Treats and Training Rewards: Choosing and Using Them Well

Treats are a training tool. Used badly they become a second dinner and the training stops working.

Keep them small

A training treat should be pea-sized. You need many repetitions, not big rewards. Boiled chicken, paneer cubes or plain cooked liver work as well as anything commercial.

The 10% rule

Treats should stay under a tenth of daily calories, and the meal should shrink to accommodate them.

Vary the value

Keep something special — chicken, cheese — for hard situations like recall near distractions, and use ordinary kibble for easy repetitions at home.

Fading them out

Once a behaviour is reliable, move to rewarding intermittently and unpredictably. That makes the behaviour stronger, not weaker.