How soon can you use treats for puppies?

hi, i have a 3 month old shih tzu and we are going through the training stages, which i know can be long, but we have come a long way so far, but i was wondering is she too young to be given treats if she is stil in the pup stage? when she has been a 'good girl' i praise her with lots of good girl praise and a hug and a kiss, but if she's been not so good, i say 'bad girl without the hugs and kiss, i never raise my voice to her. any suggestions please? thanks

I have been my pup treats ever since I got him more or less (he's 13 weeks old now).

I started doing bits of training with him after about a week - nothing complex, just answering to his name, coming when called etc, and going to the loo too. Now I use them all the time as his training progresses onto recalls. Today he came tearing back to me on the park, even though there was another dog there! All for a bit of kibble

Fortunately he is very greedy and will do anything for a bit of extra puppy kibble so it's not a problem - I just take the treats out of his daily allowance.

He also loves a bit of carrot or pear as a treat too

Go ahead with the treats. Just don't get carried away with them. One thing you can do is measure out the next meal's worth of kibble and keep stealing for it for treats.

ahh thanks guys, this has helped..im sure shes gonna love some extra yummy bits x

Hi Gypsy when using treats for training puppies it is a good idea to use ones which can be quickly consumed by the puppy without lots of chewing which can distract from the training, tiny slivers of chicken or hard cheese are ideal for this.

If your puppy does something you wish her to do by all means give lots of praise instantly (and a treat) , saying 'bad girl' when she doesn't get something right will just confuse her, best to say nothing and wait until she does get it right.

You may find this Dogsey article about training puppies of help ..

http://www.dogsey.com/dog-articles.php?t=14526

Treats are great

TBH I dont see how a puppy knows praise is supposed to be good unless you show him with nice things sometimes happening when they get praised

I wouldnt even use 'bad girl' or whatever
Dogs are not bad, just not trained. if something goes wrong its just up to you to figure out how to make it easier for her

thank you all for your support, x

Take a look at Fish4Dogs Super Stars - they are small star shaped treats. They can be given from the moment you start training.