So here's my dilemma, Dakota (now 7 wks old), has been having issues with food sensitivities, and we are now just getting it sorted out, and slowly introducing/mixing a new food (better brand, since she was on Iams), hopefully to have her totally off Iams in a week or two.

But since she's been sensitive with allergy symptoms including diarrhea, I havent been using treats, b/c I want to get her all adjusted to the new food and make sure we have no problems with it. I don't want to be guessing if its the food or treats causing symptoms/sensitivities.

So I have just been using positive reinforcement and praising for all her good behavior. (Im sure I look like an idiot outside freaking out and getting all happy after she uses potty outside hahah ).

Im just wondering/concerned if this is enough, will she get the message of good habits/behavior until she can have treats??? She seems to be ok now, she knows to sit before she gets her food, and at the door to come in and out when asked, but still having accidents in the house but thats expected at her age.

Hopefully we will have the food thing all sorted out soon!!

Yes, praise and positive reinforcement are enough. I never really liked being a treat dispenser for my crew, so I stopped. They still get treats just not for every little good deed and they are very well behaved and have picked up on expectations as quickly as the dogs I have treat rewarded in the past. Keep up the good work and hopefully solid poo is in the near future.

You can always use kibble as reinforcement until you get comfortable using treats although, we personally used treats as well as kibble just in smaller amounts. Breaking into smaller pieces and so on. Some loose poo and such is pretty normal when switching at first so it's not going to make much of a difference in my personal opinion if you use a few treats that she likes to reinforce. But if you don't feel comfortable you can just use kibble. But if you're not having any trouble with just praise and don't feel comforable doing treats and such just keep at it.

Don't feel embarassed praising for poo and pee outside, we all go through that, thats part of bonding

HuskyMom09 wrote:

Yes, praise and positive reinforcement are enough. I never really liked being a treat dispenser for my crew, so I stopped. They still get treats just not for every little good deed and they are very well behaved and have picked up on expectations as quickly as the dogs I have treat rewarded in the past. Keep up the good work and hopefully solid poo is in the near future.

+1 and well said.

I think a treat is supposed to be just that. If I gave them out all the time Keeonah wouldn't care about them. They come out sometimes at random if she has been behaving well, or after she behaves particulary well in a certain non-typical scenario. Because of the infrequency, she focuses on me very intently when they do come out. Her genereal general behaviors and obedience are expected here. I think that is the key underlying element in that pack leader mentality. You can't "try" to enforce the mentality. You are the drill sergeant. They just know you mean business.

Also, using the kibble as the treat is a good idea too. If your pup is really motivated by food, they won't care what it is as long as they get to eat it in the long run:P

I think that especially with a puppy that young you want to be focused on positive reinforcement and praise. You can redirect him without a correction when he crosses a boundary, but you don't want to do anything to hurt his new and ever building confidence. Corrective training is really not necessary or productive with very young puppies, shy dogs, scared dogs, etc.

Perhaps as a puppy, that may be enough sometimes. However praise for most dogs is a very low reinforcer. We use a broad range of reinforcers for the dogs which some are simple like getting to go out side, getting a toy thrown, getting dinner. Others have to be higher value, because what I want them to ignore in order to do what I ask is higher value.

There is nothing wrong with using food rewards in training. Once a week for each dog their entire meal becomes treats and instead of just feeding them in the bowl it's used and worked for.

For training sessions just use kibble, will make the training easier for you because there is a drive for the dog to want to do it. Thus making learning easier and the dog more open.

I'm with everyone else here. Use the kibble as the treat. I use this for Saphire all the time and it works like a charm. As you get the food sensitivities sorted out you can use different treats if you choose.

Plus using kibble and hand feeding help with bonding and can help to prevent food guarding and other similar issues as they get older.

I use praise and treat/toy rewards. With Nunya, I started with mostly treat rewards and when he got excited by working with me I weaned him to toys. I still use treats when we're doing something where he might have a hard head, like off leash walks training, or when I'm teaching new tricks or running him through tricks.

I like to start wit treats and toys and wean off of treats, for the majority. My dogs won't accept kibbles as a treat though.

Here's an article about training with rewards vs. corrections(not saying you correct, but just as a reference)
I've had a lot of people ask me why their dogs won't listen, because they should listen because the owners said so, but they refuse to reward. And it can be challenging to explain why that doesn't always work. Not all dogs need rewards to be reliable, I've met a number of herders that work for praise, but I've never met a husky that will work listen completely for a pat on the head and a good word.
http://paws4udogs.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/he-should-do-it-because-he-loves-me/