My dog won’t take treats outside! Is that something you’ve ever said or heard? We’re looking at the challenge of a dog refusing treats as a case study, as training will be so much easier if your dog loves food, especially if you are working on things like loose leash walking or helping your dog with reactivity. I’ve got an outside the box training plan for you to get your dog loving treats no matter where you are.
In the episode you'll hear:
- The physical reasons a dog might be refusing to take food treats and why to rule them out.
- How not taking food could be a habit for a dog and related to their emotional state.
- Why reinforcers lose or gain value in different environments.
- That getting a bigger meatball is not always the answer.
- Why feeding dogs should be an event and what to notice about your dog’s weight.
- About rating all of the treats that you can give your dog and different foods to try.
- The steps for testing treat values in different rooms and times of the day.
- About creating positive triggers for your dog that are exciting.
- How to transition using treats from indoors to the outdoors incrementally.
- What your dog’s physiology has to do with treats and how you can change it.
- What you need to do before you can start counterconditioning anything.
- Why training isn’t about work but building deeper bonds with dogs.
Resources:
- YouTube Playlist: Reactive or Aggressive Dogs: Key Insights with Susan Garrett
- Podcast Episode 59: Why Your Treats Aren’t Working for Your Dog
- Podcast Episode 92: Avoid This Big Mistake When Feeding Your Dog
- Tasty Treats eBook
- Podcast Episode 107: Pedicure Please: 3 Steps To Dog Nail Trimming Or Grooming Success At Home!
- Blog Post: Identifying And Using Positive Triggers For Your Dog
- YouTube Playlist: Loose Leash Walking with Susan Garrett
- Podcast Episode 68: 3 Easy Tricks Every Dog Should Know
- Podcast Episode 112: Stressed Dog? How Trigger Stacking Might Be Putting Your Dog Over Threshold
- Watch this Episode of Shaped by Dog on YouTube
What a great video lesson. Thank you! My problem is the opposite – the dog won’t take treats inside and from this lesson, I think it is an association with bad things happening. In the shelter where he was raised, I think they grabbed him at mealtime for whatever reason, because he won’t eat his dinner unless no one is around. Under my care, I use treats for feeding pills, perhaps less than professional training exercises, etc….so he’s wary. Thank you for this help!
So much gold in this podcast! 💖