Why Food Dog Training Does Not Work
First, I will say that food can be a powerful motivator when training your dog. I do use food in shaping some things, with some dogs. However, if you rely only on food, your dog will not be reliable in all distractions. For some dogs food can shape, but not require behavior. Think about it. Can you require a dog to do anything with food? No, it is a lure, but the dog must have desire for the food. The first issue with food only programs is where some dogs will not take food from your hand. Having trained dogs over the last ten years, I have seen many dogs that will not take food from their owners. There are several other issues, but the largest is your ability to consistently use food all through the day.
Our Remote Collar Training
Sit Means Sit is a national franchise and the fastest growing dog training company. We are centered around the use of a remote collar system designed for communication. The Sit Means Sit collar is not like collars you will get on-line. Most of those collars I would never use on my dog. Our remote is designed for communication and has a smooth feel sent to the dog. We teach the dog to focus and pay attention with the touch-like feel and it is very adjustable.
The point is consistency. Without the collar you are not consistent in training your dog. Do you believe me? How are you training your dog if not with an e-collar? What is the way to teach the dog? Is it with food or a system where food is the primary motivator? If so, do you intend to have food on you constantly? If your food is not a higher motivation to the dog than all other stimuli, you are not consistent in your ability to influence your dog. That is, unless you never take them out! We can’t empty the world of distractions so we can have a well trained dog.
I was a leash based trainer before I started using remotes. My dog was very well trained IF the leash was on her. She knew I was not able to influence her unless the leash was on and since that was a majority of her life, she was in control because of my inability to be consistent. The point here is that if you are not at the level you want with a dog, the first issue is consistency. You can’t influence a dog constantly with food and the food can not overpower many strong drives in our dogs in the first place! I would guess about 20-30% of the frustrated people that walk into our training facility and become clients were in food based programs and didn’t get far. They shaped behaviors they wanted ( at least ones that can happen right next to you) and they then had no way to require a single one of those suggestions (not commands) once the dog saw a rabbit or heard the doorbell. The food programs did not create any impulse control with the dogs. They found food can’t require a behavior or create a boundary. Although it can be an excellent way to shape a behavior, I have never seen a food based program that consistently takes their clients and dogs out to busy places and has them perform commands in busy parks with no leashes. That is actually the focus of our dog training programs. Our definition of obedience is off-leash control with distractions.
Consistency Is Key
The only way to be more consistent with leash based dog training is to deny the dog freedom, by crating the dog when you don’t have the leash on. That’s right, the dog is on the leash or in the crate and no other options. This isn’t really being consistent in having influence, its just denying the dog the option to behave any way they please. Most people don’t do this for several obvious reasons. How many hours of the day are you holding the leash in your hand? How about giving our food? So that leaves how many hour you have no influence with the dog? And this is a dominant pack animal that should take you serious because why? Are you only it’s PEZ dispenser?
When you are a remote trainer, and you have been through the first phase of dog training in one of our Sit Means Sit dog training programs, you simply put on the collar and the dog knows you can influence them. That level of consistency can happen for as many hours a day as you are with them! It isn’t a deterrent, as much as it is an understanding of what you want. Again, without the way to communicate, the food or leash only trained dog, really does not get that boundary you aren’t showing them. With the remote training they know boundaries, they know commands like walking nice with the leash loose, holding commands, they understand not to jump on your table and eat your food, chase the cat, dig in the back yard, and other house rules that you pick, because you have taken the time to actually teach the dog to live with you. You are consistent when you use the collar like a communication device and not a punishment device. The collar is a language and you must use it CONSISTENTLY for the dog to understand and know your rules, boundaries, and limitasheones. HA!
Want To Learn More?
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