# What training treats do you use?



## Plushie (Aug 9, 2010)

(Not sure if this should be in Food or in Training, ha.)

I was just wondering, what training treats do you guys use? Home made or store bought? What are your recipes or brands?

Right now I'm mainly using her kibble, she gets fed about half her meals via training because clicker training uses a lot of treats @[email protected] And occasionally, small cut up pieces of Pupperoni though it's not the healthiest of course xD


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## petpeeve (Jun 10, 2010)

I'm not a big fan of store bought commercial treats such as pupperoni, beggin strips etc. Too many nasties such as BHA, BHT, food colouring, glucose etc. (although I have used them, sparingly, in a pinch).

I prefer to use treats such as ... 

baked liver (with a touch of garlic)
freeze dried liver
cooked chicken pieces
cubed cheese
cubed ham kielbasa
sliced chicken wieners (freeze first, then slice as thin as possible)
kibble other than their regular stuff (sample packs)
cheerios
etc etc etc

Use your imagination, and try to discover which ones work best for THE DOG.


Also, I like to mix up the different textures / styles of treats, (and vary them from session to session) so it's unpredictable and the dog never knows what's coming.

Be careful with too many rich treats. Your dog may get "garbage-itis", or worse yet ... pancreatitis.


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## LynnI (Mar 27, 2010)

petpeeve said:


> I'm not a big fan of store bought commercial treats such as pupperoni, beggin strips etc. Too many nasties such as BHA, BHT, food colouring, glucose etc. (although I have used them, sparingly, in a pinch).
> 
> I prefer to use treats such as ...
> 
> ...


This^^^^^^


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## jiml (Jun 19, 2008)

Pet Botanics Rolled Meat - diced


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

I like 101 treats. Yes, they are store bought (don't shoot me!) but they don't have anything but beef liver and some herbs in them and Wally loves them. They are HARD to find around here - and even online sometimes for some reason.

Otherwise, I've used those baked treats from Petco you can get in bulk. Nothing horrible in them and there's a couple Wally goes nuts for.

Often times, though, I just use bread. I break a slice of bread into about 40 "bread balls" and use those. Once in a while I might use deli meat (chicken or roast beef only, no ham for him) broken into small pieces, and then let them dry out. If there's left overs around, like stray pasta or french fries, or left-behind waffles/pancakes - I'll use those (again broken into pieces). If I happen to be making waffles/pancakes - I'll put one or two aside for the dog.


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## MonicaBH (Jul 5, 2008)

Chopped up hot dogs (beef, turkey or chicken)
Salmon/ricotta strips (homemade)
Liver leather (homemade)
String cheese
Peanut butter (for touch work only)


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## melaka (Mar 31, 2010)

I mostly use cheese cut up into really tiny pieces when I need high-value treats. She also sometimes gets turkey hot dogs cut up for an extra special/smelly training treat.

Otherwise, I buy Zuke's naturals or Natural Balance dog food rolls trial sizes and cut them up very small.

Edit: I used to mix up the hot dogs with a quarter of her kibble, hoping the kibble would absorb the smell/taste and work as high-value treats too, but it ony worked for a few weeks before she tired of the kibble as treats.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

Different suggestion... what ever I use for training, I make dime-sized slices... then I cut those into fourths, providing a taste to mark a good response, rather than a small snack that may disrupt the rythym of training.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

These are my common treats. Some are healthy, some aren't. But the unhealthy ones are usually easier and used when I can't make some up. 

Blocks of cheese (cut up into little tiny pieces)
Hot dogs (cut long ways twice [into quarters] then across into littles fourths)
Cheerios
Sweet potato pieces
Natural Balance Food Rolls (sliced, then cut into little pieces)
Canine Carry Outs (ripped into small pieces)
Zuke's Mini Naturals (cut in half)
Wellness Pure Rewards (ripped into little strips)
Nature's Recipe Training Treats (split in half [sometimes])
Pet Botanics Training Treats (split in half [sometimes])


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## philovance (Jan 7, 2009)

I use a lot of treats because we "train" constantly throughout the day. Benji can tend to get a little overexcited and barky in the house so I use treats to reinforce his being quiet in a down stay. The main criteria are that they are low in calories, not full of junk and cheap. I try to use higher value treats than kibble represents.

Our favorite are the dry Charlee Bear treats available at Petco. They look like oyster crackers for soup and don't have a lot of stuff in them, just wheat flour, liver, garlic powder and salt. They are only three calories each and keep forever. I've forgotten I put some in a jacket I haven't worn for months but they are still palatable when I rediscover them. The manufacturer uses this pocketablility as a selling point.

The other treats I use are somewhat higher value and don't tend to keep as well since they are jerky and dry out. They are Wellness' Pure Delights *cat* treats which are tiny and only 1 calorie each. I trust Wellness to use good ingredients. Wellness Pure Rewards are the same thing but come in large 5 calorie pieces that have to be split up, as the previous poster noted. Like her I have also used Natural Balance rolls and Zuke's but I find I have to use them too quickly or they dry out.

