To treat or not to treat???

[Chrisant]

Hi all, I am just wondering whether you treat adult dogs for good behaviour such as going to the toilet outside / asking them to wait  etc. Puppy class are saying we need to phase out treats yet I have read literature which says to treat adult dogs all the time when they toilet or else they can regress. Any thoughts??

[twiceover2]

I don't treat for toileting outside but do still treat for a good recall and sometimes, but not often, for good behaviour indoors like leaving something or waiting a very long time.  I also give vocal praise.

[Jane57]

I don't believe adult dogs would regress with toilet issues without treats. I used to treat I  the first couple of weeks with toileting outside but once he caught on I never did. Still do sometimes as above.

[kalami]

I always take treats out on walks and randomly treat some days they dont get anything others one or two treats.
Useful to have in your pocket if you stop off at a cafe/pub on your walk

[elaine.e]

I always take treats out on walks and randomly treat some days they dont get anything others one or two treats.
Useful to have in your pocket if you stop off at a cafe/pub on your walk

Same here. I always have them with me to reward good behaviour from Louis when other dogs are nearby, although it's random in that sometimes it's a treat, sometimes a pat and praise. William sometimes gets a treat and sometimes praise when I ask him to drop whatever bit of rubbish he's picked up and he does as I ask. We also often play a game of seeking scattered or hidden treats when we're out walking.

[piph]

Same here too - I never treated for toileting outside, just lots of praise when Ozzy got it right and not commenting when he didn't. But I still take treats out with me for recall - even though his recall is very good, I still practice it several times every day when we are out as, if I don't, he tends to forget after a while!

[Penelope]

I always have a pocket full of treats when I take my lot out for walks.  Even Suki gets treats from time to time even though she is the oldest of my gang - sometimes she deserves a treat as much as Alfie the puppy, so they all get them sometimes but the younger dogs do get them more often!

[black taz]

Always treat Recall, food for Taz, usually ball for kira.  Treat anything in the home which they find difficult (ie. sitting whilst I let the cat in).   Always use treats for training sessions, but I make livercake and cut it into very small pieces - they really don't care how big the treat is as long as they get one!

[Jasper love]

I treat Jasper for pretty much everything good he does. To avoid over feeding I only give half his breakfast and tea in his bowl at meal times and the rest goes in my treat bag. There's usually a bit left at bed time so he gets the remainder in his crate. The trainers at paws and dogs for the disabled told us to try this way(I'm hoping to train Jasper to be like a service dog for my daughter who we think is autistic) and it seems to be doing the trick. He's been much better behaved at home and walking, we're still working on recall but hopefully we'll get there. He'll be one at the end of the month x

[tallulah0710]

Do they mean phase out the treat as in 'lure and reward' where you use the treat to guide the dog into the position you would like then reward straight away? If it is for lure and reward then I would agree that once the dog understands what you would like them to do then you phase out the treat asap, so the dog wont only do what you would like when there is a treat in front of their nose.

This doesn't stop you rewarding/treating for good behaviour though. My dogs always get reinforced (rewarded) for doing something I ask. It may be a treat, play, fuss, praise, sniffing, retrieving...just anything the dog likes or wants.