Dog training rewards

Q: What are the best treats for dog training?

A range sorted by value: everyday kibble for easy home reps, soft training treats for new behaviours, and high-value food like chicken or cheese for hard, distracting situations.

Q: What are the best training treats for dogs?

Small, soft, smelly and quick to eat, so the dog can take many in a session without filling up: pea-sized pieces of chicken, cheese, liver, or a soft commercial training treat.

Q: How big should a training treat be?

About the size of a pea for a medium dog, smaller for a small dog. You want the dog to swallow it instantly and be ready for the next repetition.

Q: Will using treats make my dog fat?

Not if you use part of the daily food ration for training and count treats toward total calories. Use lower-value kibble for easy work and save rich treats for hard tasks.

Q: What rewards can I use if my dog is not food motivated?

Check the dog is not full or stressed first, then try higher-value food, or use play with a tug or ball, sniffing time, praise, or access to something the dog wants.

Q: What is a high-value versus low-value reward?

High-value is something the dog finds especially exciting, like meat or a favourite toy, used for difficult or distracting situations. Low-value, like kibble, is fine for easy, familiar tasks.

Q: How do I stop my dog only working for treats?

Fade to an unpredictable reward schedule once a behaviour is solid, mix in praise, play and life rewards, and keep the dog guessing about when the food comes.

Q: Should I reward every single correct response?

While teaching a new behaviour, yes. Once it is reliable, switch to rewarding some responses rather than all, which actually makes the behaviour more durable.

Q: Can toys and play be used as training rewards?

Yes, and for many dogs a quick game of tug or a thrown ball is a powerful reward, especially for active breeds and for building drive and focus.

Q: Where should I keep treats during training?

In a pouch or pocket you can reach instantly, or pre-placed in bowls around the room, so you can reward within a second of the behaviour.

Rewards are the engine of reward-based training. Choosing the right one for the moment, and knowing how to fade them, is what separates a dog that works reliably from one that only works with food in view.

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Quick answer

Use a range of food rewards sorted by value (everyday kibble up to roast chicken), and match the value to the difficulty: low-value for easy home reps, high-value for hard, distracting situations. Add play and life rewards (sniffs, greetings, doors opening). Once a behaviour is fluent, reward intermittently and lean more on life rewards. Weigh food out of the daily ration.

Build a reward hierarchy

Tier	Examples	Use for
Everyday	Kibble, dog biscuits	Easy reps at home, low distraction
Good	Soft training treats, cheese cubes	New behaviours, mild distraction
High-value	Chicken, sausage, liver, cooked meat	Recall around distractions, reactivity work, the vet, hard environments

Match the reward to the difficulty. Asking a dog to recall past a squirrel for a dry biscuit is a losing trade.

Non-food rewards

Play: a quick tug or a thrown toy, for dogs that value it
Praise and touch: genuine, warm, and only if the dog actually likes it
Life rewards: being released to sniff, greet a person, go through a door, get out of the car: use the thing the dog wants as the payment for a behaviour you want first

Reward placement

Deliver the reward where you want the dog to be: on the mat for a settle, at your trouser seam for heel, low on the floor for calm, at your legs for recall. Placement teaches position as much as the mark does.

Reinforcement schedules

While teaching: reward every correct rep (continuous)
Once fluent: reward some reps unpredictably (variable), keeping occasional jackpots, which actually makes the behaviour more durable
Keep the average rate high early on; thin it slowly

Fading treats

Get the behaviour fluent first: do not thin rewards while it is shaky
Move to variable rewards
Bring in life rewards for everyday behaviours
Keep paying well for the hard stuff (recall away from real distractions) for life

A dog that "only works for food" has usually been lured every time without the lure ever being faded, or is being paid too little for the difficulty.

Treats and weight

Training treats count as food. Use small pieces, subtract them from meals, and favour lean options. A dog can earn most of a meal through training on a busy day.

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FAQ

What are the best treats for dog training?

What are the best training treats for dogs?

How big should a training treat be?

Will using treats make my dog fat?

What rewards can I use if my dog is not food motivated?

What is a high-value versus low-value reward?

How do I stop my dog only working for treats?

Should I reward every single correct response?

Can toys and play be used as training rewards?

Where should I keep treats during training?

Related guides

References

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American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (2021). Position Statement on Humane Dog Training. View source
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WSAVA Animal Wellness and Welfare Committee (2018). Global Welfare Guidelines for companion animal practitioners. Journal of Small Animal Practice.

These references describe dogs and training in general. They are not evidence about any specific commercial program. This page is general information, not a substitute for individualised veterinary or behaviour advice. Last reviewed: 30 August 2026.