My dog won’t take treats

by Ooddles Kitchen Dry Dog Food - Natural Treats - Natural Chews - Fo

This is a very common phrase we hear when introducing food to training. But with the hundreds of dogs we’ve trained we’ve never yet found one who won’t take treats!

We need to figure out what is most valuable to your dog and we also need to pay them appropriately.

Treats and Chews

I don’t like spiders and if you offered me a pound for walking into a room full of spiders I wouldn’t take it! Whereas if you offered me a million pounds I might think about it!!

We also need to be aware of arousal levels (how full they sink it). If you are very stressed (happy or sad) you aren’t able to concentrate on things you might otherwise enjoy.

I love chocolate cake but if I was locked in that room full of spiders I wouldn’t want to eat cake there! Likewise I wouldn’t want to eat cake whilst having an amazing time on a rollercoaster!

Often reluctance to take treats can be caused through anxiety which may have occurred through aversive training or horrible interactions around food (often recommended by aversive “trainers”). To help your dog you can start force-free training and build up their confidence and ability to eat treats and enjoy life more with you!

Treats in training are extremely useful in being obvious and clear to our dogs which behaviours we would like them to repeat in future. There are no real reasons not to use them!