Treat Training Your Gundog Puppy Is A Fun Way For Them To Learn
Treat training, or positive reinforcement is a common training method that has had a lot of success with many different types of breeds. Some breeds do much better with it than others, especially if that breed is food oriented such as with Labrador Retrievers, and it can be a great way to encourage both training and good behaviour.
To give you a better understanding of what treat training is, I would like to explain it in a bit more detail. Basically, when treat training is done; the gundog is given a small treat as a reward for the behaviour. Enough rewards and the gundog is conditioned well enough so that he will do the behaviour more than a negative behaviour. In the gundog’s mind, behaviour A is met with a reward so it should be repeated over and over again.
One of the best p0ints of positive reinforcement is that you can train your gundog and condition its behaviour without any harsh corrections, which could damage any relationship that you have with the gundog. Training can be done naturally and you are encouraging your gundog quite easily.
When it comes to using positive reinforcement, or treat training, there are a number of things that an owner can do wrong so that the training doesn’t have any real effect on their gundog’s behaviour. In this article, I will look through some of those things and the way to get the most out of your gundog’s training.
The first thing that you should look at is the treat that you are using for your positive reinforcement. Many first time gundog owners and even some experienced owners make the biggest mistake when it comes to choosing a treat. There are hundreds of advertisements out there for dry biscuits and the manufacturers of those treats promote them as suitable, maybe even preferable, to training.
If you have dry biscuits for your training treat, or bait as it is commonly called, then go and throw them away or put them aside for other times in the day. The reason why dry biscuits are not the best food is that they are fairly big and the gundog has to take time to chew. This chewing can distract the gundog from what he is doing and you have to correct him because he broke the command.
When you are choosing the treat you want to look for several things.
1. It should be soft
2. It should be flavorful because no one is going to work for a bland treat. (This is actually great for baiting since most flavorful treats also have a strong odour.)
3. It should be easy to cut up.
4. It should be cut into very small pieces, about the size of you nail.
Using a treat in this manner, your gundog receives a treat that he doesn’t have to chew, it is enticing enough to bait him and it is such a small morsel that it doesn’t distract or take time to swallow.
One of the best products out there for training your gundog is RollOver. This is a sausage like treat that you cut up for use. It can be fairly expensive, especially if you are using it a lot, but the cost is well worth the end result. If you are looking for a cheaper alternative for training your gundog, I have been very successful with chicken wieners cut up into pinkie nail sized bites and I used this with a surprisingly picky Labrador Retriever. You can usually pick up a package of chicken wieners for about a dollar and they go a long way.
Now that you have the treat, you should look at how you are treating. Many owners make the mistake of holding the treat the wrong way so the gundog is able to take it before he has done anything. Another problem with treat placement is that many gundogs have to jump up a bit to get it. In the end, allowing your gundog to jump up will only reinforce a negative behaviour that is difficult to break.
Instead, you should hold the treat between your index and thumb and then cup it with the rest of your hand. Show your gundog the back of your hand where he can’t get to the treat but can only small it. When it is time to treat, bring it down to his level and then open your hand so he can get it with his tongue. Discourage the use of his teeth when he is taking the treat and remove your hand immediately if he nips. This shows him that any biting means the treat is removed.
The last mistake that many people make with treat training is that they overuse or only use positive reinforcement. The key to creating a perfectly trained gundog has less to do with the treats and more to do with consistency. If your dog sits on command, then he receives a reward. Positive behaviours that you want to condition your dog to should be treated. He should never be over treated or simply treated for standing there.
Even when you are not training your dog, you should only give your gundog a treat when he has performed a command. So if you are in the kitchen and decide to grab a biscuit for your Labrador Retriever, you should make your dog sit or lay down or some other command before you reward him with the biscuit.
When your dog does a negative or bad behaviour, it is important that you follow through on your rules. This does not mean harshly correcting your dog but a firm “no” and taking him from the area is enough to establish that you are not happy. Trust me, when you dog can choose between good (a treat) and bad (a firm “no”) you will have no problem with his behaviour.