Training treats that actually work

There's a reason trainers talk about "high value" treats. If the reward isn't worth more to your dog than whatever else is going on, you're not going to win, and a dry biscuit is rarely worth more than a squirrel.

Three things make a training treat work. It has to be something your dog genuinely wants. It has to be small enough to swallow in a second, because a dog chewing for thirty seconds has lost the thread of what they were rewarded for. And you have to be able to hand over a lot of them without upsetting their stomach or their waistline.

For most dogs, novel proteins do the heavy lifting. Venison, rabbit and wild boar all tend to rate higher than the chicken they eat every day, simply because they're a novelty. Our Venison, Rabbit and Wild Boar Training Treats are £2.90 a bag, which makes it cheap to find out which one your dog rates.

Strips are the other workhorse, Duck, Lamb, Rabbit, Venison and Wild Boar strips are all 70p, and they tear easily into much smaller pieces than they come in. One strip can be ten rewards.

Liver Sausages at 40p are our secret weapon for recall. They're rich and they smell strong, which is exactly what you want when you're competing with something interesting fifty yards away. Use them sparingly and save them for the hard stuff.

If you're training regularly, classes, recall work, a young dog learning everything at once, buying small bags gets expensive fast. Our 1kg Venison Training Treats are £24.99, which works out considerably cheaper per treat than buying the small bags over and over.

One last thing worth saying: treats are food. If you're getting through a lot of them in a week, take it off their dinner. A dog that's training well and quietly gaining weight isn't a win.