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I have tried several different commercial training treats for Lola, my heeler mix, without success. Right now I'm using cat chow or Temptations which she likes and the nuggets are small enough to eat quickly, one at a time. Think this is okay in small quantities? Any suggestions on homemade training treats?
Chicken livers make a high value treat. There are a lot of recipes if you google it. But all I did was boil the chicken livers for a while and when cool, cut them into small pieces. Wieners are also good. Not as high value as the chicken livers but easy enough to slice a wiener into small pieces.
I have tried several different commercial training treats for Lola, my heeler mix, without success. Right now I'm using cat chow or Temptations which she likes and the nuggets are small enough to eat quickly, one at a time. Think this is okay in small quantities? Any suggestions on homemade training treats?
I generally use the classic for training non-expected behaviors - hot dogs cut into tiny pieces. I like to use those because not only do the dogs like them, I can keep them in my mouth; this helps keep the dog's focus on my face. I also use string cheese and cheddar cheese. When I want to teach something really out of the ordinary, like "12 poles in 12 days", I'll roast a chicken breast and cut into small pieces. For general "pocket treats", I use a high-quality kibble or Ziwipeak. I don't use treats for expected behaviors/basic obedience commands. I also sometimes buy Zuke's mini-naturals or Bear Crunch grain free. I use Hundur's Crunch minis for crate and car treats (these are not good training treats).
Buying little bags of " training treats" is expensive. What I do is buy a large Natural balance beef log put it in the refrigerator and then slice slices off that I then cut into small cubes and put in a baggy and keep in the refrigerator so they are there when I need them. I do not slice the whole log at once but a few slices at a time. It has a smell that most dogs love and when I have used it in classes other dogs have smelled it and wanted some. Dazzle is VERY fussy about treats and food but he loves these.
If you want small treats and don't want to cook, cheerios work fine. That's the go-to treat for people with tiny dogs who want to control the calorie intake in a training session.
My 80 pound Bracco will happily work for a treat as small as a cheerio. It's not the size of the treat, it's the thought that counts. Training treats should be quite small.
My rule for treats is that they should never be bigger than the dog's nose. If you are going to hand out 20 treats in a training session, total size, all added together, should not be much bigger than the dogs nose.
Pensive has a huge nose, so nose size treats for her are too big. A piece that big is about 6 treats.
Last edited by oregonwoodsmoke; 08-21-2018 at 02:41 PM..
Pensive scored big time. I bought some of those little cellophane wrapped cheese and cracker snacks and I don't like them.
Her "job" is to bring me the doggy supper dishes. When she does, I break one of those little crackers into quarters. They aren't much bigger than an inch square before I break them. For 1/4 of one of those little crackers, she fetches the supper dish, then does a sit, and then does a down. That's three tricks for a crumb she can barely see, and she is delighted about it. Actually, 4 tricks, because we move around the house to different locations, so she also comes when called and takes direction.
Not that I'm advocating cheese and cracker snacks. Way too much salt and preservatives. I'm just pointing out that a dog will work for a very small salary, plus a bit of praise. Actually, Pensive works all day for nothing but approval. Food rewards are far and few between.
The Freshpet cat food soft nuggets at Target are a favorite of mine. I also will buy frozen meatballs, heat them up and break up as needed (current dogs LOVE this). You can also do "pyramid treats" which are custom made treats using a silicone baking mat. Google them. My friends have great success with them. Just puree a protein, tapioca flour and some broth to the right consistency and bake.
Rotisserie chicken breast is also good in a pinch.
Currently I use the Ziwipeak lamb dog food as training treats, it's easy to keep in my pocket. Past dogs I've used cheerios, cat temptations, string cheese and polka dog cod skins.
High value treats vary from dog to dog. One dog will love liver - another won't like it at all. The lesson there is to experiment and see what Dog likes!
As for stuff like cat food, or salty human stuff? Well, in moderate quantities this is typically not a big deal. It is so not a big deal it is typically not a deal at all.
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