Low Fat Training Treats

[Burkes]

Hi All,

I have a 5yr old Lab who I started training classes with for the first time today. He came to me from rescue one year ago and is a pretty low impact guy who causes me no stress so I never trained anything beyond the usual sit, wait etc which i did at home.

Anyway, he got severely attacked by a dog last month and was torn up pretty bad. So now he is recovered we decided to go to training. Probably more for my sake than his. He is doing really well so I want to get into it a bit further and start doing targetting and stuff.

But the problem lies in the fact that Dusty is on a strict diet and still needs to lose 5kg so I need something low fat that I can use to treat. Unfortunately toys don't have the same appeal for him. I have been using cabanossi as it is such high value but is also sooooo high fat.

Any ideas?

Oh, and unfortunately I can't just up his exercise to help him lose weight. I have arthritis and require two new knees and back problems. We do walk for an hour a day but it is more of a meander.

[OSoSwift]

Try the Happy Paws training treats. They are an advertiser on here, just clicker on the "see all advertisers" bit on the banner up the top of the page. Dogs love them

[bedazzledx2]

Tucker Time make a weight control log. Cut it up a bit smaller and you can also use fat reduced cheese in small amounts.

[Burkes]

Thanks guys, that was exactly what I was after. Nothing like a night shift for online spending

OSoSwift - do you order from Happy Paws? Happy to say you referred me so you get 10% discount next time?

[Staranais]

If he's not convinced by the low fat treats, I'd just be making him work for his meals, or cutting down on his meals to compensate for giving him treats.

If you have access to anywhere you can swim him, that might help with the weight loss too.

[Vickie]

If he's not convinced by the low fat treats, I'd just be making him work for his meals

x 2

I would be using every meal for training

[SmoothieGirl]

Try and stick to the lean meat treats, like Roo or Venison. Happy Paws do both, they were my lifesaver when Bronte was on an elimination diet during skin treatment. She was on the Venison treats and thought they were pretty awesome.

Also keep in mind that for dogs, its not about the size of the treat, its about the treat and sometimes the number of individually offered treats. A very small treat (M&M sized) is just as rewarding as a bigger treat and if he does something really good, a few little treats given one after another are even more thrilling than one big one.

Edited February 20, 2011 by SmoothieGirl

[aussielover]

If he's not convinced by the low fat treats, I'd just be making him work for his meals, or cutting down on his meals to compensate for giving him treats.

If you have access to anywhere you can swim him, that might help with the weight loss too.

I would also be making him work for his meals.

I also use apple cut up into cubes (though I'm not sure that apple is low fat???)

For a high value treat some boiled chicken or even the breast pieces of a BBQ chicken (with no fat or skin). It is a bit messy but my dog loves it and will literally do anything for it.

I'm not sure swimming has the same effect on labs as it does on other dogs I've seen some massive labs swim happily for half an hour (maybe all the fat keeps them afloat lol) where other types of dogs get tired after a few minutes.

My own lab can swim a few kms with me and I get tired before she does. She hasn't lost any weight since she started doing it either.

[Staranais]

LOL, I think apple is practically NO fat.

Swimming has got to use some energy, though. Perhaps your lab is eating more to compensate for the energy she's using to swim (or perhaps she is moving about less at other times since she started swimming?) Otherwise simple physics dictates she must lose weight. Very curious.

Edited February 20, 2011 by Staranais

[Nekhbet]

what diet is the dog eating at the moment?

As for losing 5kg, you can shed that quickly feed 2 tiny meals a day, cut the food back a lot and it will drop off in no time. Dogs wont starve to death in fact a day without food wouldnt kill a lot of dogs I know.

ETA by the way a training treat needs to be the size of your little fingernail NOT a chunk at a time. It's literally a taste hence why people use such flavourful foods.

Edited February 20, 2011 by Nekhbet

[OSoSwift]

Thanks guys, that was exactly what I was after. Nothing like a night shift for online spending

OSoSwift - do you order from Happy Paws? Happy to say you referred me so you get 10% discount next time?

I haven't for a little bit as I am on a bit of a budget but will do shortly so would appreciate it if you are happy to

[aussielover]

LOL, I think apple is practically NO fat.

Swimming has got to use some energy, though. Perhaps your lab is eating more to compensate for the energy she's using to swim (or perhaps she is moving about less at other times since she started swimming?) Otherwise simple physics dictates she must lose weight. Very curious.

Well she hasn't lost any weight but she hasn't gained either and she is still a growing dog.

Also, I guess once the body gets used to an exercise, it becomes more efficient and expends less energy.

She gets a swim in the morning now instead of a run at the dog park. I'd say she is probably using the same amount of energy in both activities, maybe slightly more running around like a lunatic playing with other dogs lol

Its me that needs the exercise though and I don't get it by standing around watching her have fun (i wish i did tough)

ETA- Apple doesn'[t have any fat in it but isn't it really sugary? which can be quite fattening if you don't burn it off?

