Ask five different people what to reward your puppy with and you'll get five different answers: treats, obviously. No, praise, so they don't get food-obsessed. Actually, toys work better for high-energy breeds. Everyone's confident, nobody agrees, and meanwhile your puppy is just standing there waiting to find out what actually gets them something good. Here's what the research says, and how to figure out what your specific dog is actually working for.

Summary

The best reward depends on the individual puppy, but treats are generally the most effective starting point for potty training. Praise can become rewarding when paired with treats, while play works best after the behaviour is complete. Test different rewards to find what motivates your puppy most.

Key Takeaways

• Every puppy is motivated by different rewards, so there is no universal best option.
• Treats are usually the strongest starting reward for potty training because they are quick and easy to deliver.
• Praise becomes more valuable when consistently paired with treats or play.
• Play can be an effective reward for energetic or toy-driven puppies, but save it until after they finish pottying.
• Use small, high-value treats for new or difficult behaviours.
• Gradually reduce treat dependence as your puppy becomes more reliable.

• The best reward is the one that makes your puppy eager to repeat the behaviour.

Why This Isn't a One-Size-Fits-All Question

Researchers at Emory University put dogs in an MRI scanner (the awake, cooperative kind, trained specifically for this) and measured brain activity while dogs were exposed to food, toys, and verbal praise from their owners. The results were split: for some dogs, food lit up the reward centers more; for others, praise and social attention did the same job, or close to it. The researchers' conclusion was that there's a consistent food-versus-social leaning within each individual dog, but the strength of that preference varies a lot from one dog to the next. In other words: there's no universal answer, because there's no universal dog.

That said, food does have a measurable edge in most controlled comparisons. Across several studies looking specifically at how fast dogs learn a new command, food rewards have outperformed praise and petting on speed. Dogs given food rewards typically needed fewer training sessions to reliably learn a new response than dogs rewarded with praise alone. So while your dog's personal preference matters, if pure learning speed is the goal – which it usually is with something time-sensitive like potty training – generally have science on their side as the default starting point.

Treats: The Default

Food works as a reward because it's what's called a primary reinforcer – something dogs are biologically wired to want, no prior association needed. That's different from praise, which typically only becomes rewarding after it's been repeatedly paired with something a dog already values, like food or play.

A few things make treats work better or worse in practice:

• Size matters. You don't want to feed your dog a whole meal. You're delivering a fast signal. Your treats should be pea-sized for small dogs, roughly dice-sized for larger breeds: small enough that your dog can eat it in one motion and get right back to paying attention to you, instead of chewing, dropping crumbs, and hunting the floor for them.

• Not all treats are of equal value. Keep a tier system: lower-value treats (kibble, plain biscuits) for easy, already-familiar behaviors, and higher-value treats (small pieces of unseasoned chicken, cheese, etc) reserved for harder tasks or big distractions – like, for instance, a brand-new puppy actually choosing the right spot over the tempting expanse of your living room carpet.

• Variety keeps them engaged. Dogs' preference for rewards shifts toward variety over time. The same treat every single time loses some of its pull, while switching it up keeps the response stronger for longer.

• It's a starting tool. Relying on treats forever can create a dog who only performs when they can see one coming. The fix is to phase toward intermittent rewards and other reward types (praise, play, life rewards like going outside) once the behavior is reliable, so treats become the exception, not the requirement.

Praise

Dogs have a genuinely unusual, hypersocial relationship with humans – arguably more so than any other domesticated species – and for a real portion of dogs, your attention and approval function as a legitimate reward in their own right, not just a filler.

The catch: praise works best when it's been built up alongside a primary reinforcer first. A flat, unenthusiastic "good boy" muttered while you're looking at your phone doesn't carry much weight on its own. Praise that's paired consistently with treats or play early on takes on real reward value over time, to the point where, for a lot of dogs, an enthusiastic tone of voice and some genuine excitement from you becomes a currency you'll never run out of, unlike your treat pouch.

Play: The High-Energy Alternative

For toy-driven or particularly high-energy dogs, a quick round of tug or a thrown ball can outperform a treat entirely. Play taps into the same category of primary reinforcer as food. Dogs don't need to learn that play is fun, they already know.

The tradeoff is that play is a worse fit for behaviors that require calm follow-through, which potty training is a pretty clear example of. Amping up a dog right after they've gone in the right spot can work fine as a reward, but starting a wrestling match mid-training session risks pulling their focus away from finishing the job in the first place. Play tends to work best as the reward that comes after the behavior is fully done, not as a running incentive during it.

Figuring Out What Actually Motivates Your Dog

Since preference is individual, the fastest way to find out is to just test it. Try offering a high-value treat, enthusiastic praise, and a favorite toy in separate short sessions and watch which one gets the fastest, most engaged response: ears up, full attention, an actual eagerness to repeat the behavior, versus a half-hearted acknowledgement. Most dogs will show you pretty clearly which one they're actually working for.

What This Looks Like for Potty Training Specifically

Because potty training rewards a very specific, time-sensitive moment, treats are usually the strongest starting choice – they're fast to deliver, don't require your dog to stop and settle down first, and land while the behavior is still fresh. Pair the treat with genuine, immediate praise every time, so praise starts absorbing some of that reward value early. Save play for after! A happy game right after a successful trip to their spot is a great way to close out the routine, once the actual behavior is already done and rewarded.