All those fatting treats!

I recently saw another one of those commercials promising “instant obedience” without “all those fatting treats”!
I so greatly appreciate that when it comes to dog obedience or behavior problems the size of the dog’s waistline becomes of utmost importance. Any other time we gladly give Fido a little titbit for just being cute and because we love them. But for training or behavior – God Forbid!
Alright, all snarfing aside, lets look at this from another angle:
In years gone by it was believed that if you reward a child you would spoil a child. Spare the rod – spoil the child! While I personally do not have anything against the occasional well placed correction on a nicely padded bottom for totally unacceptable behavior ( my generation certainly was well accustomed with this) we have learned that reward based systems work so much better.
Take my daughter-in-law for example: She has used boards with magnet stickers for all kinds of things – pee in the potty, get a sticker. Clean your room, get a sticker. Earn 5 stickers – get a token or an ice cream. Earn 10 tokens, get to buy a small toy. Poop on the floor or don’t clean your room – stickers get removed. ( Great wailing ensues).
The same method works for dogs: Come when called – get a yummy treat or a fun time tugging rope. Don’t come – watch me close the glass sliding door and give your treat to the cat! Sit nicely for petting – chance to earn a treat and some loving attention. Jump on me – no treat and off into timeout.
No you don’t always have to use fatting treats. (Besides, there are actually healthy treats and some dogs will even work for their kibble). Praise, playtime, toys are great ways to train your dog. We have come out of the dark ages in the way we raise our children, lets do so with our animals also.