Welcome to the 5-Minute Dog, the mini-podcast that delivers practical training advice in less than 5 minutes. When you train with food, the day will come when your dog doesn't want your treat. You hold it out, he sniffs it and then nothing. He might turn away or just stare at you, or sometimes he'll take it begrudgingly and then immediately spit it out. What's going on? He always likes treats. Well, first let's clear up any confusion. If your dog doesn't want to treat, it doesn't mean that he's not food motivated. There are a lot of reasons a dog will refuse a treat while training. Maybe he's too distracted, and this one is really common. The environment might just be too exciting, too scary, too busy. If your dog is overloaded with sights and sounds and smells, even the best treat can take a back seat. If you think this is the problem, back up 10- 20 foot and try again. If he takes treats at this distance, maybe just stand there for five minutes feeding treats while he adjusts to all the sights and sounds. Maybe he's full. Did you just feed your dog?

Training sessions right after mealtime are not always successful, especially if your dog is full. If you think this is the issue, maybe train with toys. Does your dog love a good game of fetch or tug? If so, cue, sit and then reward with a quick game of their choice. Or, better yet, train before mealtime using his evening kibble as the reward. Maybe your treat just isn't high value enough. Your dog might love kibble at home, but outside, where there are squirrels and smells and people, your dog is probably thinking Kibble can wait. There are way more exciting things to do. Keep in mind your treats have to be equal to or greater than all the distractions. If you think this might be the issue, just try upgrading the value of your treat. If you think this might be the issue, just try upgrading the value of your treat. Try boiled chicken cheese, hot dogs or a store-bought training treat that's a little bit smelly. Find those treats that really light your dog up and save them for special training occasions. And be sure to rotate them, because novelty helps. And I'll be honest here, when I'm working a reactivity case and I need my treat to compete with the sight of another dog, I've been known to make a fast food run, pick up a cheeseburger before the session, known to make a fast food run, pick up a cheeseburger before the session.

But the most common reason for treat refusal is stress. Some dogs just shut down in new or uncomfortable situations. If your dog's ears are back and his tail is low or tucked and his body is stiff, he might be feeling anxious. Stress will kill an appetite, even in a normally food-driven dog.

If you think the issue is stress or anxiety, watch how your dog is refusing the treat. Is he politely uninterested, almost like he considered taking the treat but then changed his mind? If so, that sounds like he might just be a little overexcited in the current environment. Try a higher value treat. That might be your answer. But if you offer him a treat and he jerks his head away, almost like the treat is in his way, like you're blocking his vision, or maybe he refuses to even look at the treat, almost like it doesn't exist. If this is what's going on, then it sounds like your dog might be too stressed or anxious in the current environment to even consider eating. He needs distance immediately. Maybe back up 10, 20 foot and try again, and if that doesn't work, just leave altogether and try again later or another day. If your dog is too stressed to take treats, he's too stressed to learn. So keeping him in that environment, just trying to prove a point is useless and will probably do more harm than good.