# Breaking the food addiction



## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

to start with, make sure the food is not visible until after he has performed the action and you are in the process of giving the treat to him. Otherwise you are just bribing him.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Train with the food out of sight in low distraction areas. And depending on how that works out, leave the treats on the counter or somewhere while your dog does a walking session or string of sits with you without food on your person. 

You will keep treats in your hand at class, but start transitioning it out of sight.


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

Ben and Cosmo appear to be quite similar indeed. 

Not sure what others think about this but what about jackpoting during agility for a dog like this?


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

If you must train using treats, can you try his kibble? It's usually not as high value as cheese or other treats.

My Danny is extremely food driven and like Ben will sometimes be so focused on the treat (drooling the whole time) that I have to switch to a toy as a reward, depending on what I need him to do. He loves to play, too, so that works for us.

One good thing about a food driven dog is that if they know they will get the treat for doing what you tell him to do, he can be spot on in obedience. Last Sunday at our off leash dependability class, Danny was too interested in other dogs to pay any attention to me. My mom brought some pretzels and I borrowed a few. Let me tell you, he went from problem child to star of the class immediately! LOL


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## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

You need to give rewards at an intermittant and variable rate. Not only will this improve the performance level but it will also get him to not expect the food every time.


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## GinnyinPA (Oct 31, 2010)

The trouble with lower value treats is that there are others in the class with high value treats. He's been known to go to them for a reward. As I said, he's getting really pushy ;-)


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## jimla (Oct 9, 2008)

GinnyinPA said:


> ...
> We're in beginning agility, and he'll jump at the hand with the treat rather than jumping over the bar. Doing things like the dog walk, he's not looking at his feet, he's looking at the cheese. Instead of walking at our side, he'll jump in front of us, sit down, and try to mug us for the food.
> ...


Roxy and I are having the same problem in agility class. I have to have a treat in my hand for her to stay with me on the course. Our trainer wants me to keep the treats hidden and reward only after she performs the correct behavior.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

GinnyinPA said:


> The trouble with lower value treats is that there are others in the class with high value treats. He's been known to go to them for a reward. As I said, he's getting really pushy ;-)


 
keep him on leash. He shouldn't have the opportunity to leave you.


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## BriGuy (Aug 31, 2010)

Here is an article I was just reading that discusses this topic:

http://www.suzanneclothier.com/system/files/articles_pdf/Rewards%2C%20Lures%20And%20Bribes.pdf

Hopefully that link works - if not, the article is on suzanneclothier.com and it is titled "Rewards, Lures And Bribes". You might have to register to see it.


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## rhondas (Sep 10, 2010)

I used to think that my guy was only motivated by food until a Bridget Carlsen workshop - my issue was with heeling only.

She said for the working spots to hide the food and provide praise or play before giving a treat. Guess what - it turned out that he loved the praise or play even more than the treats. I would would suggest giving it a try. 

Another option is to take a small food bowl and put treats in it and show your dog it's there before you start the course. Then he must do the agility course before he gets the treat - he needs to work for it. This is similar to jackpoting.


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## JDandBigAm (Aug 25, 2008)

Have you tried using a tug toy to play with your dog? After your dog fully knows the behavior you are asking him to do, fold a fabric frisbee or tug toy under your arm and pull it out and play with him when he does the behavior. Make the play fun and fast. We can get in 15 mins of play and training accomplishing alot of material. Some of the great handlers out there can add alot more expertise on the subject of play and training. Do you have an instructor who can help you learn how to wean your dog off treats?


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## GinnyinPA (Oct 31, 2010)

Ben isn't much for playing with us or praise. He spent the first three years of his life tied up outside and never learned to look to people for anything but food. I sometimes feel like he merely allows me to pet him - he rarely seeks it out. He'll occasionally play with us for a few minutes, but it's not a high value activity for him and he gets bored quickly. If I give him praise alone, he'll run to my husband and ask him for a treat. If no treats are offered at all, he'll just sit there and ignore us completely. 

I do like the idea of leaving the treats on a shelf while we're training at home so he knows they're around but not in our hands. We've done a variation of that in class. But we really need to work on lessening the frequency of treats.


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## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

BriGuy said:


> Here is an article I was just reading that discusses this topic:
> 
> http://www.suzanneclothier.com/system/files/articles_pdf/Rewards, Lures And Bribes.pdf
> 
> Hopefully that link works - if not, the article is on suzanneclothier.com and it is titled "Rewards, Lures And Bribes". You might have to register to see it.


Suzanne Clothier has lots of great articles that she shares for free. It is worth checking out her site.


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