Training Your Dog Without Treats

A variety of dog training methods will help dogs change behaviors or become reliable in a working situation.

By Laura Pakis, Certified Professional Dog Trainer and Cynologist,

You probably know all about positive dog training, but other dog training methods are used to help dogs change behaviors or become reliable in a working situation.  Don’t limit yourself to a one method dog trainer.  Find a dog trainer that reads and understands your dog and develops an appropriate training method for your needs and your dog’s personality and temperament.  You’ll be much more satisfied with the results.

Balanced training

Balance training basically means teaching a behavior using positive reinforcement tools (capture, lure, model, shaping).  Once a dog clearly understands the correct response for a cue, corrections and escape/avoidance are introduced.  The balance lies between positive reinforcement and correction.  Balance training continues past the point where positive reinforcement trainers stop.  The idea is to make the dog accountable and responsible with increased reliability.  The dog learns the consequences of choices and a solid work ethic.  It is not about making a dog do something they hate, but making a dog take the work seriously.  When a person’s life can hang in the balance, they cannot truly afford to have a dog who thinks it is perfectly okay to make a choice not to work.  Dogs are not robots/machines, obviously.  They are fallible just as humans are.  Still, we have greater compliance if the dog is working for work’s sake instead of anticipating a reward.

Drive training

Drive training comes from Schutzhund training.   It is extremely positive and motivating.  The idea is to put the dog into a certain natural frame of mind where he is very focused and very eager—a place where strong instinctive imperatives drive him.  There are many different drives in dogs—pack drive, prey drive, defense drive, to name just a few.  A strong bond between handler and dog is largely a function of pack drive.  I think the drive is easiest to see in a ball-crazy dog.  A dog will stare intently at a ball, not blinking, with muscles twitching in response to tiny, barely perceptible movements of the ball.  If you step on his tail, he won’t even notice.  If you watch Schutzhund dogs work in obedience, you’ll see precise work done with a great deal of energy and animation and a HUGE smile on the dog’s face.  Drive dogs work out of love for the work.

Laura Pakis, CPT

Acme Canine Founder (Now Retired)

Laura Pakis is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, cynologist, and owner/founder of Acme Canine. Having trained over 5,000 dogs and ran a boarding and daycare facility for more than 13 years, Laura wrote her blog, Acme Canine, on the care and understanding of dogs. Laura was nominated for the Woman of the Year in the Pet Industry, the BBB’s Integrity Award and Worthington, Ohio Chamber’s Small Business Person of the Year. Acme Canine received The Silver award for the 2014 Pet Age Boarding Facility of the year.

An animal lover at heart, Laura lives with Autumn (a rescued Boxer/Labrador mix) and her new dog, Miss Moneypenny (a Bluetick Coon Hound) in Ohio.