# Training treats



## Bama4us (Oct 24, 2009)

For those who have followed us, you know the trouble I've been having with Bear at our OB class. We have another attempt on Wednesday. I need some advise on high reward training treats. I bought some hot dogs to try, but is it ok to use cheese puffs and gold fish snacks? I'm thinking the crinkling of the bag might be enough to hold his attention while we are there.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Calories in and calories out need to roughly be kept track of, so make sure you don't feed normal meals on training days so not only is the dog hungrier in class, but not going to get fat!

I use anything in the house that can be SMALL, when I train. I've also found stuff in my fridge/pantry that is people food is generally way better than dog treats. Hotdogs are good, kilbasa (sp?), liver, chicken, meat, pizza, tortellini's, goldfish (are good but generally moister treats go down easier), cheese, liverwurst.....


Think cheese puffs will tend to be more a flakey orange mess than you want. 

Anything that you can slice up and make peasized that is PEOPLE food is what works for us.


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## smyke (Sep 24, 2009)

when it comes to hotdogs is all that sodium in them an issue?


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## GrandJan (Aug 11, 2006)

Cut-up hot dogs work well for me too, and the amount they get isn't worth the worry of the sodium intake, IMO. I also use dry cat food a lot - they like it, it's small, and it's not messy. It does taste pretty bad if you're into spitting it at them, but thank goodness I only do that on "watch me"!


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## victoria_warfel (Nov 29, 2007)

Some things that have worked great with my dog and my clients:
hot dogs are great and one hot dog goes a long way - quarter the dog and then coin it, you end up with tiny pieces. 

cooked, diced chicken works well too.

freeze-dried liver can be cut smaller than the large pieces you buy it.

Premier brand liver biscotti, the tiny ones.

Charlee bear treats (only 3 calories each).

I have had some who love goldfish crackers and cheesy puffs. It all depends on your dog. Try some and see what he goes crazy over.


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## Bama4us (Oct 24, 2009)

I've been using baby carrots, string cheese and kibbles, all of which he loves, but trying to come up with something that will keep him focused on "the goody bag" and not the other dogs when we're not doing commands. I had a jar of peanut butter last week, too much of a hassle, and he still wanted to get vocal.


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## Bama4us (Oct 24, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: Victoria & Jedi
> I have had some who love goldfish crackers and cheesy puffs. It all depends on your dog. Try some and see what he goes crazy over.


He's crazy over ANY food. Should have named him Hoover!


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## Jason L (Mar 20, 2009)

Also make sure he is really really hungry. Give him less on the morning of whichever day he goes training.


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## lylol (Feb 18, 2009)

something with a strong smell... i mix in with my normal treats described by lots of folks above tiny slices of meatballs (like the big bags you get a costco, microwave, cool then slice in tiny bits). For one of my dogs I am using a jar of meat based baby food... likes the drama of opening and getting a lick out of the jar. From the agility world, a treat bag that is a tug toy as well and has a noisey velcro opener can be very rewarding... get the pup to target the bag with his nose then make a big drama out of ripppping it open and letting him stick his nose in ...then whisk away... work your way up to tugging on it ... http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_ID=494&ParentCat=22


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## LukesMom (Jun 12, 2009)

Farmers Market Salmon and vegetable treats by Plato are a huge hit with my dogs, my sister's labs and various dogs in the neighborhood. They are stinky (fishy smell) and the dogs love them. I got mine through White Dog Bone but you could probably get them at any local pet store that sells natural treats.
http://www.whitedogbone.com


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

I mix in different treats all together too. Generally, I use hot dogs, natural balance roll, liver, and I'll even throw some kibble in the bag with it so that it's will become kibble with hot dog flavor. 

If I'm really training something hard I break out the big guns- plain McDonald's cheeseburger.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

> Originally Posted By: Bama4usI've been using baby carrots, string cheese and kibbles, all of which he loves, but trying to come up with something that will keep him focused on "the goody bag" and not the other dogs when we're not doing commands. I had a jar of peanut butter last week, too much of a hassle, and he still wanted to get vocal.


That's fine for training around the house, but other than the string cheese, nowhere near high value enough in a distracting situation like class. Along the lines of a cheeseburger, I've used meatballs before, but they can be messy. I bought the frozen bags and tossed a couple in my treat bag. As they defrost you can pinch off small pieces. Some other ideas for special treats are spray cheese (stick the nozzle in his mouth and squirt - I used this as my special recall treat for awhile), little jars of meat baby food (hold the jar and let him take a lick or two), and you can buy refillable squeeze tubes for camping and fill them with peanut butter to make dispensing easy. I bought mine online at Clean Run, but you can also get them at REI or other camping supply companies. Peanut butter is good for barky dogs because it will gum up his mouth. 

My dogs (and cats!) just love the little Zuke's Mini Natural treats, and they're the perfect size for training so you don't need to cut them up in advance. Solid Gold jerkey is also great, but needs to be cut up, and cubed Natural Balance roll. Freeze dried liver is good, but as Victoria pointed out, you usually need to cut it into smaller pieces - PureBites brand comes in flatter pieces that are easily broken up with your fingers, and they have freeze dried cheddar that's also a hit. For smelly treats I like the Plato and Yummy Chummy brand of salmon treats. 

If you really want to keep his attention in class, save the best treats for then and use lower value treats at home. For certain skills, like the recall, you can reserve one really special treat that he ONLY gets when you're working on that skill. 

I took Halo out for a training walk yesterday and brought a mix of treats - I had a chunk of filet mignon left over from Friday night, so I cubed that and mixed in the last of the Zuke's, some freeze dried liver and cheddar, and some string cheese, all pretty high value stuff.


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## Bama4us (Oct 24, 2009)

Great advice, as always, Thanks everyone! Bear hasn't had a problem learning, at home or in class, using any type treat, but I was looking for an edge to help curb his barking at other dogs. Any more info and my post would get yanked to the training threads, lol. But if Bear knows I have something hidden inside my bag of treats, maybe he'll do like he does when I try to eat my dinner and just lay there and stare with that "you never feed me" look, watching my every move.


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