way to get particular food that we love. So use pieces of mature cheddar cheese or meat ball when it’s appropriate.

It’s up to you to find out what kinds of food motivate your dog or cat, and remember to introduce some variety from time to time.

Not taking food can mean different things

There will be times in training when your pet is not taking the food. It could just be that they are full (for example, if you’ve just done 50 repetitions as part of teaching a cute trick). Then you can stop training and wait til another day. But it can also be a sign that your dog is in a situation where there are better, competing rewards (such as when you’re teaching recall in the park and there’s more fun stuff for your dog to do). Or it can be a sign that your dog is stressed.

Because it takes time to become an expert in reading dog body language, not taking treats can often be the first sign someone notices that a dog is stressed. It’s a cue to make the situation more relaxed, often by moving away from whatever is stressing your dog.

Dog training is a skill you can learn

We all tend to assume that training dogs is easy, but there’s a reason good dog trainers go to school to learn how to do it. There’s actually a lot of technique involved. One of the things we have to learn is how to choose treats and deliver them with good timing.

If you’re struggling with your dog’s behavior, reach out for help to a trainer who will only use reward-based methods. And any time there’s a sudden behavior change, see your vet for a check-up.