We brought home a 4-month-old lab puppy on Saturday, and she’s had no training before now. She’s super smart but definitely stubborn. I’ve been watching videos and feel okay about my training skills, especially for someone who’s never had a dog before. During training, I’ve been using her regular kibble as treats, and she’s fine with that.
Here’s my question: When we’re not in training mode, should I still give her treats when she listens to a command (like ‘leave it’)? I don’t want to overfeed her, but now I’ve noticed she’s doing things expecting a treat. For example, she’ll grab something she shouldn’t, drop it, and then sit in front of me waiting for a treat. I usually praise her with a ‘Good girl.’ and give her lots of love instead of treats outside of training. Is that the right approach?
Once she’s got the hang of a command, you can start chaining them together. For example, ask her to sit, lie down, and stay, then give her a treat after she does all three. This spaces out the treats but still keeps her motivated.
You can also use verbal praise or pets instead of treats. I always say ‘good boy’ and pet my dog for good behavior, but I save treats for training sessions or when we’re in a distracting environment.
Here’s an example: I do agility training at the dog park, and I used to reward my dog every time he completed an obstacle. Now, I wait until he completes two or three obstacles before giving him a treat. I still throw in random treat rewards to keep him excited.
Mix it up, and she’ll still feel rewarded without relying on treats every time.
I treat consistently at first, then start phasing treats out once the behavior becomes reliable. When I stop giving treats, I make sure to give lots of praise and affection instead.
Think of it like working a job; you wouldn’t work for free, but you also don’t quit just because you didn’t get a bonus one time. Same idea for training. Good luck.
Everyone’s advice here is great. Just remember she’s still a young puppy, so nothing will be solid yet. You might even find that she’ll act like she’s forgotten everything you taught her at some point; it’s normal, and you just have to reinforce the training again.
She probably doesn’t fully understand ‘leave it’ yet. Right now, she might just associate dropping something with getting a treat, so she’s offering that behavior to see what happens.
If you’re using her kibble as treats, make sure to adjust her meal portions so she’s not overeating. You can also switch to tiny training treats to keep calories low.
Always praise her, even if you’re not giving treats. Mark the behavior you want with a happy tone or a ‘good girl.’ so she knows she did the right thing. Training doesn’t stop outside of formal sessions; it’s part of everyday life. Commands like ‘leave it’ and ‘drop it’ will be so important with a lab puppy.
One tip: don’t end a session on a bad note. If things aren’t going well, ask her to do something she already knows, praise her, and stop there. That way, the next session will be easier to pick up.