Some people feel that the only form of positive training is with treats. Certainly, most basic commands can be taught with treats; however, treats are not actually an effective way of correcting behavior problems or encouraging obedience.
Dog training is based on consistency. Giving a treat when a dog exhibits a negative behavior simply rewards that behavior and encourages the dog to do it again. Similarly, if you give your dog a treat as a reward for positive behavior, your dog will expect to be given a treat every time he behaves properly, which can ultimately lead to problems.
There are many good reasons to avoid using treats for training purposes:
Treats do not help with housebreaking. What goes in must come out.
Some dogs are overly excited by treats and are actually more difficult to manage when food is involved.
Some dogs are not food motivated at all.
Once a dog is full, he may refuse to obey the command because he no longer cares about the reward.
Some dogs have food allergies.
Do you really want to have to carry treats around with you all the time to get your dog to obey?
A better form of positive training is 'praise' training, where the dog is praised and loved when he does what we want. Rather than expecting a treat, he is rewarded with praise and approval -- which is what most dogs really want from their owners. Praise and approval is also something you never run out of!
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