Should you be using food to train your Dachshund?
Have you ever asked yourself if using food is wrong when training your Dachshund?
Are you concerned about doing the right thing in training your Dachshund with food?
If you have, then I can promise you that you are not the only one thinking about this important question.
It’s something that many dachshund owners never actually get straight in their minds.
it is one of the most powerful methods to use and very simple to use in your Dachshund training!
What I am about to explain in this article will almost certainly surprise you but also makes total sense.
It will contradict some of the things that you have heard through the grapevine,
but getting tips from other dachshund owners at the park is not always the best
place to get your dachshund training advice from.
Once you have read this article I am sure that both you and your dachshund will have a
much better relationship and a more positive training experience.
Not to mention a greater understanding and appreciation for each other.
Firstly, let’s look at the comment that you should never use food to get
your dachshund to respond to you because your dachshund will then only
listen to you if you have food in your hand. This is simply not true.
Doggy Dan, the world famous dog trainer from
tells me his dogs listen to him whether he has food or not, yet he trained them all initially
with food rewards!!
If you would like to checkout Doggy Dan’s complete dog and puppy training site for $1 then you can.
Dan gives everyone a $1 trial of the site for 3 days!
To get YOUR access now just ->->->->->-> CLICK HERE
The reason you can start by using food is because of one simple yet powerful
Technique. Once your dachshund has learned to respond to your command
without thinking about it, you simply reduce the food out gradually!
Reducing the food out is such an important concept, and is also referred to
as using ‘random rewards’ which apply the random reinforcement technique.
An extremely subtle, simple technique that is very powerful. In a nutshell you simply start giving
your dachshund the treat from inside your hand so they can’t see it. Then you slowly start to
reward only every 2nd and then every 3rd time. Eventually you can space out the treats until
they become random rewards. In a separate article I’ll explain how to boost your results with the
random rewards and leave your dachshund totally focused and awaiting your
next command without using up all your food too fast! So look out for that one…
The second myth about using food is this: dachshunds should just be happy to
work for you without any food rewards. I have heard this said and I have
noticed that it’s nearly always said by people who have not owned or trained
many dachshunds or by people who are quite happy to use a lot of force, fear
and aggression in their training.
In a way, this approach was the “old school” way – that dachshunds should just be
obedient or else. Well the way I see it is this… How long would you work for nothing?
Not long I am guessing! And for many dachshunds that’s exactly how they see it.
They get bored working so hard with absolutely no reward in return.
I bet most of you would quit within the 2nd or 3rd times after getting no
rewards! Now not all dogs require food treats, some dogs are just so happy to
please and with them the rewards are optional. However put very
simply, all dogs are different. There are those who’ll do anything you ask with a smile on
their face, and those who are always thinking about their next meal.
Like stubborn dachshunds!
With a dog who just wants to please there may be no need to use food rewards
once they have understood what you want.
On the other hand, dachshunds who do not care for your pats, cuddles or their ball
when they are racing around the park playing with other dogs are the ones that
will seriously benefit from some very deliberate food training. Because they respond to food.
By now you’re probably thinking that you always end up giving your dachshunds food treats,
but that couldn’t be further from the truth! As I mentioned earlier, when you understand how
to fade out your food treats out and use a boost-effect to maximize the use of your treats
(which is another topic I’ll cover soon), you too will find your dachshund responding
to you lightning fast every time.
So next time you are out with your dachshund feel free to use food as a reward
when they do something good and don’t worry about anybody telling
you otherwise. But also remember to start to reduce the rewards over a long period
of time. There is no rush though, and we are talking months not days!
Eventually you may end up only using the food rewards every 5th time,
then every 20th time… And by the way, if you’re worried about them eating too much, simply
take it out of their dinner so their total amount eaten during the day stays the same.
Hopefully that helps clear a few things up about the use of food. It’s always going to be
the number one reward for most dachshunds and other dogs for that matter.
Soon I’ll explain how to boost the effect of using food rewards and also
go into a little more about exactly which food treats will get the best
results.
Once again, I can promise you that this simple trick will make you smile.
Of course, if you are wanting a total dog training solution, reading about
it can only get you so far. If you want to see it all in action, with videos
then I suggest that you check out Doggy Dan’s complete dog and puppy training
website.
And remember, Dan gives you a $1 trial of the site for 3 days! To get
YOUR access now just CLICK HERE