Three times this week, clients have resisted when I've suggested using peanut butter, chicken, cream cheese (or anything they thought was "people food") to entertain or teach their dog. Here in the Smart Dog household, our dogs get a huge variety of food — dog food, dog treats, people food, even cat food! So I was quite curious about the reasons behind the resistance to use people food to reward or entertain their dogs.
Each client had the same response: "I don't want my dog to beg." I told my clients to rest easy, feeding their dog people food does not lead to begging. Feeding your dog from the table, now that leads to begging!
Another client said she didn't want her dog to know how good people food really tastes. If he never tasted it, he'd never want it. If your dog has never ever had roasted chicken in his life, he's still going to know that roasted chicken probably tastes darn good. Their nose tells them that, not their tongues.
So don't worry about feeding your dog people food. After all, what do you think is in their dog food? Chicken, beef, vegetables — it's all people food! Your dog can enjoy people food, just be sure you don't feed him from the table (or the couch, or wherever you're eating).
Mary says
Great post! It can be hard to convince people that using regular food is okay. I think it’s also cheaper, since many training treats are really high priced! At least as much as a pound of roast beef lunch meat – and not nearly as high in value.
I don’t know if you read Susan Garrett’s blog, but she had a great post about the value of good treats(rewards) – she doesn’t use paragraph breaks – but it’s worth the read! http://susangarrett.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/are-you-loved-by-a-wiener/