Edited February 21, 2011 by aussielover

[Nekhbet]

you wont get fat eating apples, you can live solely on them and still lose weight.

[Mason_Gibbs]

Apples are really low in Calories and are a great snack for people. I would not give it to my dog though many people do, I prefer pear and banana.

Dry fish treats are great for not putting on weight, my allergy dogs gets these as a treat. I also sometimes use roo mince and make my own training meatballs and cooking them in the oven.

[raineth]

I would just subtract quite a bit of his dinner and use high value treats like liver, chicken, and other straight meat treats I would probably avoid sausage type treats though.

I often think that losing weight is more about eating less rather than eating hardly any fat. Unless he already has a very high fat diet ofcourse

Edited February 21, 2011 by raineth

[Red Fox]

You can buy low fat hotdogs if he likes that kind of thing - 97% fat free from memory. Raw roo meat, cooked roo sausage, raw or boiled chicken breast, lite/diet dog roll...

Factor it into his diet by cutting out meals on the night/s you train him.

If you want to up the exercise but can't run with him what about a treadmill? Or recalls over a distance (or up hills), sending him out to target an object then race back to you for a treat, etc.

[Burkes]

Ohhh, some great ideas. Yeah, I think i will try using his dinner as training treats. Well maybe half of it.

He is currently eating about a cup and a half of Supercoat Lite and Mature a day. Would I be better to split it into two meals? I have a very malnutrioned foster dog who just came to me and he is eating twice a day so it would be easy to do.

I do take him swimming as much as possible as i have a 10yr old Rotty as well who swims for her arthritis. Unfortunately, in Canberra there aren't many options. The swimming season isn't long and when it is warm the lake is often full of blue green algae and they close it. There aren't any hydrotherapy pools either.

Secretkei - the running to a target will be a great option. We don't do a lot of off lead work but I reckon he will be great at it. His recall isn't too bad considering we have never done anything with it.

Yeah, I was using huge pieces of Cabanossi too. Will cut those down.

[Nekhbet]

get him off the supercoat light, that doest strip weight off at all. Every dog I've seen on that stuff is pudgy due to the grain content

roo mince, cooked veg and a bit of bran for fibre in two meals, conversely use the Vets All Natural mix. He still needs a decent amount of protein in his diet at his age and the supercoat is woeful for that

[Guest Labradork]

The absolute best thing you can do to help your dog to lose weight is to transition him/her onto a high-quality low-fat diet food.

Theoretically this shouldn't cost any more than your mainstream Supermarket foods, because you actually feed a MUCH lower quantity of the Super Premium foods (they are more concentrated/filling, to put it basically). So cost-per-feed is very similar, if that makes sense.

If you can't stretch to the Super Premium stuff, try buying bulk bags of the best quality you can get in the Supermarket (from memory, Optimum is about the highest quality available on Supermarket shelves at this stage). Stick to dry food only. And remember if you do decide to switch foods that it's very important to stretch it out over a week or longer (there should be instructions on the bag as to how to do this properly).

Here's the trick: use some of your dog's "daily quota" of his/her dinner as your training treats. This is beneficial to the dog because their systems are averse to change. Manufactured dog treats and foods (especially the ones in bright colours and fun shapes) are generated completely for owners, not for dogs. Dogs don't really care what colour or shape their food is, and they will quite happily eat the same thing every day for their entire lives.

If you want to mix it up, I would suggest keeping it natural as with some of the previous suggestions. Boiled chicken breast is an absolute winner. Apple is a popular one; carrots and peas are also a very healthy training treat. I agree with others- it's very much about quantity; keep treats small. I believe it's more about the dog's mentality of eating/being treated, rather than actually enjoying the food (just think about how quickly it goes down!!!).

I've not tried the manufactured low-fat treats mentioned in previous posts, although I'm sure they're great as well. I just find the above suggestions very quick, inexpensive and convenient!

[Nekhbet]

Theoretically this shouldn't cost any more than your mainstream Supermarket foods, because you actually feed a MUCH lower quantity of the Super Premium foods (they are more concentrated/filling, to put it basically). So cost-per-feed is very similar, if that makes sense.

The OP is feeding 1 1/2 cups of Supercoat to an adult labrador. Any less then that is just becoming rediculous, the weight wont peel off fast with supercoat due to the grain content. My grandparents dog I switched to Royal Canin light, it started peeling off and he was eating almost double what he ate of the supercoat.

Stick to dry food only.

why? If raw is cheaper and works better why not do it. The dog only has 5kg to lose which can be done in under a couple of weeks, its not a dog going through the growing phase. Two meals a day filled with raw grated vegetables in a starving dog will keep him full at a price below even a budget food yet at a better quality.