Tricks and Treats
Old-school, traditional trainers often frown on using treats in training, for a variety of reasons. The most common argument is "you won't always have a biscuit in your pocket", but I think that's missing the point. A treat is used to reinforce what you are teaching, while you are in a training session, like giving a child a gold star for doing well in kindergarten, while they are learning. The teacher always has a full box of stars and the trainer always has a supply of treats for the training session. Once the child or the dog graduates, the occasional pat on the back or scratch behind the ear will suffice to reinforce the desired behavior.
There are tricks to using teats successfully (and there are ways dogs "trick" us into giving them unearned treats). However, used correctly, treats can win over a stubborn customer or can be used to get the attention of an unruly hooligan. And used with other forms of positive reinforcement and perhaps a bit of clicker training, treats can work miracles!
- Don't over-reward
One common mistake is to use something really special for basic, simple commands, leaving yourself nowhere to go when you have to teach something tougher or when you start adding distractions. Use a bit of kibble from the food bag if you can get the reaction you want, escalate to a biscuit if necessary, then move on to bits of hot dog or bacon when you start working outside or in a group.
- Smaller is better
I use puppy biscuits - barely a mouthful - when kibble stops working, and the dogs think they are getting something special. The puppy biscuits (and the kibble) are just big enough that my dogs know they're getting something, but small enough that the treat disappears quickly.
(As an aside, one of the first things I work on is requiring my dogs to take food gently from my hand - make sure you make this an early, SUCCESSFUL lesson, or take precautions so that you don't loose a finger!)
- Alternative "treats"
Another argument against treats is that they don't work on all dogs, which is quite true. And yes, you don't always have treats immediately available to reward "spontaneous" good behavior (for example, if your noisy dog decides to NOT bark at a squirrel for a change, you have a perfect opportunity to reinforce goodness). Some dogs are quite happy to work for a bit of praise in lieu of a treat - my wild-child loves to have her back scratched just above the tail, and this works as well for her as a treat 90% of the time. Some dogs could care less about food or praise, but will do anything for a game with a tennis ball.
Having an alternative "treat" is always a good idea, and provides a bit of variety that may help keep your dog interested.
- Phasing out treats
Even if treats have been used to accomplish amazing results in your training program, they do need to be phased out as a regular occurrence in preparation for "graduation". In fact, according to clicker trainer Karen Prior, once the behavior is learned "it is vital that you do not reinforce it on a regular basis but instead switch to using reinforcement only occasionally, and on a random or unpredictable basis."
Just as you phase out gold stars for children, you phase out treats when training dogs. That doesn't mean you never reward again - it just means that your dog should sit when told to without a treat in your hand. Remember, before you phase treats out completely in regular training sessions, make sure you dog is reliably following your instructions.
- Reward the right behavior
Another important point about using treats in training is making sure you're rewarding the correct behavior. The classic example is how treats are often used in house-training. Many people, my past-self included, put the puppy outside to do their business and rewarded them with a treat when they came back inside. This isn't actually reinforcing correct pottying, it IS reinforcing coming to the back door - useful, but not the point of the exercise.
Ensuring that you are rewarding the correct action is why clicker training is so effective. The dog learns that the click is an "atta-boy" and further associate the click with an soon-to-be-received reward.
- Treat pouch versus chewed pocket
Another consideration when using treats is "theft". If you leave the jeans or jacket you normally use when training where dogs can get at them, you may end up spending a lot of time patching clothing. The scent of dog biscuits and hot dogs will linger. If you are serious about training and using treats, invest in a treat pouch, and when you aren't wearing it, hide it!
Don't be afraid to use treats in training, because when used correctly, "miracles" can occur - I know, I'm living with three of them!
References
Karen Prior "Don't Shoot the Dog"
Pat Miller "The Power of Positive Dog Training"