5 POWERFUL Dog Training Rewards Every Busy Dog Owner Needs in 2025!

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Saro Dog Training

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 14

@barlowsmith6242 Ай бұрын

best trainer of the decade

@SaroDogTraining Ай бұрын

Thank you my friend.

@Catbooks Ай бұрын

My dog has no interest in any toys, or any games related to toys, so I don't have that as a reward. He likes attention and affection, to a degree, but nothing trumps food to motivate him; he is obsessed with food. So I toggle food and affection to reward him, but that's all I have to work with. It's not easy.

@SaroDogTraining Ай бұрын

I understand the challenges. Most people start rewarding their dogs with food which is basically limits you and makes it harder to use anything else to reward your dog. Affection and praising a dog is a great reward as well but have you tried to really get into play mode with your dog without having any expectations or distracting thoughts? Really hab=ving fun playing with your dog pretending that there is no food available?

@Catbooks Ай бұрын

@@SaroDogTraining Thanks for responding :). I just commented on your wonderful, and important, video about dog food. Yes, I've tried that. He's just not into it, although no harm to keep trying. Any suggestions on specifically what to try? I rescue him as an adult, and he was borderline starving when he was found, so I think this plays into his obsession with food. I've tried incorporating food in play, got him one of those "lotus" balls you hide a piece of food in and then close up. He's just not interested unless there's food involved. He does like playing "go find," where I hide little bits of food around the house, then tell him to go find and he searches them out. But, again, food.

@SaroDogTraining Ай бұрын

It’s easy to think of dogs as being “obsessed” with food, but that’s often a human way of explaining why certain training challenges don’t go as planned. When we start to understand that dogs, like us, benefit from structure-a time for eating, a time for playing, a time for resting, and so on-we can see that food doesn’t need to play a role in everything they do. One reason I avoid using food as the primary motivator is because it limits both the human and the dog. When food becomes the focus, it’s easy for both of you to start relying on it, even for simple activities. Over time, it can create this belief that a dog is “food-motivated” because of past experiences, like hunger or trauma, but more often, it’s the humans who unintentionally cause dogs to depend on food rewards. All the games you mentioned seem to involve food in some way, which may be feeding this dependency. Try playing some games that don’t involve treats. You’ll see that dogs can engage just as enthusiastically without it! I’ve shared a few examples in the videos below to get you started. kzbin.info/aero/PLtpQk4y0FQeWtdF9o_UPY7RaJ7Kw3pGXC

@Catbooks 19 күн бұрын

@@SaroDogTraining You're going to have to trust that I know dogs, and specifically my dog. He is in fact obsessed with food, and this is something I've struggled with in all the years I've had him. Even people who are deprived of food for any length of time also become obsessed with food, or the fear of not having it. It's an emotional reaction, and we are susceptible to it too. Even though we're capable of reasoning we're no longer in danger of starvation, and dogs are less capable of that. He becomes obsessed with anyone who gives him more than one treat, to the point where I can't recall him, and he's even almost gotten hit by a car trying to get to one of the few people who INSIST on doing it, despite my repeated objections. I now have to leash him and keep my eye out for them, to keep him away from them and reverse this problem. I used the lotus ball with the hope of his being interested in the ball, using food as a motivator, but it didn't work. No food = no interest. Do I think too many people rely too much on using food to motivate their dogs? Yes. Do I think there's no place for using food as a motivator, especially when you have a dog who is so highly food motivated and isn't play motivated? No. We have to use the kind of dog we're working with. Your two dogs are young, energetic, easily focussed on you, and motivated by play, which is great. But IMO you'll benefit by realising not all dogs are. I appreciate your link to your other videos, but my dog is a senior with arthritis and honestly even if he weren't, I guarantee he would not find jumping up onto a table a fun game for him. I could replace the table with his bed, but he's still not going to think this is a fun thing. He walks perfectly on leash, knows touch, sit, down, come, leave it, up, paw, back up, stay, this way, food, water, go bed, inside, outside, and no doubt some other things I don't recall right now. IOW, he's generally very well trained and well behaved. What I'm asking of you is to consider that not all dogs are like yours, or even like many you've trained, and that there is a place for using food to train, even if many do overuse it. I've been training dogs and learning about them since I was 5. Not professionally, as an avocation, because they fascinate me. Dog body language fascinates me. There's always more to learn. No one knows everything. We're always learning more about them, as long as we're open to it.

@SaroDogTraining 19 күн бұрын

@@Catbooks I completely understand and respect your perspective. My focus is on helping dog owners who prefer to use play and praise as rewards for their dogs. I realize my approach isn’t for everyone, and that’s perfectly fine-you’re free to use whatever methods work best for you. For context, I also have a senior beagle, Harvey, who is 15 years young. He’s playful but, like many dogs (especially beagles), very food-driven. Despite this, I don’t rely on food to engage with or train him-I simply don’t find it necessary. All dogs love food, but it’s disheartening to see some owners rely on it as the primary way to manage or train their dogs. I choose to avoid this because I want to reduce dependency and keep motivation natural, both for my own dogs and for my clients’ dogs. As you mentioned, people often want to feed treats to dogs because they love them. However, my dogs don’t see strangers as food sources-they see me as their provider because I control their food supply without constantly using it for training or reinforcement. This approach also reduces their curiosity and sensitivity toward treats. If someone tries to give my dogs treats, especially across a busy street, I simply step in and politely decline. My dogs are on a fresh food diet, and I’m mindful of what they consume. Ultimately, it’s about mindset. I’m open-minded and don’t claim my way is the only way-it’s just an alternative approach that’s worked for me and hundreds of clients. You seem to have a well-trained dog, and I hope you have the control you need without relying on food. My goal is simply to help prevent common mistakes some owners make by depending too heavily on treats for even basic tasks. That’s all!