Why Do Dogs Love Cheese? What Trainers See in a Session

Why do dogs love cheese? In the AKC's ranking of rewards, strong-smelling foods such as cheese land high on most dogs' lists, and trainers lean on that: a food a dog notices fast and wants right away is one a small piece can pay for. Not every dog agrees, so rank it at home.

What puts cheese so high on a dog's list?

The plainest answer comes from the training world, and the ranking in the opening is the AKC's (AKC, The Right Treats Make the Best Rewards, opened 2026-10-16).

That is a statement about rewards, and we will not stretch it into more. We have no figures to offer on noses or taste, and we will not invent any. What trainers see is simpler. A dog that notices the treat quickly and wants it right away is a dog who is paying attention when the treat arrives.

For our own cheddar, the part we can speak to is the format. Our listing describes the pieces as crunchy and dry, and says they start small and break smaller. Small pieces are what let a high-ranking food pay for many repetitions, and our guide to cheese for training sorts the formats.

Whether dogs can eat cheese at all is a separate question, which our guide on can dogs eat cheese answers. This page is only about why it works as a reward.

Is every dog a cheese dog?

No. Dogs rank food in their own order, and some put cheese in the middle of the list or lower. The only way to know is to test at home, ahead of the day you need it.

A simple test: offer a few foods one after another at a quiet moment, with no training attached, and note which one gets the fastest turn of the head. Write the order down.

Cheese contains dairy, and our listing says to ask a veterinarian if you are unsure how your dog does with dairy. That is the one place where a vet should come before a test.

How do trainers put a dog's love of cheese to work?

Three habits come up again and again.

Save it for harder jobs. The AKC's advice is to rank everything the dog enjoys, best first, and spend the top of that ranking on the toughest tasks (AKC, 4 Tips for Training Your Dog With Rewards, opened 2026-10-16).
Keep the pieces small. Small pieces mean each one is quick to eat and the next repetition can start, so snap the cheddar down before the session.
Rotate. Trainers mix cheese in with other rewards rather than leaning on it alone.

Our own scorecard rates the cheddar 5 of 5 for training value. It is our rating, not an independent one, so weigh it accordingly and trust your own dog's list over it.

Keep a spare bag in the glove box if you like, but the working supply belongs in a pouch on your hip.

When does the cheese pull get in the way?

It gets in the way when the dog starts working your pockets instead of the exercise. A dog that nudges your hands, follows the pouch around the room or mugs you at the door is telling you how much cheese is worth to them.

Two changes help. First, keep the treats out of reach between repetitions, in a closed pouch, so the pouch is not part of the game. Second, teach a leave it game, where waiting is how cheese arrives. Our guide to teaching leave it walks through the steps.

We promise no outcomes here. Dogs differ, and a plan that works for one dog may need adjusting for the next.

Either way, cheese is a treat here, not a stand-in for meals. Our product page has the details on the bag.

Questions

Why does my dog come running when the fridge opens?

Dogs learn the sounds that come before food. A fridge door that opens often just before something tasty happens becomes one of those sounds, so the running is learning more than it is mystery. It tells you the dog is paying attention to the kitchen, and nothing deeper.

Can a dog love cheese too much?

A dog can value it enough to make training harder, as the section above describes. Past that, how much cheese is right for a particular dog is a question for your vet.

Do dogs like cheddar more than other cheeses?

We know of no data that says so. We use cheddar because it is what we make, and we have not tested dogs against other cheeses. If you want to know where cheddar lands for your dog, run the test at home and let your dog vote.

Is it okay to use cheese in every training session?

It can be one of the rewards in a session, and mixing in others helps, for the rotation reason above. Our listing says the cheddar is a treat, not a complete diet, so whatever you use should fit inside the day's treat allowance.

Why does my dog drool when I hold cheese?

We cannot say why any one dog drools, and we will not guess. What we can say is that it tells you the dog has noticed the cheese. If the drooling worries you or seems new, ask your vet about it.

Should cheese be my dog's only reward?

No. Rotate it with other foods and with non-food rewards like a toy or a game, for the rotation reason above. Keep cheese for the harder jobs and use something simpler for the easy ones.