Do you have a food motivated dog?

It’s been an unpredictable year so far for weather in Atlanta and the abundance of rain has kept a lot of us inside when we’d rather be out walking and playing with our dogs!  This may be the perfect time to spend extra time working with your dog and teaching them a few new tricks to show off to your friends.

Creekside Pet Hotel believes in natural, positive dog training techniques. Using treat rewards are a good positive reinforcement for dogs and is a good way to get them to learn a new trick. By teaching  dogs new tricks with healthy yet delicious treats the dog will be motivated by the food, the more eye-catching the reward for the dog the greater the effort.

If your dog isn’t very food motivated, try their favorite toy! Maybe they have a favorite toy that they love to squeak. Getting to play with their toy or getting extra affection from you can work too.   

If it takes your dog a while to learn a new trick, don’t get upset with them, maybe they need a rest or an easier trick.  They’re in it for the affection from you…. and the treats!

Kissing on Command!

Does your dog love to give you kisses or are they a little shy?  After your dog masters this new trick, maybe you can see if they will kiss your cat on command!  Kissing on command can also help you avoid lots of kisses, especially when guests are over and may not enjoy sloppy dog kisses the entire visit.

Dogtime has a great video showing a few easy steps to get your dog to kiss on command.   

Use Healthy and Delicious Treats

By training food motivated dogs with treats, they will be excited to learn all the new tricks, since the rewards will keep the dog motivated by the food.  Your dog will be attentive to you, will relax and will find a goal for which to fulfill all the commands so they get their reward.

Make sure that you don’t overtreat your dog. You don’t want them putting on extra pounds. After their new tricks and treat time is over, take them for a walk or sign them up for time at dog daycare.  They will definitely burn off extra calories playing with all of their friends.

Protect the Prizes

It’s normal that if the dog smells their treat prize, he won’t be able to concentrate on the lessons and may want to pounce on you to eat the prize. In this case, you will need a container to put the prize in and keep closed to prevent them from smelling it or hide it behind your back if it’s too much of a distraction.

When to Reward Your Dog

Every time your dog fulfills one of the commands and gets the trick right, reward them with a healthy snack.  Once they have learned the trick, you should not eliminate the reward completely. It is best to do it progressively and slowly; you can exchange the prizes for love and caresses, or for words of motivation or encouragement. What dog doesn’t like to hear “You’re such a good boy!”?

Extra Energy to Burn?

Remember, even though it’s been rainy in Atlanta, we have a large indoor playroom for dog daycare when it’s raining too much for them to play in one of our outside play yards.  If your dog is getting cabin fever from the rain, sign them up for dog daycare!

At Creekside Pet Hotel, we use natural, positive dog training techniques to help pet parents establish a balanced relationship with their dog that is based on communication, respect, and trust.  If your dog hasn’t had basic training, now might be the time to enroll them in one of our dog training programs.  We offer weekly lessons for those that are enrolled in our dog daycare program, private lessons at our facility and lessons in your home.  Contact us to see which is the best program for you and your dog.