How can I treat my dogs often without spoiling them (i.e. to the point so they won't eat regular food)?

Answer 1

What I occasionally do with my Pitbull because he is so hyper and sweet is I throw his ball around and play tug of war. Sometimes I think that he enjoys that WAY more than treats!! You can try to find something that he loves to do and play with him and he will be getting spoiled and not getting fat!! Good luck!

Answer 2

A treat for your dog is / should be the same as a treat for people - a treat. That means having the specialty only on special occasions. Getting the specialty too often makes it no longer special and therefore it becomes expected. It's only natural that it would be the prefered - that's what makes it a "treat" to begin with. Limit the frequency at which you give treats.

Also, don't automatically give the treat every time an action is done properly. Here's why: suppose you're trying to teach your dog to jump on your lap. If you treat the dog each time it successfully obeys, it will eventually get the idea that it will be treated every time it jumps into your lap. It may also get the idea that it will be treated even when jumping in other people's laps too. As you can see, this could become a problem - not everyone appreciates having dogs jump on them. Also, while some might like dogs, there are times when you still might not want a dog on your lap.

Answer 3

Make your dogs work for their treats. Doesn't have to be much, but if you ask them to perform some task before they get a treat you will be less likely to just sit there and shovel treats into their mouth. Also, you can use their regular food as treats. Put their regular kibble in an air-tight container with a super-stinky, yummy treat so that the kibble absorbs some of the smell and flavor of the treat and use those kibbles as treats. Healthy veggies and fruits like carrots and green beans are another excellent option for treats.

If your dogs decide that they would rather wait for their treats than eat their regular food...take the treats away. No healthy dog will starve themselves and if you don't offer any treats they will quickly learn that they have no choice but to eat their regular food. Then you can re-introduce the treats slowly, and of course cut back on the amount of treats you give them.

Answer 4

Too many treats can lead to obesity, which carries many health problems. Treating them too often can also spoil them to the point they won't eat regular food, which means they won't be getting proper nutrition. Try substituting store-bought treats with fruits and veggies (my dogs love the crunch). Smear the inside of a Kong toy with peanut butter for a treat that lasts a while. Keep treating in general to a minimum (maybe one treat a few times a day) and make sure the dog works for it, to be sure that the dog still eats regular meals.

Answer 5

The goal is to give the dog treats, but no so many that it becomes a meal, or so many that it becomes expected. That is why it is a treat. A filled kong is always a good treat! I fill one up and give it to my dog when I let her out at lunch or if I'm going to be gone for awhile. My pup loves it! There are a variety of goodies that you can fill it up with. I'll also give her a puppy biscuit when she goes in her crate sometimes. She gets small treats when we train and every once in awhile I'll give her a bone like a Greenie. Since she is doing the puppy chewing thing right know, she has a rawhide that she'll chew on when she feels like it.

Answer 6

You can use toys and chewies as treats as well. Some people use the dogs regular kibble as a reward for training purposes, that way the dog is not overeating or eating a bunch of junk. We use liver treats, hot dogs, cheese, and semi solid dog food as training treats for our pup, but I cut everything up into tiny bits, so in a one hour puppy class, he might actually have 10 of those liver treats and a half a hot dog, that way he will still eat dinner when he gets home.

Answer 7

I use cheese, diced chicken, steak, salmon, liverwurst, lamb lung, and other very high value treats to train my dogs. In Agility training, I ask them to do difficult things and so their rewards need to be high value too. If I tried to reward them with kibble or a dry biscuit, they would have sold me on eBay a long time ago.
But I don't have any trouble feeding my dogs their regular mealtime food. Any time that my dogs ever left their food / didn't eat / gave any sign of becoming a picky eater, I just picked up their food bowl and tried again later. They have a short amount of time to eat and if they don't eat then they have to wait until next mealtime. So - use any treats for training, and don't give in to fussy behavior at mealtime, and you'll be fine. Good luck!

Answer 8

Training! I use "special" treats when we train. That's the only time my dog gets treats. But we train A LOT, so she sure doesn't go without. Why not get something out of giving your dog treats. Nothing wrong with your dog learning something in the process :)

Answer 9

They're not eating normal dog food so as a treat I don't think you should feed them bones!!! Thats like us eating chocolate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There is things you can do to get them eating normal food!!! you can put wet foon on top of the dry food or they make these gravy things made for dog you can get them @ walmart for cheap just put it on top of the food and stop giving them everything they want or they will never be healthy!!!! I would like to live on cake too!!!

Answer 10

give them treats that are good for them - a bone, breast of mutton etc. giving them once a week will keep their teeth and coat in good condition.
also you can make your own treats like liver squares. mix some liver together with some crushed dog biscuits (the ones you feed her not the treat ones) then smooth it on a tray and cook it. it can then be cut in to squares and the ones that arent used right away can be put in the fridge in an airtight container (they do stink a bit)