Treats must be used responsibly and only as part of a complete training program that is based on fundamental training principles. It is important to remember that dogs are best fed on a well balanced and nutritious diet, and the supplementation of too many treats can upset your dog's nutritional requirements. This is especially true in young developing puppies. Rewarding your dog for good behaviour helps to keep him happy and his obedience skills sharp. A huge variety of treats are available from your local supermarket and pet stores.
Individual portions are quite small.
These treats were developed for dogs and when used responsibly, are great aids in training or occasional trick performance. Feeding of table scraps will upset the balance of your dog's nutritional requirements and ultimately lead to obesity and possibly a dog who likes garbage. The biggest offenders are foods which have caffeine in them, this chemical while relatively harmless in humans can and often causes heart failure in dogs due to inability for a dogs system to process the chemical. The challenge for you, the owner, is to use the treat responsibly and only for rewarding positive behaviour. When attempting to teach your dog a command or trick, use a treat as a primary inducement to get him or her to do what you want while supplementing his or her response with a secondary inducement, eg the sit command.