[LUVMYROTTNBOY]

I see no problems with treats. Our trainer has us using premium treats when we start a new behavior or we are in a distracting area, and then we begin to work the treat out. She had me make a list of 20 things my dog loves or enjoys that does not involve using a treat and we are to mix a combination of those items and treats as we see fit during our training. Usually once my dog has a behavior down, like sit stay platz etc. he does not expect a treat but I do make sure to give him a non food reward like an ear scritch every now and then.

****One important side note on the non-food rewards, we always do our best to give him a full 20seconds of constant praise which sounds short but its a long time really to scritch and ear and say good boy etc.

If your worried about calories or cost you can try skiping a meal for the dog and instead feeding him/her its food during a training session around meal time.

I think training should be fun for the dog. This is the method I use, and I can say it has worked wonders with my boy, in the past month I stoped him from chasing a squirrel and had him return with his recall command, and when a relative let him out of the house we were visiting I stopped him, and did a re-call to get him, he ran full speed straight back to me just as he was trainied, Im very proud of him and hope to never ever need to use that command in a real situation like that again.