Training Treats

[fuzzy82]

Around the house we use commercially made treats from the pet store. They work fine in a low distraction environments.

In training classes and on walks we use human foods, like ham, cheese, pepperoni, cheerios, kabanas etc.

Lately I have been making my own dog treats, which is very quick and simple and the dogs love it. I get a tin of tuna or salmon (or even cat food, the dogs loooove it) mix in a bowl with 2-3 eggs, mix in some flour, then put in oven for 20-25 minutes on 175 degrees. Let it cool and then cut it up into small treats and put in small bags. I freeze what I won't need the next day, and each bag contains just enough for one training class.

Oooh, I think I'll give that a go. How much flour do you put in?

Dunno, I don't measure it... just enough to make it sort of thick without making it doughy. You could probably leave the flour out if you add an extra egg... I dunno, I just experimented a couple of times and adjusted accordingly. The first few times it was too crumbly, but the dogs still loved it.

[Kitteh]

Ok cool, will give it a whirl. Good to have variety, and cheaper to make it at home if I can.

Thanks Fuzzy :D

[sas]

Don't give puppy breakfast either Hunny. That way those treats will be even more yummy!

I don't agree with that, puppies need food for energy and focus. People don't tend to think about that, if someone expected me to concentrate and train with being starving I wouldn't be at my best and I'd probably be obsessed about the food which isn't actually allowing me to learn properly.

If the person doesn't want to provide the whole meal, they can give half or a quarter etc 3-4 hours before the puppy school that way pup has had a sleep and can toilet, but to give no food isn't a smart move for energy/focus requirements.

For some reason people feel they have to starve their dogs to get results.

Edited May 19, 2011 by MEH

[Merrirose]

One of my favourite treats is the Inghams chicken roll you buy at the supermarket. Cut it up into little cubes and you are good to go. I usually buy devon rolls at the same time and cube them too. Quick and easy! I also plan to make my own liver bread which is the recipe above though instead of using sardines you use blended liver I think. Ill experiment anyway

[Hunny]

Do you all use those 'bum bags' to store your treats in while training? Or just pop them in a pocket or something?

[megan_]

Do you all use those 'bum bags' to store your treats in while training? Or just pop them in a pocket or something?

Both. If I had to do it again I would never use a treat pouch - dogs often become conditioned to it (she has food, I'll listen to her. No pouch = no food = stuff you!)

[bedazzledx2]

Pockets...your not a real dog trainer until you have gooey pockets :rofl:

Just a caution on the polony, cabanossi and such like treats...remember he is a puppy and puppies need proper food. Unless its a dog specified roll (4 legs make a terrific puppy roll) you run the risk of overloading with salt and preservatives. I agree with Meh, puppies need their meals to be able to function and focus but there is no harm in doling out one of part of a meal in training. Hopefully you are not training for a whole hour...he won't have the attention span, so you can divide up the meal into portions so you know exactly how much he is getting.

I feed raw which provides special challenges! At one point I was hand feeding BARF!!!!

Do you all use those 'bum bags' to store your treats in while training? Or just pop them in a pocket or something?

[JulesP]

Bum bag. I find that novice handlers that have the food in their pockets can never get the treats out in a timely fashion and are fumbling around too much.

[sas]

Do you all use those 'bum bags' to store your treats in while training? Or just pop them in a pocket or something?

For the puppy, I have a vest that I can just put over whatever I'm wearing and the treats come out of the right hand side pocket.

For my boy who does drive training I have a vest similar to those bike riders wear with the pocket on the lower back, this way he doesn't associate training/drive with a bumbag/treat bag that couldn't be used in the ring but I could wear the Vest.

[sas]

Bum bag. I find that novice handlers that have the food in their pockets can never get the treats out in a timely fashion and are fumbling around too much.

Agree! Timing and delivery is the most important aspect imo.

[OSoSwift]

I would be wary off to much polony cabbanossi etc due to the high salt content.

You can also get a whole live and either boil it or microwave it (smells absolutely disgusting!) and then chop it into little pieces and spread out on a tray in the oven just to dry it a little and stop it being crumbly. I also use fourlegs roll cut up, chunkers and left over meat cut into very small cubes. All mixed together

[corvus]

Do you all use those 'bum bags' to store your treats in while training? Or just pop them in a pocket or something?

Both. If I had to do it again I would never use a treat pouch - dogs often become conditioned to it (she has food, I'll listen to her. No pouch = no food = stuff you!)

