Training
Choosing and using rewards: treats, toys, praise, and life rewards
TL;DR
A reward is anything your dog wants enough to work for — and your dog decides what counts, not you. Match the reward's value to how hard the task is: kibble for easy reps at home, real meat or cheese for recall at the park. Keep treats tiny, count them toward daily food, and once a behavior is reliable, move from rewarding every rep to rewarding some reps and using everyday "life rewards" like doors, walks, and play.
- Build a treat hierarchy: low, medium, and high value, and use the lowest value that still works.
- Training treats should be pea-sized or smaller; treats should make up no more than about 10% of daily calories.
- Toys, play, praise, and access to things the dog wants are all rewards — use them.
- Fade the food lure early, but don't stop rewarding altogether. Behaviors that are never reinforced fade.
A pat on the head might be lovely to one dog and something another dog puts up with. A dry biscuit might be worth a sit in the kitchen but worth nothing when there is a squirrel in view. The test of a reward is simple: does the behavior it follows become more likely? If not, it is not a reward for that dog in that moment.
A quick way to find out: put three different treats on a plate out of reach, let your dog sniff, and see which it goes for first. Repeat a few times. You now know your top-tier reward.