One of the most important keys to training any dog is proper motivation. We are motivated to do things in our life for a number of reasons, such as love, money, security, belonging, etc. It constantly amazes me that people expect their dog to work for little to no reward. Often times I ask people what they reward their dog with and they may say "nothing" or "praise." The general approach to these responses is "would you still go to work if you didn't get a paycheck?"

When you consider the amount of motivation we instill in other activities, I often wonder why people believe that dogs require no motivation at all to perform. Perhaps this is because we are instilled with the ideas early on that dogs should perform because they are "Man's Best Friend." I mean time and again, I hear of parents potty training their children and have a special "prize" for the child if they do well. But when we house train a puppy, we use no motivation whatsoever. This makes no sense.

So when discussing the motivations for our four legged friends, obviously the uses of money and security have limited value. You have to look at a dog's motivations on the more primal level. And that leads us to one very important conclusion. While toys, water, and affection all have their place in motivating a dog, the most significant motivation that a trainer can tap into is the desire for food.

When trying to motivate a dog with food, we have to consider a few things in order to make food an effective motivator.

DID THE DOG RECENTLY EAT?
If so, then don't bother. Only heavily food-drive dogs will still be as highly motivated for the treat at that point.
Try to train your dog on an empty stomach if possible.

DOES THE DOG HAVE A FINICKY APPETITE?
Often times dogs who have finicky appetites are encouraged to remain finicky by owners who cater to their desires. If you find yourself cooking extravagant meals just to get Fido to eat, consider another option. I like to keep meal time as simple as possible. While some owners delight in finding little treats to add into their dogs kibble, I'd rather my dog delight in their treats more so than their dinner. I also want the dog to value the meal itself. Dogs that are taught to be finicky will oftentimes leave their bowl of food for hours at a time, or only nibble at it sparingly because they are waiting for something better.

WHAT TYPES OF FOOD ARE YOU USING AS A MOTIVATOR IN TRAINING?
While most owners are buying the most expensive brands of training treats on the market, often times the most motivating items are right in their own kitchen. Barring any allergies in the dog, I find that plain chicken breast, cooked hot dogs and string cheese are among some of my dog's favorite treats.

Another good idea is to use your dogs kibble. Now why on earth would this be motivating to your dog after I have just suggested 'gourmet' items like hot dogs and chicken? How could a dog possibly become motivated by kibble over anything else?

Its quite simple. Once you make kibble your dogs only meal and stop feeding him from a bowl, he will be more than happy to take any kibble that is presented in training sessions throughout the day. This means you will have to make a strong commitment to measuring out food and dispensing it throughout the day so your dog gets adequate nutrition. But once you have removed the food bowl feeding times, your dogs motivation for food and for overall training will go through the roof.

My concluding thought on this is that each trainer or owner must find the dogs individual motivator and work it to their strongest advantage. Play around with feeding systems and with different food types. You will see the results in the dog's willingness to work and also in the results you get towards your desired training goals.