Dog Training 101: How Healthy Pet Treats Make Training Easier

Regardless of how you approach the dog training process, there are a few basic principles that we simply must embrace to have the best possible outcome, namely:

• Consistency and patience are key to dog training. The most important thing to know about training your dog is that it’s not going to happen overnight, even if she is super smart. In fact, some highly intelligent dogs can even be harder to train since they want to dominate you rather than the other way around! Once you decide to embark on a dog training journey – pun intended! – you’ll need to commit to staying consistent, keeping a cool demeanor, and teaching him commands over and over until he can do them reliably on cue. Even after you hit this milestone, you’ll probably be doing some “maintenance” training for the rest of her life! That’s why you’ll need an ample supply of both consistency and patience when training to ensure that the lessons sink in without any fear or other negative connotations attached.
• Time your dog training sessions right. Dogs are creatures of habit. Just like children, getting dogs used to a schedule in general – for sleeping, eating, walking, even playing – makes everyone’s life easier and provides a sense of security. Set your pup up for success by not scheduling training sessions when he’s tired or hungry or stressed. Similarly, train around the activity you’re training – such as potty training at potty time, and leash training at walk time, so your dog associates the routine with the activity and comes to expect to perform that activity at that time.

• Find something your dog loves – and reward her with it! Positive reinforcement is one of the most effective and popular tactics for dog training, and for good reason! Most dogs are highly motivated by rewards such as food, toys, and of course, their pet parents’ approval, thus dogs in training tend to do best when their good behaviors are positively reinforced. Healthy, low-calorie, low-fat dog treats like ours at Farm to Pet are especially good dog training tools since they are quick for pups to enjoy without disrupting the training session. It’s best to reward your pup immediately after doing a good job – after all, dogs don’t have very long memories! The sooner you give her a reward, the quicker she’ll realize what good behaviors trigger the positive reinforcement.

• Get the whole pack – aka family! – on board. When it comes to teaching dogs how to properly behave at home, consistency from everyone in the house is critical. Make sure that your entire household knows and supports the dog training goals. For example, if you’re training your dog not to jump onto the couch or beg at the dinner table, everyone must stay consistent with these rules and enforce them. Otherwise, your doggo will get confused, or worse, try to push boundaries and abandon obedience altogether. We definitely don’t want to undo all the good of training you’ve done up to that point! 

Teaching your dog the appropriate place to potty is undoubtedly one of the most important objectives for any pet parent! While it’s best to start this or any training with a puppy, you can definitely housetrain an older dog with just a little extra consistency, patience and positive reinforcement. Here’s how:

• Start by taking your dog out to its designated “bathroom” area very frequently (like once an hour). Give him several minutes to sniff around and go if he needs to, keeping quiet to avoid distracting them from the task at hand.
• If she potties, reward her with both a treat and verbal praise like “good potty” once she’s done doing her business. In addition, if you see her showing signs that she’s about to go (sniffing in circles, getting into a squatting position), interject your chosen command (such as “go potty”) so she associates going with a verbal cue.
• After a while, you’ll get to know your dog’s bathroom schedule pretty well. Start taking him out at the times that he has gone before, like an hour after eating or right before a nap, continuing to use praise and positive reinforcement when he goes outside.
• If an accident should happen inside, don’t punish your puppo, as this may associate the negative reaction with the act itself rather than the area used. Instead, clean the area thoroughly so that the scent doesn’t linger, and continue housetraining as normal.

Leashes are a very important tool, both in training and beyond. Getting your dog used to walking nicely with a leash prepares him for all those daily excursions around your neighborhood and keeps her out of trouble (like preventing her from running off when a cat unexpectedly darts across the road). Training a pup to walk nicely on a leash is a must for safety, not to mention it will save you from being dragged down the road every time you head out for a walk! Read on for our recommended strategy:

• Start by slowly introducing your dog to her collar or harness, rewarding her for good behavior every time you can put it on without a struggle. Let her get used to the feeling in your house.
• Once he’s feeling comfy, clip a leash on and start with short walks in a distraction-free zone, like the inside of your house or in a quiet backyard. Reward your dog every time he looks at you during these training sessions -- this will reinforce that his attention should be on you during a walk!
• If she starts to pull, stop walking, and move forward again only when the pulling stops. This is also a form of positive reinforcement: if she walks nicely, she gets to keep going!
• Once you master the short walks without your dog pulling, you can start going on longer and longer walks. Try up and down your street first, then around the block, then graduate to around the neighborhood and beyond!

If your dog tends to get distracted easily on these training walks, positive reinforcement with dog training treats can do wonders. Give him a tiny piece of a treat – like a broken piece of a Farm to Pet chicken chip – every time he looks at you to train him to keep his attention on you and not all of the distractions around him. If you see a distraction coming, you can also preemptively call her attention toward you and reward her with a high-value treat to keep her focus.