I use treats with pups to teach and to condition eager obedience.
Pup is learning several key concepts in this simple everyday moment(6-seconds):
1) Pup learns that eager obedience pays off with a reward.
Pup learns one command initiates a prompt response by pup.
2) Pup also learns the verbal marker "good" for the correct behavior.
Later I used "good" when the lab is focused on the correct route in blind retrieves
or when the lab is focused on the correct location on a tough memory mark.
3) Pup learns to maintain eye contact and wait for the handler's command.
With retrievers, eye contact is important later on for casting in blind retrieves.
4) In this case an auto-sit is the correct behavior after kenneling.
Pup should eventually understand that auto-sit is the default behavior.
Sit on the line while birds are being thrown, sit when a hen pheasant flushes,
sit and wait while I sneak in jump shooting.
For example:
Here is another 7-second example.
Pup gets a treat reward for whistle recall and whistle sit.
A fast whistle sit will later be important for blind retrieve training.
And a fast whistle recall may someday save the dog's life.
By using treats to condition eager obedience, I find that later when commands are enforced
(force-fetch, ecollar conditioning) training is easy.
