Ava’s obedience instructor suggests to all of his students to bring at least 10 types of treats to class.  There were several reasons for doing this.  The treats your dog eats happily at home may not be as satisfying when you’re in a room with ten other dogs who want to smell each other’s butts and play.  The other reason is that people choose treats they think their dog should like rather than finding out what treats they actually like.  Just like humans, some dogs prefer salmon to beef.

Ava is a little miss skinny pants and her eating habits reflect that.  From the beginning, she’s turned her nose up at her food and treats.  What dog smells a liver-flavored “tricky treat”, walks away, and plops herself down on the couch?  Ava.  Because of her finicky behavior, we took her trainer’s advice to heart and bought 13 brands of dogs treats, 4 types of tasty human food, and made 1 homemade dog biscuit recipe.

We actually did learn about her likes and dislikes with this exercise.  Bacon, peanut butter, and cheese are her favorite flavors.  She likes rabbit, but feels kind of “meh” about fish.  Knowing what gets her attention has been really valuable when we work on her on-leash interactions with other dogs and gets everyone more excited about training time.