How to get a puppy to obey without treats
Puppies often feel cheated or frustrated when they receive a non-edible reward instead of a food treat. This makes it difficult for owners to figure out how to get them to perform commands without getting a treat every time.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1rewarding her with love and making a big deal of itDid this help you?
- 2reverting to giving the puppy the bottle to prevent a blood sugar dropDid this help you?
- 3feeding every 5-6 hoursDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Like, if she gets a treat every time she does it, how do you get them to do it without the treat?”source ↗
“I already feel like she seems slightly let down by getting that reward, rather than a treat, and I think she feels cheated/frustrated if she doesn't get an edible reward ha.”source ↗
“she has started eating mushed up solid food, but she will only partially eat it.”source ↗
“she doesn’t get proper eating without the bottle, but i know she’s getting too old for it”source ↗
“i get nervous when she doesn’t eat much and i revert to giving her the bottle just to make sure she has enough food in her system”source ↗
“she’s just not eating her soft food and prefers the bottle but she should be off the bottle by now”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 4How to get a puppy off pee pads without constant accidents
- 9How to stop my dog from eating his own poo
- 3Why ignoring doesn't stop my puppy from jumping up when I get home
- 16How to stop a puppy from barking without harsh tools
- 10Why does my puppy growl when eating?
- 8Why is my puppy constantly humping everything?