A lot of people feel unsure about using food in training, it can feel like bribery, or like the dog “should just do it”.
But food isn’t about spoiling your dog. It’s about communicating clearly.
A treat is more than a snack, it’s a reinforcer.
That means it strengthens the behaviour your dog has just offered. When something your dog does leads to something they really enjoy, their brain goes, “Oh! That worked. I’ll do that again.”
Using food isn’t cheating. It’s how we teach.
Over time, as your dog learns and becomes more confident, you can choose to naturally phase food ‘rewards’ out (or not – personally, Rocket would rather get paid for great behaviour), but to build good behaviour in the first place, rewards are one of the kindest and most effective tools we have to reinforce the behaviours that we want.
Reward and reinforce the behaviour you want more of.
Your dog will thank you for making their world easier to understand.