Treat Training

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Hello! We have had Yeti for a little over a month now and we are starting to really get into command training.  We use a lot of positive reinforcement, but we also use treats.  The only problem is when we use treats for training he gets completely fixated on the treat. We usually only do training for about 5 minutes at a time, but Yeti will spend a good 20 minutes after were all out of treats just sniffing the ground looking for more treats. He wont play with any other toy or show interest in anything including his favorite bone. Has anyone experienced this before? I thought about possibly only training him outside so there will be nothing to smell or sniff inside.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

One thing you might try is not putting the treats on the ground. I always gave them to the dog right from my hand; that puts the focus on you, not the ground. 

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Definitely hand feed him the treat.  Some dogs do become treat fixated and there is a training thought that you reward randomly for the asked for behavior as it keeps the dog focused on you and trying to please you.

For example you might start training of walking on a leash at you side with a treat for every good step, but in the long run this becomes an expected behavior and you certainly aren't going to treat him a thousand times for a thousand step walk.

The same is true of expected behaviors like sit, stay,down etc.  At some point they rarely earn a treat as they are expected behaviors of a well mannered dog.

If you associate praise with the treat, soon the praise becomes enough as he associates it with a treat and he does want to please you.  Some dogs are more interested in pleasing than others,

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Personally, I am not a fan of treating for training. I want the dog work for my approval and praise.  To me treats are a once-in-a-while thing, and while I might ask my dogs to do something before giving them the treat, it is really treat time.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I have always used treats as one reward in my training, but I also use praise.  My guys never really know if they're going to get a treat or just a "good boy" when they obey a command.  I usually carry treats in my pocket and use them throughout the day...since I'm basically training all day.  When they don't bark at the UPS man, or they wait at the top of the stairs while I go down, or remain in a down/stay in another room while we're eating....all those things are training opportunities and sometimes I will surprise them with a treat while other times I'll just pet them or tell them they're "good boys".  If you're using treats in your five minute training sessions I think that's fine if they provide motivation...but try mixing it up with affection and praise....that may help with the "fixation" on the treats and redirect Yeti's attention more to you. 

[Amy and Annabelle]

The trainer I had didn't want us to use treats as a reward. He wanted us to use praise and maybe a head rub and a smile. I honestly use treats for things like trimming nails or using the mat zapper than for training. If we had a grueling training session, I gave her a treat at the end of the session in addition to the praise.

However if you are going to use treats for training, I would hand feed him the treat. He should associate you with the treat and not the ground.