Treat Bags

Most modern thinking dog trainers and dog handler promote the idea of positive re-inforcement training, rather than negative or punitive training. Most aspects of this kind of training involves rewarding the dog with food or a toy for an offered up behaviour. A popular method of this type of training is using a clicker. This is an operant conditioning method for training a dog using the clicker, or small mechanical noisemaker, as a marker for behaviour. The clicker is used during the acquisition phase of training a new behaviour, to allow the dog to rapidly identify that a behaviour is sought and also the precise behaviour of interest.

Clicker training was originated through Marian Bailey (née Kruse) and Keller Breland, who as graduate students of psychologist and eminent behaviourist B.F. Skinner taught wild-caught pigeons to "bowl" (push a ball with their beaks) while participating in military research. According to their work, animal training was being needlessly hindered because traditional methods of praise and reward did not inform the animal of success with enough promptness and precision to create the required cognitive connections for speedy learning. Similar methods were later used in training at least 140 species including whales, bears, lions and domestic dogs and cats, and even humans.

Most Clicker training for dogs involves a reward of food, as most dogs are very food motivated so most trainers and handlers need to have a treat bag. Most treat bags are easy for dogs to get noses into when a treat might be appropriate, but the spiffy dog treat bag has the added advantage of a zip. It also has a clip so it can hang on a belt buckle. Spiffy Dog treat bags are offered in a variety of colour currently we are offereing them in red or black.