When you go to training classes, they tell you to bring lots and lots of various high value treats. No kibble! Don't feed them before you come to class.
With small dogs, you have additional challenges beyond finding something your dog loves to eat beyond all measure. There's only so many calories your small dog can/should eat in a day. You can't skip feeding them entirely either because of the risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) or other adverse effects. Mr. N will throw up bile if his stomach is empty for too long.
On class days, the dogs get breakfast and a snack around noon but no dinner. So I have to find something low calorie but high value because they will get dozens of treats during one class.
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| Zuke's cut up into fourths |
Oh and it also has to be something they can eat quickly (no hard treats), and won't crumble (other dogs get distracted by the crumbs), and not messy. Preferably smelly. It's a wonder I find anything at all.
So what did I end up taking? Inside my treat bag, I had Zuke's mini naturals treats painstakingly cut up into fourths (Zuke's was just sold to Nestlé Purina so if they change the ingredients/formula, I may stop feeding them to the dogs/ EDIT: I was just reminded that Nestlé Purina owns the Waggin' Train and Canyon Creek Ranch brands that made so many dogs sick. We're not buying Zuke's anymore), a few Whole Life Pet beef liver treats (smelly, easy to break up but a little crumbly), one of the lamb lungs from Merrick's (for super high value, a little hard to tear up into small pieces), a Bocce's biscuit (for when I need him occupied for a minute), Clear Conscience Chicken Sliders (easy to tear and high value but left my fingers a little oily) and kibble. I normally wouldn't include kibble but Onyxx loves all food and I give them to him interspersed with higher value treats.
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| Treat bag contents |
Onyxx ate a fraction of what I took. I figured it was better to overpack than run out of treats. Not everything was low calorie but he got mainly Zuke's, kibble and the sliders with a few other things mixed in here and there.
I also like Real Meat treats because they're easy to tear. Dog food rolls like Redbarn's cut up into small pieces are also an easy treat option. They're supposed to be a complete and balanced meal. I've heard of people soaking kibble in broth to make them more high value but when I tried it, they were too soggy for my taste so I didn't bring them. Canned food/yogurt/baby food in a squeezable tube has worked for us in the past as has slicing up dehydrated chicken breast or beef heart or liver into tiny pieces.
Training treats at home can be lower value (like part of their meals or fruit/vegetables if your dog will eat them, Mr. N won't) but for class, a lot of dogs need more motivation to ignore the many distractions.
This one guy brought just a bag of banana chips to class. Which seems like a weird choice for dog training treats. I'm wondering if he forgot to bring treats and just grabbed something out of the car? His dog apparently wasn't working well for them and the instructor told him to bring something more high value next time. So I offered the guy some chicken treats and beef liver when I got a chance which he happily took.
I can just imagine Mr. N's reaction if I tried to train him with dried fruit. He would just look at me with utter disdain and be like, I am not a monkey. Now hand over the meat! Onyxx would probably work for them for a while (until he saw something better) but he'll eat just about anything.
What do you use for training treats? Especially for those of you who have dogs on diets or small dogs?
*The products listed above were either purchased or won in a giveaway except for the Merrick's which we received from Chewy.com to review. A longer review will be forthcoming.
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| We're working on Onyxx's food guarding issues by "trading up" |
WoW. Lots of preperation went into getting those treats ready. My dog will pretty much eat anything - possibly even those banana chips But you're right about the smelly stuff. He'd definitely do more for that......
ReplyDeleteGreat idea to cut the treats into small pieces. Small dog's don't need a lot of calories, as you point out. So treats can really sabotage any plans for keeping the smaller dog fit and trim.
ReplyDelete-Slimdoggy
We go to a lot of classes too, and even though my dogs are bigger, I work really hard at keeping them trim - so you don't want to ruin all that by giving all the treats in class...for class I will ofter use a cheese stick. I cut it in half lengthwise, and then again, so I have four long pieces, then I cut each of these again into about 20 - 25 little pieces...so I get 80 to 100 little cheese bites from 1 stick about the size of my pinky nail...and yes..it works. Some times I will also use boiled chicken breast in mini pieces, but this can get shreddy and make a mess. I will also cut Zuke's minis up too..I'm with you, I hope the formula doesn't change...for at home training I will often use Cheerios. 1/4 cup of cheerios is 27 calories...I don't give my dogs near that much...so it is a super low cal treat and easy to carry around in my pocket (and a snack for me if I need it too!). At home I always use a portion of breakfast kibble for our regular morning training...my dogs enthusiastically work for it!
ReplyDeleteHi Y'all!
ReplyDeleteI have 2 sizes of treats...small training treats and larger "medicine time" treats. All are home baked every couple of days. My Human started making all my treats when she was afraid that the store bought treats were aggravating my allergies.
Y'all come by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
That's a lot of prep work for such tiny pups! We usually take a mix like you guys: liver treats are the high value, Zukes mini since they're already tiny, and sometimes other brands of treats. I too just saw that Zukes sold to Purina so I'm not sure if we'll be buying them anymore. It's very sad since we liked them a lot but well, guess that's the way the biscuit crumbles.
ReplyDeleteI think it's more prep work because they're so tiny. Every calorie counts! I don't worry so much with Mr. N because he has a fast metabolism but Onyxx wants to eat everything plus he has a bad knee so his weight definitely needs to be kept down.
DeleteDid you say Banana Chips :-) I LOVE Banana Yes of course its a good treat :-) Happy FitDogFriday. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar
ReplyDeleteI was giving Ike carrots for treats but they don't agree with his digestion. It's a good idea to cut up bigger treats to tiny size. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI use hotdogs for off leash recall and very difficult/busy proofing areas, Cheerios for basic things, green beans, Zuke's, chicken, and banana or apple for teaching new stuff.
ReplyDeleteNola's Mom
Oh, my dogs LOVE banana chips. And fresh bananas. And apple slices. And baby carrots. Lol. These really are their favorite treats, and they're truly healthier than anything I can buy at the store, so I'm glad they like them.
ReplyDeleteMr. N is a little carnivore and only wants meat. He's meh about the majority of fruits and vegetables. He'll eat them sometimes but not consistently enough to use for training.
Delete170 cals/day is crazy low! I mean, it makes sense, but I'd never really thought of it before. Moses calculates at about 2400 calories, which makes sense, given he is human-sized.
ReplyDeleteBoth Moses and Alma have tried and enjoyed banana chips, but they're definitely not preferable to anything with meat - hot dogs are a favourite, so is dehydrated liver. And cheese for Moses - he's a big fan.
I think when you're working in a high-distraction place like a class, definitely the higher value the better - go with meat of some kind - it never fails!
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ReplyDelete___________________________
Baton Rouge dog training
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