Animal Talk – July 2019

training

DOGTA LK

Perfect treat timing

Exactly when in the training process should you give your dog treats?

I

t depends on the training method you are using.
If you are using a clicker or a short word like
‘yes’ to mark the required behaviour, the treat
can be given a few seconds after the marker.
However, if you are not using a clicker or a ‘yes’ to

mark the behaviour, the treat must be given at the

exact moment that the dog or puppy performs the

behaviour, so that he realises that what he is doing

at that moment is the behaviour you are rewarding.

Wendy Wilson, behaviourist

Nutritional value

T

his is a difficult one – if you are feeding

biscuits or his kibble as treats, it is fairly

easy to work out how much he has had during

training and deduct that from his daily ration.

If you are treating him with things like chicken,

you are adding extra protein but not extra carbs,

so that should not have a huge impact on his

overall weight. The best thing to do is to weigh

him before you start a new training/treating

regime and then keep an eye on him to see if

he picks up or loses weight. Remember with

training he is going to be using more energy, so

he will need some additional calories.

Wendy Wilson, behaviourist

How do you work out the

nutritional value of

treats so that you don’t

overfeed your dog?

M

any people, when they get a puppy, proceed to teach the pup to sit on cue

without understanding why they should do it. Actually, the sit is one of the

most useful things you can teach a dog. And with a bit of practise, one of the easiest.

Think of it this way: while a dog is sitting, he can’t do anything else. He can’t

jump up on people, he can’t trip someone who is going up or down the stairs, he

can’t bolt out of the car when you take him somewhere, and the list goes on. For

this to work, we need the dog to sit consistently every time we ask him to. This

is done by making it worthwhile for the dog – hence the use of treats. Using the

correct training technique will help the dog associate the action of sitting with

good things happening, and he will be more enthusiastic about sitting for you in

the future!

Never teach your dog the sit by pressing down on his hindquarters. Forcing

a dog to do something will not make him want to do it for you in the future. The

correct way to do it is to give the dog a choice – he chooses to go down in the sit

position because of the reward he will be getting afterwards.

Noleen Fourie, behaviourist

“Sit, boy.”

Why should I teach my dog to sit?

FA S T FAC T S

BENEFITS OF BEING OUTSIDE

• It provides your cat with healthy, fresh air.


• It allows a change of scenery which provides enrichment.


• Your cat keeps fit while playing, stalking and chasing bugs.


• It stimulates her mind when new games are introduced.