Using treats to train your dog, without the extra weight

Why treats work for training

Most dogs learn fastest when a good behaviour is followed straight away by something they want, and food is the easiest reward to give in that split second. The treat is a signal that says “yes, that”, so what matters is timing and taste, not size. A tiny piece given at the right moment teaches as well as a whole biscuit.

Keep the pieces small

A training session can mean 20 to 50 rewards, so the size of each piece decides how many calories go in. Aim for a piece about the size of a pea for a small dog, or a fingernail for a large one. Your dog only needs a taste.

• Break larger treats into pieces before the session, so you are not snapping them mid-training.
• Soft treats are quicker to eat than crunchy ones, which keeps the session moving.
• For training treats, look for ones of about 3 kcal or less each. The calories are usually printed on the bag as kcal per treat or per kg.

What makes a healthy training treat

The same rules as any treat apply. The best ones have short, plain labels:

• A single named meat or fish, such as freeze-dried chicken or dried salmon, which most dogs love.
• No added sugar, syrups or honey, which are common in soft “chewy” treats.
• No artificial colours and no propylene glycol as a moisture keeper.
• Not too salty. Cured, smoked or brined meats are high in salt.

The junk treat guide lists every red flag, and you can scan a treat label with SnoutScan by picking “Treat or chew”.

Cheap treats from the kitchen and the bowl

• Their own kibble: take a handful from today’s meal and use it as rewards. It adds no extra calories at all, and works well for easy, familiar tasks at home.
• Plain cooked chicken or lean meat: no skin, bones, seasoning, onion or garlic, cut into tiny cubes.
• Vegetables and fruit: carrot, cucumber, green beans, blueberries and apple without the core are low in calories and safe for most dogs.

Never use grapes or raisins, chocolate, onion or garlic, and check that peanut butter has no xylitol. The human foods guide has the full list.

The 10% rule

Treats, chews and table scraps together should stay under about 10% of your dog’s daily calories. The other 90% comes from a complete food, which is balanced for vitamins and minerals in a way treats are not.

For a typical 10 kg adult dog that is roughly 60 kcal a day of treats, which is about 20 small 3 kcal training treats. On a heavy training day it is easy to go over, and that is where trimming the day’s meals comes in.

Save the best treats for the hardest moments

Use plain kibble or a low-value treat for easy work at home, and keep something special, like freeze-dried meat, for hard tasks: coming back at the park, or staying calm near other dogs. This keeps the special treat special, and means you need fewer of the richer ones.

Once a behaviour is reliable, reward it with food only some of the time and use praise, play or a walk the rest. Your dog keeps the habit, and the treat count drops.

Common questions