To use food, or not to use food?

I used to think training with food was detrimental to our relationship with dogs. Like many dog trainers, I thought quality training should touch on something deeper than food because the core of our relationship with dogs is the leadership we provide, not the food we provide.

And by extension, I thought techniques that assert our "leadership" (dominance) like leash pressure around the neck, spatial pressure, special ssh! sounds, and even e-collar pressure were all tapping into something deeper or more natural.

Turns out, this is all complete crap. It sounds convincing (believe me, I know!) but it has no legitimate basis whatsoever. 🫠

Hear me out… 

The domestication of dogs didn’t happen because of our leash communication, our calm assertive leadership, or our guidance; it happened because we fed them. 

Thousands of years ago, long before our modern dogs existed, their ancestors started hanging around humans. They were hanging around for food, and they kept coming back for food.

Food is the reason why dogs and humans connected in the first place! 

The process of domestication that’s evolved over the thousands of years between then and now has built an even stronger reliance on us for food and other essentials. Our modern dogs look to us for food even more so than their ancestors did—not less. 

Using food is not a new idea. We’ve always understood that food is a central part of our connection to dogs, and a central motivator for their cooperation. That’s why we have so much research on dogs and food: how to train with food, how to change a dog’s big feelings with food, and even how food creates a more optimistic worldview (really!!). 

We know that food can add so much value to our dogs' lives. Food can create positive associations, opportunities to engage in fulfilling behaviors like sniffing and foraging, motivation for cooperation, clarity on desired behaviors, and so much more. 

Using food in your everyday life with your dog, including your training efforts, doesn’t mean that your dog respects you less, or is less bonded to you. 

In fact, using food might actually be helping us tap into the heart of our connection.