Treats, treats, treats!

Beginner students always want to know, “What are the best kinds of treats for training?”  Ideally, treats should be

1.)    Small—roughly pea-sized or smaller

2.)    Smelly—holding a smelly treat in front of a dog’s nose is most effective at getting the dog’s attention

3.)    Soft—hard treats require chewing and generally are not as enticing or smelly

4.)    Variable—dogs get bored with a single type of treat, so mix it up!  Your dog never knows, in advance, which kind of treat he’s getting.  Training night is like Halloween trick-or-treating for dogs!

For the first night of a beginner class, you will need a lot of treats.  However many treats you think you need, multiply by four.  It’s OK to have too many, but training is very difficult in the learning phases when you run out of treats.

Recommended treats:  far and away, my favorite choice for a treat is Natural Balance Lamb or Turkey

dog food rolls.  Sliced into ½” thick slices, they are easy to break into pea-sized treats, nutritionally balanced as dog food, and most dogs love them!   The downside is that they need to be refrigerated after opening, and they will turn to crumbs if they are smashed in a treat bag.  Petco sells these rolls. 

Petsmart sells something similar, and also good, the Pet Botanics Dog Food Rolls.  You will need to experiment to see which ones hold up best (some are more moist, while some are more crumbly).

Other great options are diced pieces of chicken, turkey, ham, braunschweger, cooked liver or steak, small pieces of hot dog, or string cheese.  Check out the deli section of your local grocery store.   You definitely want to test these with your dog before bringing a huge amount to a training class.  For my dog, too many hot dogs will cause diarrhea, but he adores, and is fine with the messier turkey-cheese dogs!   Too much cheese can also cause digestive problems for some dogs. 

A final healthy option for dogs is dehydrated liver or dehydrated meat.  Most dogs go bonkers for the dehydrated treats, but they are expensive and very difficult to break into smaller pieces, so I use them sparingly.

Occasional treats:   variety is the spice of life, so I mix in some “occasional” treats while training.  Some dogs like crunchies: mini-Milkbones, Charlee Bear treats, or even Cheerios.  Try them first to make sure

your dog likes them—my dog likes the egg and cheese Charlee Bears, but not the liver variety.  In the “junk food” category of dog treats, are marketed soft dog treats like Bil-Jac Liver treats, Pupperoni sticks, Canine Carryouts, Milo’s Kitchen, and Beggin’ Strips.  These are not the healthiest choices for your dog, but may be okay in small amounts.

Things to AVOID:  Avoid any treats made in China, especially chicken or duck jerky.   The FDA is currently researching Chinese jerky treats to determine why so many dogs are getting sick from them, but for now, simply avoid them and make sure if you buy something with chicken, it is made in the U.S. or Canada. For info about the FDA and chicken jerky, click here: http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm092802.htm

Important reminder:  Your dogs will get fatter than a turkey at Thanksgiving if you start training them regularly and do not reduce their regular food intake.  If you are training at home, it is perfectly okay to use part or all of their regular meal to work with them.  Dogs are generally happy to work for their ordinary food, if they like their food. However, ordinary food will not entice them when they have extraordinary distractions such as other dogs and new smells in a training class.  Bring the good stuff to training and reduce their food for the day.  Your dog will thank you!