FitDog Friday #18 - Training Treats for Small Dogs (and those on a diet)

According to SlimDoggy's calorie calculator, Onyxx needs roughly 170 calories/day. That's barely anything when you think about it.

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.

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.

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. 

We're working on Onyxx's food guarding issues by "trading up"

FitDog Friday #5 - Dog Food Saga

Wag 'N Woof Pets asked some questions about Mr. N's diet after reading about his refusal to eat premium kibble.

So what does he eat now? Do you cook for him or feed him canned food? Just curious! :)
Jan, Wag 'N Woof Pets 

Refuses to get out of bed for just kibble.

Mr. N is a finicky wee beastie with decided opinions. After he refused to eat kibble to the point of starving himself, we tried pre-made raw that is locally made. He liked that and he ate that for a few months until he had an attack of acute pancreatitis.

The vet recommended prescription canned dog food but after looking at the ingredients, I just couldn't do it. He wasn't particularly fond of it either. I consulted with a nutritionist and she came up with a diet for him that included pre-made raw (rabbit), rice, white fish and green beans. That did not work well. Mr. N was constantly hungry and hung around the kitchen silently begging for more food. This is a dog that didn't beg while sitting on my lap while I ate a bacon-and-egg sandwich at a cafe.

So once again we switched foods. Now he eats prey model raw. It works for us in a variety of ways. He's always happy to eat and doesn't act starved. His digestion seems better. His coat is shiny and his teeth are in good shape (although I still brush his teeth). It's a little time-consuming especially at first.

For us at least, it is not cheaper than feeding kibble. And this is with the occasional free food from neighbors. We could feed him high quality kibble for about five dollars/month. I'm not quite sure what it averages out to because I don't always buy food every month. I buy food from Asian markets and the raw food co-op.

Mr. N "helps" with the raw food delivery.

Last Friday, I wrote about how I discovered that Mr. N needs to drop a few ounces. Well he lost the majority of that weight already. Over the weekend, he had an upset stomach. Three days of some fasting then a bland diet made those extra ounces disappear. This method is not recommended as a sustainable weight loss method.

Someone was one unhappy dog for a few days. He is very fond of his meals and the bland diet wasn't quite up to his usual standards.