# Training without treats.



## DaxOlexar (Oct 30, 2017)

How do you get your dog to listen without treats. That's my fear, I don't want to be too reliant on them. I know to teach a behaviour they're good,but are there better rewards like your praise?


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

If you teach a new skill and use treats, always add a praising word / touch too. Once they start doing the requested task confidently, start removing the treat occasionally (first 1 out of 10 times, then 2 out of 10 etc) and still do the praise/ touch. Remove the treat gradually and watch if they still perform. Mostly they will as they will still wonder when the treat is coming, also they will still have the other form of praise, so they will know that they did well. 
If they have a decline, start adding more of the treat / praise combo again and later on remove gradually remove the treat. You will see that with time your dog will start performing without the treat, it just needs a bit of a time and patience until they understand what the desired behavior is. Also repeat the same in different scenarios and environment, dogs don`t generalize, but eventually learn that the same command calls always for the same behavior, regardless of where you are. If your dog likes toys, practice the commands also while holding their toys and reward them with the toy/play session.

Also teach them a marker word for praise: have them sit and and have like 10-20 treats in your hand. Keep giving treats while repeating the same marker word (mine is `perfect`). Do this for several days. Use the same word in different situations when you just want to signal that they do well.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

I'm with Gabica on this one...the treat is used to reward not so much the behavior, but the association btwn the word you use and their action, and you want to use verbal praise more, with the treat intermittently, and at some point, phase it out. Training is simply teaching *and reinforcing) our language/words to their actions. Once they get it, there's no need to treat, other than "good boy/girl!".

Otherwise the dog is trained not so much to you, but to the reward.


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## DaxOlexar (Oct 30, 2017)

yes exactly i want the dog to work for me, and not the treat.


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