If you are actively training your dog (be that a new puppy or a dog with lots of behavior modification to do), you will require a good amount of food rewards. This is non-negotiable, but many pet guardians worry about giving their dogs too many treats. I feel you!
If you are concerned about extra calories, afraid that your dog getting too spoiled with treats, or you are trying to stick to a budget and training treat bags are too pricey, here is some good news:
you can (and should) use dog food as training rewards*
I work with clients’ dogs daily, and in my experience, 9 out of 10 dogs will gladly take kibble as training treats.
Things dog trainers use as training treats:
- Kibble (small breed dry food works best since it is smaller pieces)
- Air-dried or freeze-dried dog food (more yummy than kibble, crumbly enough to split it into even smaller pieces)
- Rolled dog food (it’s semi-soft, super yummy, and can be cut into any size of a training treat)
- Wet canned food in a squeeze bottle (in cases where you can’t use dry treats for training)
My favorite brands
Below are some of the brands I use in dog training with my clients. Similar food can be found by other brands, so I am not saying these are the best, but these particular ones are proven to work for the majority of my dog clients.
FROMM Gold Small Breed
Price: 17$ / 5 lbs
Good quality dog food; the pieces are small enough that even if you need to use 50 treats per exercise, it is just a tiny handful. Most dogs seem to enjoy this brand.
Red Barn Air-Dried Beef
Price: 38$ / 2 lbs
If your dog is too picky for kibble, try this, and I bet it will not refuse it! Two pounds might seem pricey, but this bag will last you long. You can also use it as your dog’s kibble topper/mixer or for food puzzles.
You can choose beef, chicken, or fish (I prefer beef), and they also sell small trial bags if you want to check which one your dog likes best.
Red Barn Rolled Food
Price: 21$ / 4 lbs
For some types of training (or some dogs), softer food is better than hard food. For example, when we work with fearful or reactive dogs, the best part is that you can cut this food into cubes as small as you need! This is excellent news for smaller dogs who are limited by how much they can eat per day.
Zignature Canned Dog Food
Price: 4$ / can
Get yourself a squeeze bottle (e.g., a travel tube for shampoo for small dogs or a plastic sauce bottle for large dogs), fill it with canned dog food (if needed, dilute with water), and get yourself a training treat pouch. This is great for tiny dogs (one lick as a reward) or fearful dogs who usually do better with wet food than dry food.
Affiliate Disclosure: Links to some products are affiliate links and help the author of this article earn commissions from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to the buyer. This doesn’t affect the choice of dog-related products or opinion about them.
Some dog foods are more yummy than others.
Your dog might not be super excited about their current kibble brand but might be more excited about another dog food. When choosing a brand of dog food for training, you will probably have to experiment with different brands and maybe even buy a slightly premium one (with a higher percentage of protein).
I encourage you to try different dog foods and determine what is the best for your training needs. Try as many as you can! Some big-box pet shops let you return an opened (!) dog food bag if your dog doesn’t like it.
You don’t need to replace all your dog food if it’s outside your budget, but you can get a special yummy one for training. Mixing and matching different dog foods is okay unless your dog has allergy / GI issues or is on a prescription diet (if unsure, talk to your vet).
Different training may require different treats.
If I train a puppy, I would most likely use kibble. Those guys usually love food.
If I am training a food-motivated dog, I would probably use kibble for most of the training at home but will keep something yummier (rolled dog food or air-dried food) in my training pouch for specific things like recall or attention.
When training reactive or fearful dogs, I would probably choose softer treats over dry ones, but this will depend on the particular training situation. I can probably get away with kibble for in-home training, and for training outside, I use higher-value treats (squeeze bottle, string cheese, chicken, or something from this list).
Training treats for small-sized dogs
Small dogs need smaller treats. That’s why I usually choose crumbly air-dried dog food that can be divided into tiny pieces. One treat can be crumbled into at least four smaller bits. (See example in the photo above)
Another good option is using rolled food cut into the tiniest bits or wet food in a squeeze bottle (one lick as a reward).
*Use your dog’s meal portion for training (but avoid food deprivation)
For certain types of training (matwork & relaxation procotols, desensitization & counter-conditioning) you might be required to use lots of food rewards. Remember that you can use portions of your dog food for training.
For example, your dog gets 2 cups of kibble per day. Save half a cup for training and use it during the day. Whatever is not used during the day can be added to dinner or used in a food puzzle to give your dog some busy time.
Another example is, if you train around mealtime, give your dog 3/4 of its meal in the bowl and use another 1/4 for training after the meal.
Important:
- Don’t deprive your dog of food. This will not increase their motivation to train but will create extra problems: your dog’s obsession with food or resource guarding, which will later develop more issues with training.
- Don’t train a hungry dog. It is challenging for a dog to focus on the exercises when all its thoughts are about food. Feed them first, train after. Dogs are usually most hungry in the morning. If this is the case with your dog, give them a full breakfast and a spare portion of lunch for training.
Why some dogs may be picky or not food-motivated
If your dog takes treats one day but doesn’t take the other, there is usually an explanation, and it is not pickiness. There are a few reasons: stress, discomfort, or health.
When stress is high, dogs are naturally unable to eat. Check your dog’s body language to see whether it is afraid, uncomfortable, or overstimulated over the emotional threshold. In this case, we first fix the stress problem and then do training.
Health issues can make dogs picky if they have undiagnosed GI upsets, allergies, and all sorts of underdiagnosed pains.
Some dogs might not be used to being trained with food. In this case, we might need to start with more high-value treats and slowly sneak in kibble. It usually takes a few weeks for dogs to learn to enjoy training and start taking regular kibble, too.