Treats can be a wonderful tool when training. Some dogs may be willing to do just about anything for your approval and affection, but a lot of other dogs need a little more incentive than that. Enter the treats.

Unfortunately, it's easy for a dog trained with treats to become treat-dependent, meaning that he won't do anything that's expected of him unless a treat is dangled in front of his nose. Essentially, that dog's managed to train you with treats rather than the other way around. So just where do you draw the line and how do you use treats without making your dog dependent upon them?

The key is to use treats only during the learning phase of the training process. This basically means that you should use treats as a reward when your dog is learning what's expected of him. Once he understands what's expected of him, the treats should be replaced with another type of reward for his good behavior, a pat on the head perhaps, or a ‘good dog'. Take the ‘down' command for example. Place a treat in front of your dog's nose. Say the ‘down' command as you slowly lower the treat to the floor, and reward your dog with the treat once he's lying down. Use a treat repeatedly until your dog understands the ‘down' command and the behavior expected of him. Once your dog has put the behavior together with the command, then replace the treat with your other reward.

More about training your pet with treats.