I just received the "Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months" video. In this video it describes how to use treats in teaching a dog to sit, lay down, and to walk a puppy. Then I found a website by Kevin Salim (http://www.dogsecret.com/treat_training.htm), that mentions why not to use treats, at least not all the time.

So, now I'm confused in what's the most successful way to train a puppy, if eventually there will be a point in time where you no longer want to use treats.

My ultimate goal is to have a dog that responds to me without the use of treats or any other methods but my command.

Thanks in advance.

There are three ways to train your dog. The dog either has food drive, prey drive or no drive for either food or prey.

This is not rocket science. There are no other drives to use in obedience training.

If a dog has food drive and your goal is to obedience train your dog then you should use food. If your dog has prey drive and food drive and your goal is to protection train your dog then you should use prey drive to train. http://leerburg.com/101e.htm

If your goal is to have an obedience dog and your pet does not have food drive or prey drive then the only thing left is force - in which case you must train with force. (Not my favorite choice)

The guy you mention (and his web site ) is a perfect example of a fact that "EVERYONE HAS AN OPINION ON DOG TRAINING BUT VERY FE PEOPLE HAVE THE EXPEIENCE TO BACK UP THESE OPINIONS" In other words this guy is a dummy. He is a flim-flam man who is looking for a nitch.

Mimi,
Stick with the advice given in the video. The purpose of using food is to assist imprinting the command with the pup. When the pup's little butt touches the ground and you say "Sit" he gets his treat and he learns pretty quick.

That website you visited, well, I suffered through the little video clip. If that guy says he doesn't use food to train his dogs, I would say that is an untruth. All the dogs are focusing on the owners' hands and I swear I thought I saw a little food reward action going on there. I also noticed his personal dogs appear a bit flat (which translates to not looking too happy about doing his commands).

When I give my dog a command, her ears are up, head erect and looking pretty happy to be alive. And focusing on my face, not my hand. Oh, and she was given food treats as a young pup, which later transferred into a prey item (toy).

Beware of sites that don't offer info about the type of training they do. This site talked about all the things he doesn't do. So how does he train? Guess you gotta pay to find out!

Originally posted by Mimi Ghouleh:
So, now I'm confused in what's the most successful way to train a puppy, if eventually there will be a point in time where you no longer want to use treats. In order to reach a point in time where you no longer WANT to use treats, you have to start with USING treats. No?

Just follow the video. As far as that website is concerned, it’s nothing but a gimmick. You should’ve stopped right after the first paragraph where he says that 94% of trainers use treats. That alone should tell you something.

He categorizes Labs as a ‘stubborn breed’? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />


Originally posted by Ed Frawley:
this guy is a dummy I tend to agree!

Hi,
I am new here too. I also just received the video. I was also afraid to use alot of treats. My pup does have alot of prey drive but after the video and only two sessions with him, with treats, he is like a different pup. He also seems more focused on me.

Labs stubborn breed??? lol.....

My GSD has little prey drive, so I use treats and she is working great with my commands.

Originally posted by Maggie Baldino:
And focusing on my face, not my hand I think that's the most important thing when using food, to maintain face contact. Instead of handing out the treats, drop them out through your mouth so he learns to focus on your face. And the more food drive he has, the better he'll focus.

Hey everyone,

I'm new to this board, and I'm also very much a beginner as far as k-9 training goes. I acquired my first ever GSD back in June of last year. My pup is now 8 months old. I started working with him at about 12 weeks and I've pretty much followed the advice on the "Your puppy, 8 weeks to 8 months" video. I'm happy to say or training is going very well and in fact my pup passed his CGC at 6 months old with flying colors.

Now, I realize that's probably not that big a deal, especially compared to the accomplishments of many who visit here. But for me, it was great. I had a blast, and continue to do so, working with my dog and I can tell you that Ed's tape was tremendously helpful. I also would recommend the "Basic Dog Obedience" video, because like the puppy video, there's alot one can learn, that's especially true for new "trainers" like myself.

Good luck in your training.

Greg

Greg Thomas stated
training is going very well and in fact my pup passed his CGC at 6 months old with flying colors.
may not be a big deal....

Well, I say it's a HUGE deal because I know many dogs that would never get near passing a CGC test, EVER.

Nice to hear from another responsible dog owner that wants to have a well behaved dog in public.