A lot of people say that, but I haven't found it to be the case. I think to some extent always having it with you means you reward more often, and the more you reward the more confident your dogs become that they will be rewarded and the less attention they pay to cues that might tell them whether they will be rewarded or not.

I've been microwaving BARF patty meatballs for treats lately. I wanted something healthier because my dogs get a lot of treats. I usually toss some cheese in with it so they get some variety. We also have some dried treats that get tossed in as well, but I prefer soft and squishy. They don't choke on them when they start inhaling them.

[OSoSwift]

Oh and I did wear a pouch sometimes, but I buy yoga type pants with pockets in specifically to train in. Nothing like a nice greasy pocket!!

I am yet to put a whole sardine in mine like Bedazzled has though --ewww

Edited May 20, 2011 by OSoSwift

[Kavik]

I use a treat pouch - not up to greasy grimy pockets atm. I teach a send to the treat pouch so we can do some work with it off my person and reward at the end as well as when it is on me.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Treats

At puppy school - we used kitten kibble (I like optimum) but I think the vet gave us Whiskers... because it has higher fat than dog food, so they like it better (now you know why your dog prefers the catfood).

And they had cheese - which my dog would not work for. still not that thrilled with it.

She loves any kind of meat, cooked is better. But raw mince is good if somewhat awkward for training. So cook a bit of extra steak and chop it tiny. Or roast chicken or boiled thigh fillets.

She also works for promite on wholemeal bread, jatz, chicken biscuits, chippies (any sort), carrots, dried fish, liver, ham, metwurst especially garlic metwurst, fritz, rawhide strips, roo strips, dirty kleenex and anybody else's treats. Ie somebody else's treats - doesn't matter if it's super coat kibble is always better than the fresh cooked steak I have. Sigh.

I buy zip lock snack bags and use those to stop my pockets or bum bag getting yukky. I have a friend who got herself a "fisherman's jacket" ie with lots of pockets which she uses to hold her treats. She thinks that helps stop her dog getting treatbag-wise. It is good to mix up where the treats are coming from. I sometimes use a tin mug for training - if it's not healwork and you can combine that with training the dog not to steal food. Ie dog can stop itself from trying to hoover out the mug of treats - it gets a treat for showing self control...

(Freudian bread)

Edited May 20, 2011 by Mrs Rusty Bucket

[Pretty Miss Emma]

I generally use a treat bag when I'm in class just because I can fit more in it, it has pockets to store the other bits I need and it's easy access. When I'm out of class I might use my treat pouch, or just put treats on my pocket, keep them in my handbag or in containers around the house. I try to mix up how I "look" with my treats to minimise the association with the treat pouch - but Kenzie always works that little bit better when she sees it (I'm now looking at trying to work with it a little less in formal situations!!!).

[PAX]

I use lots of treats and also worry about giving my dogs so much salty/fatty foods.

I have found the dog rolls are really good for training treats and most dogs seem to really like them. I prefer the Scottys or Pro Peak rolls (sold at Pet Barn), meant to be all natural, no preservatives and they even make a low fat one.

I also mix in other stuff, a little cheese, sometimes raw cut up cheaper cuts of meat, cooked liver, etc.

I usually wear a vest and my pockets are always gross....lol. Its a buggar when I take off a vest and leave treats in the pockets, my naughty dogs have eaten a few pockets out of them.....but that's better then putting them in the machine then through the dryer.

[corvus]

I've often thought about the Scotties rolls, but didn't know if they were firm enough to hold their shape once cut up and couldn't bring myself to try. Do they hold together as well as 4 Legs rolls? I tried VIP, but found it was a bit mushy once thawed.

[PAX]

I've often thought about the Scotties rolls, but didn't know if they were firm enough to hold their shape once cut up and couldn't bring myself to try. Do they hold together as well as 4 Legs rolls? I tried VIP, but found it was a bit mushy once thawed.

Yes, Scottys rolls hold up as well as Four legs, without the bits of corn flying around.

[huski]

I've seen dogs that have cued off the sight of treat bags and this impacted them later on, there is a big difference between training a dog then stepping into the obedience ring and suddenly not having all the things on you that your dog has been 'taught' to cue off! It's one of the things I stuffed up with Daisy, she started cueing off the sight of food and this caused issues in the ring when she realised I didn't have any food on me.

I feed a variety of food for treats, I often buy chuck steak/beef off cuts and boil it so I'm not constantly feeding fatty or salty stuff.

But Daisy's highest value reward is DEFINITELY sweet food especially donuts or gingerbread.

Edited May 20, 2011 by huski