Training Treats?

Question

I got dry training treats from the bulk treats buffet at Petco, by my dogs just spit them out! What are some good training treats that won't pack pounds onto my Newf/Saint puppy or my 3 y/o Tibetan Spaniel?

Answer 1

There may not be a problem with the treats that you are giving your dog it could be the fact that you are feeding your dog too much, try giving the dog the treats approx. 6 hours after you have fed them their meal.


Soft treats:

Most dogs find soft treats irresistible because of their strong aroma and chewy texture. They are considered a high-value training treat and work wonderfully as a lure for a new behavior or for jack potting a perfect performance. NOTE: Jack potting is the rapid feeding of approximately five treats, one at a time for a perfect performance.

Examples: Any soft training treat that can be easily broken into smaller bits, freeze-dried liver treats, baked can food, or some frozen dogs foods.


Pros:

Many manufacturers produce soft treats in small sizes.

They are easily broken into small pieces.

These treats have a stronger aroma and are softer for many dogs to gobble up quickly and will easily convince most dogs to really work hard during a training session.

Most are non-greasy so they will not stain clothing.

There are many different flavors and sizes and many are available in convenient containers.

Cons:

Some contain ingredients that may cause allergies in sensitive dogs such as sugars, corn, wheat, or artificial flavorings.

Some dogs tend to gain weight when using treats during training, so owners should be aware and decrease amount of food during scheduled feedings.


Soft Human Food:

Human food may be the ultimate reward for many choosy dogs! This food is usually soft but strongly scented and works great as a lure for a new behavior or a reward for an excellent performance of a known cue (such as a perfect recall). Many dogs seem less distracted when using human food as a primary reinforcer (reward). This is especially true in shy or fearful dogs, as well as mildly dominant dogs, and bouncing puppies.

Examples: Bits of low fat cheese, lean deli meats, cut up hot dogs, pieces of fruit (for overweight dogs), home-baked liver, lean beef jerky, peanut butter in a squeeze tube.


Pros:

Most soft human food is easily stored in cool areas or frozen before class, so it slowly thaws during your training sessions.

Cons:

Soft human food must be kept at a cooler temperature than most treats. Some soft foods can be messy, greasy, and stain clothing. Dogs should never be fed any foods containing chocolate or onions as these foods are toxic to dogs and can cause a serious medical problem. Always use lean or low fat people foods because excessive fat can cause serious intestinal problems. If any intestinal problems should occur, discontinue use of any human food and slowly introduce dog treats (cookies or soft treats).


Hope this helps.

Answer 2

What are you interested in training?
I train and compete in Agility and Flyball, and as you can imagine, there are a lot of situations where I need different kinds of rewards for different things.
Lamb Lung
String cheese (skim)
Diced chicken, low-sodium ham, roast beef and turkey. I get 3/4" thick slices of these from my grocery store and cube them up, and put in a tupperware container. That way, I always have high value treats ready to go.
Beggin' Strips
Freeze-dried Liver
Liverwurst
Goat cheese
Dehydrated chicken

As you can see, I really don't buy many premade treats. The size of the treats I use is small, and if I'm doing a lot of training, I cut down their meal size appropriately.
It's important to use high value treats that make your dogs say, "Wow!" That way, they will always look forward to training time.
I keep my training sessions short. I plan what I'm going to do, then I count out 10 treats. I work with the dog until I'm out of treats, and then I stop. Even if the dog wants to continue, I'll give them a break and then continue where I left off a few minutes later.
Good luck!
http://clickersolutions.com/articles/#basic

Answer 3

I've got a friend that came up with a novel idea. She bakes meat for treats-beef, liver or chicken. I would probably rather dehydrate the meat as it leaves the nutrients in. I've never know a dog that did not have his/her favorite food (mine's chicken). you might try some of that ad see what happens.

Answer 4

Ever watch Cesar Milan? (not that he's a guru, but he is popular) He NEVER uses food to train his dogs. That is using outside rewards. It is better to use intrinsic rewards, like patting the head and saying good dog.
It's like dork teachers who think giving a kid a treat will reinforce good behavior. I know one who told the school psychologist, how many f----- candy bars you got? That got the point across.

Don't use treats as rewards. I know dog trainers at shows do it, and keep pieces in their mouths to keep them warm (yechhhhh), but that is bad training. You want your dog to learn to do the right thing all the time and not expect a treat.

Answer 5

obviously you will need to find what works for your dogs. whatever you choose, be sure to use the tiniest pieces (you can cut up even store bought ones so they are just slivers). the point in using treats is to shape and reward behavior, not to fill them up.

and FYI to the Cesar millan fan - head pats and praise are secondary reinforcers, just like food. only difference is, dogs will work harder for food because most are food motivated.

Answer 6

I find mine respond as well to bits of their own food as anything (dried food, obviously) the giving of the treat is just reinforcing the fact that you are pleased and they did good - in fact anything too yummy is just distracting!

Answer 7

Bake ur own liver treats, I don't have the recepy with me but I'm sure you can get it on the net. Otherwise u can get dry biscuits or low fat meat treats.

Answer 8

Zuke's Mini Naturals. They are small, so they are great for training and my dogs LOVE them! You won't find them at PetSmart, but you can get them online or if you have a small pet "boutique" or store that sells high-quality dog stuff in your area. They are all natural, so they are healthy, and come in peanut butter, chicken, or salmon flavors.

Answer 9

Visit the www.fearfuldogs.com website and go to this link

http://www.fearfuldogs.com/rewards.html

If you are feeding good quality treats than you can also cut back on your dogs' regular meals to keep from overfeeding.

Answer 10

Mine like liver treats