Introduction, Program Benefits, & Prerequisite Skills


As pet industry professionals who are committed to results-based, science-based, humane, ethical training and pet care, we know that you will want to train with food to get the best results possible.

Food is necessary for survival. It is, therefore, a powerful primary reinforcer and a critical component when used correctly as part of a strategic training or management plan.

However, some dogs love food so much that they find it almost impossible to focus when the guardian or trainer gets out the food treats.

How can you work with a dog that will not stop pestering you for treats and seems unable to demonstrate even the slightest self-restraint?

Follow DogNostics' Ten Step Training Plan, and you will soon have a dog who happily focuses on you rather than your treats!


Benefits of The 10-Steps to Self-Control in the Presence of Food

This 10-step plan is an essential training solution for food-obsessed dogs but also an invaluable resource to help promote a greater ability to focus and engage in the training 'game' for any dog!

Many of the steps can be adapted for those dogs who struggle to work around a favorite toy.

Please watch the videos and train the skills in order.

Follow each of the steps and you should soon have a dog that amazes you with his self-control and readiness to train!

Please note, dogs without a pre-existing problematic response to the presence of food will pass through the training steps more quickly than those who immediately lose all ability to focus as soon as the training begins.

Advance at a rate that is appropriate for the dog you are working with. Please use the Train-Test-Train Method. You can learn about this method in the next lesson.

Prerequisite Skills and Training Equipment.


You will need:

  • Lots of tasty treats.
  • An opaque treat container.
  • A transparent treat container.

Training Skills:

  • No training skills are needed for the earlier lessons.
  • The final lessons require your dog to know how to perform a hand touch. This is a great skill to train any dog!
  • For those of you whose dog doesn't know this skill, we have included a supplementary section that is from the DogNostics Dog Trainer Certificate Program! We are sure you will find the skill useful and have lots of fun training it!

The DogNostics Dog Trainer Certificate Program provides an all-encompassing in-depth understanding of operant and respondent conditioning, with students learning about everything from discriminative stimuli, motivating operations, setting events, the transferal of stimulus control; to primary and secondary reinforcement consequences, protocols, and schedules; to canine ethology and social behavior. Graduates of the DogNostics Dog Trainer Certificate Program are skilled in the application of science and artistic endeavor, delivering results through empathy and mutual respect for both client and pet. If you would to learn more about this comprehensive dog trainer certification program, please click on the link above.

Complete and Continue