Essential Training Gear

I’ve had the advantage of trying out a huge variety of products over the years. It seems like there are a million different kinds of harnesses, leashes, and treat pouches available to buy online or at your local pet supply store. With so many options, it can be difficult to identify what’s worth investing in– and it’s a bummer to spend money on something only to find that it’s ineffective or poor quality. 

I decided to compile a list of my favorite training products. You certainly don’t need every product on this list in order to train your dog, but if you find yourself scrolling through page after page of training supplies, this list can save you time and effort. 

Treat Pouches

Can you train a dog without a treat pouch? Sure, but then you’re dealing with the hassle of remembering which pocket you stuffed the treats in, and then– if you’re anything like me– fishing treats out of the dryer every time you do laundry. Here are my top three treat pouches. 

A peak inside of my Doggone Good Pouch.

The best all-around treat pouch: Okay, this bad boy is the king of all treat pouches. I’m not kidding. The Doggone Good Rapid Rewards Treat Pouch is incredibly versatile: it has multiple pockets for storing a variety of treats, it has a poop bag holder, it has separate compartments where you can stash other small items, it comes with a clip and a belt so you can wear it multiple ways, and it has a magnetic closure. (Can you tell I love a treat pouch with magnetic closure?) Despite all of these features, it’s not super bulky either! If you’re only going to buy one treat pouch–like a normal person–this is the one to get.

The best low-profile treat pouch: The Woofhoof Pocket Pouch is perfect if you’re tired of lugging around a huge pouch, or if you keep finding treat crumbs in your pockets! It’s small and fits right into your pockets, with a magnetic closer to make grabbing a treat easy. Another benefit of the light weight and magnetic closer is that you can actually just stick it on your refrigerator. That’s where mine lives, and it’s really easy to just grab it whenever I want to do some training around the house.

My Woofhoof pouch in its natural habitat.

The best pouch for soft or perishable treats: If you find yourself training with a lot of hotdog, deli meat, or other potentially messy treats, you may want to opt for a silicone treat pouch. These can easily be flipped inside out and cleaned and have a nice magnetic closure. (Can you tell that I love a treat pouch with magnetic closure?) The only downside of this one is that the clip is a little flimsy and can break with heavy use.

Harnesses

I’m limiting this list to harnesses with no-pull features, because this is a dog training blog and you don’t want to read paragraphs about harness weight, padding, and range-of-motion. Both of these harnesses feature multiple points of adjustment, and front-clip and back-clip options, making them versatile whether you’re practicing loose-leash walking or taking your pup out to explore on a long line.

These harnesses are the Blue-9 Balance Harness and the 2 Hounds Freedom Harness. The Blue-9 Harness also features a clip to open and close around the neck— a huge plus for dogs that aren’t comfortable with a harness sliding over their heads.

Leashes

I’m not too picky about leashes! I prefer rope, leather, or biothane, but a leash that’s comfortable in your hands is what’s most important. I like a standard 6-foot leash for regular walks. Steer clear of bungee leashes and retractable leashes. These can make it more difficult to train loose leash walking and the retractable leash has some safety concerns as well. 

Long-Line Leash: For a long-line, material is more important to me because they’re more likely to get dragged through mud and who-knows-what. Biothane is very durable and easy to clean. If you’re new to managing a long line, I recommend a 15ft leash– you’re unlikely to get too tangled and your dog will thank you for the additional range of motion.

Training Treats

Acorn contemplating some Zuke’s Mini Naturals.

The only real rule when it comes to training treats is that they should be small and tasty! That said, if your dog has dietary restrictions or is a picky eater, or if you’re just looking for some treat inspiration, here’s a short list of treats I like to use. I plan to make a longer blog post all about treats in the future, so if you have any other questions about treats please send them my way. 

Charlie Bear Treats: I usually like semi-soft training treats but these are my crunchy go-tos. Most dogs find them fairly low value, but if you’re looking for something that’s just a step up from their regular food, or if you have a dog that loves crunchy treats, these are a good option.

Zuke’s Mini Naturals: These are a semi-soft treat that most dogs seem to enjoy. They’re widely available at most pet supply stores and come in a variety of flavors. I consider them to be a mid-value treat for the average dog.

Ziwi Peak: Most dogs seem to love freeze-dried treats, but I do not love them for training because they’re usually super crumbly. Ziwi is rare for being a non-crumbly dried option! It does have a slightly oily feel to it, but it’s minimally messy and most dogs find it medium to high value. Note– it’s much more cost effective to buy a bag of the Ziwi “food” as opposed to the treat bags. The product seems to be exactly the same but you get a lot more of it.

Freeze-dried liver: Another non-crumbly dried treat that dogs almost universally love. The only downsides to liver is that the pieces are usually a bit large and may need to be cut down to training-sized. Liver is also quite rich so I don’t recommend using it as the bulk of your dog’s daily treats. But a great treat to use in moderation, and you can get a whole bucket of it, which will basically last forever. That said, if you can find a brand of freeze dried beef liver that is consistently in training-treat sized pieces, I will be forever grateful!