We want to have a variety of rewards for our dog, ranging from low to high value. If your dog loves specific toys, these can be reserved for "training sessions only". We want a variety of food rewards, and they should be small (the size of a pea), and ideally semi-soft so the dog can swallow them quickly without having to chew (or get them stuck in his throat, causing him to cough it up). You need to know what level of enthusiasm your dog has for each type of food reward.
I'm helping to train an adorable (large!) puppy we'll call Flynn, who is about 6 months old now. Today I made a batch of yummy "food paste" that my dog strongly approves of, and I'm trying it on Flynn later today. I took a pre-cooked sweet potato and blended it (using an immersion "stick" blender) with some pre-cooked rice and veggies and some peanut butter. It made a thick paste which I then put into a "food tube". You can buy silicone "food tubes" or simply reuse any food-grade tube or squeeze bottle that's easy to squeeze. I like to reuse a plastic toothpaste tube by cutting it open at the tube end, washing it thoroughly (to remove the mint taste!) and stuffing it 2/3 full with the paste. I then use a binder clip to fold and clip the open (cut) end (which is why I only filled it 2/3 full). The size of the regular tube opening is perfect for squeezing out a little bit of the paste for the dog to lick off the end of the tube. So to use this, I would click, then offer the tube for a moment so the dog can get one lick of the paste. If your paste is too watery, you'll have a mess when it comes out of the tube. Test it out before you use it. My paste is thick and easily squeezed.
Obviously, the dog needs to love what's inside the tube. My dog goes nuts for anything with even a little bit of peanut butter. Your mileage may vary! At first, you may need to let him see you squeeze a bit onto your finger for him to lick off, and then you can offer it directly from the tube. This slows down training a bit, it's not as fast as small pea-sized treats you can give or toss, etc. But if you're struggling to find food rewards that fit our criteria of small, semi-soft or soft, and the dog loves them, you may need to make your own rewards and deliver from a food tube. Consider adding meat baby food, or any other dog-safe ingredients your dog would love.
I've got a batch made now, and am storing it in my fridge. My dog told me that if Flynn doesn't like it, he'll happily use it up!
I know that Flynn also loves cheese, which most dogs do-- so I have been buying sliced cheese, and taking 2 slices and cutting THOSE up into rows and then pieces. Out of 2 slices, I can get about 50-70 small rewards. Those will last me about one training session. But again, I need a variety of values-- I don't want to always use the same thing.
If the dog is working on something we've already introduced, and we're reviewing it, I would offer him a lower value reward. I occasionally intersperse a higher value reward just to keep him engaged. If we up the criteria and he succeeds, he gets a higher value reward for taking it to that new level.
The nuances about reward frequency, the TYPE of reward (its value to the dog), and the WAY the reward is delivered (is it tossed for a quick chase? Is it fed directly into the dog's mouth? Does it serve to get the dog to stand up so you can set up for another repetition of "down"?) are elements of your training that make a big difference. Take the time to learn about this, it can accelerate your progress.
And don't forget to MARK a behavior (click) before you reward it, so your dog understands WHY you are giving him a reward.
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