If I think of it I also cut up the rind from gouda cheese into tiny pieces as a special treat and if I need to get something away from Benji I use Stella & Chewy's Carnivore Crunch raw freeze dried nuggets. They're too expensive to use on a regular basis though.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

philovance said:


> The other treats I use are somewhat higher value and don't tend to keep as well since they are jerky and dry out. They are Wellness' Pure Delights *cat* treats which are tiny and only 1 calorie each. I trust Wellness to use good ingredients. Wellness Pure Rewards are the same thing but come in large 5 calorie pieces that have to be split up, as the previous poster noted. *Like her I have also used Natural Balance rolls and Zuke's but I find I have to use them too quickly or they dry out.*


I've noticed this too. 

But, I bought a 16oz bag of zuke's for $10 while in a petstore today and used half the bag before I left. Used another 1/4 at a separate pet store, and brought home 1/4 for the puppy's potty times. I don't think I'll have these long enough to go bad, but I have let a natural balance roll go bad just because I HATE cutting those up. They crumble too much.


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## melaka (Mar 31, 2010)

When I used the NB rolls, I had bought a handful of the 99 cent size ones. I kept it in the refrigerator after I opened it and it seemed OK. Today I just bought the smaller of the regular sized ones, so I hope it doesn't dry out.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

melaka said:


> When I used the NB rolls, I had bought a handful of the 99 cent size ones. I kept it in the refrigerator after I opened it and it seemed OK. Today I just bought the smaller of the regular sized ones, so I hope it doesn't dry out.


They make .99 cent sized ones!? Blasphemy! That'd be perfect!


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## MrsBoats (May 20, 2010)

We use Natural Balance rolls in varying flavors and string cheese for training. At shows only, we break out cooked chicken or steak.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Cooked chicken breast is my "big gun" for skills we're really working hard on or they're not that interested in.

Otherwise I cut up and mix together:
Cut up Natural Balance rolls
Freeze-dried liver and/or chicken
Buddy Biscuits soft treats 
Goober-licious and Apple-Nanas (both by Bil-Jac)

Pip is quite food motivated, but it was really hard to find treats that Maisy was interested in. Mixing the different varieties and flavors together seems to keep her more on her toes.


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## melaka (Mar 31, 2010)

DJEtzel said:


> They make .99 cent sized ones!? Blasphemy! That'd be perfect!


I saw them once, by the register. Haven't seen them again since.


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

You fry up some spam and it can be cut to whatever size you need and soaking in paper towels will suck some of the meat grease so it's easier to handle.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

wvasko said:


> You fry up some spam and it can be cut to whatever size you need and soaking in paper towels will suck some of the meat grease so it's easier to handle.


*gags* Jon made spam for dinner last night. Every smoke alarm in the house went off, and everything still smells like spam. It made me want to vomit.


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

DJEtzel said:


> *gags* Jon made spam for dinner last night. Every smoke alarm in the house went off, and everything still smells like spam. It made me want to vomit.


You do realize the treats were for the dog, if people are eating the spam you need a certified Spam-Fry cook.


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## Plushie (Aug 9, 2010)

The spam idea, is genius...we have cans of the stuff lying around that I just won't touch because that stuff tastes terrible xD


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

wvasko said:


> You do realize the treats were for the dog, if people are eating the spam you need a certified Spam-Fry cook.


Yes, but you do realize that spam smells worse than burnt poop?


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## Plushie (Aug 9, 2010)

DJEtzel said:


> Yes, but you do realize that spam smells worse than burnt poop?


Spam also bubbles over the campfire.


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

DJEtzel said:


> Yes, but you do realize that spam smells worse than burnt poop?


Well beauty is in the eye of the beholder, scent is in the nose of the beholder (your dog)

I have never had the opportunity to smell burnt poop so I don't have a clue.


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

wvasko said:


> You fry up some spam and it can be cut to whatever size you need and soaking in paper towels will suck some of the meat grease so it's easier to handle.


I didn't think that stuff was safe for consumption. Human or otherwise...


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

KBLover said:


> I didn't think that stuff was safe for consumption. Human or otherwise...


Old school rule, never feed a dog something that you wouldn't eat yourself. Not used much anymore.


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## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

spam works well. Actually, I can get hot dogs for $1 for 8 (Bar S Chicken and turkey Franks) and they are about the same as Spam and the dog loves them. I also have used tough cuts of beef (stew meat) cut up. String cheese is good too. 

Keeping the size very small is important. Quantity is not as important as quality. 

I used to think going to higher and higher quality treats was the way to go. No more. Treats for ANY behavior need to be faded pretty quickly or you end up with a dog that won't work UNLESS you have treats. 

I am into the whole competition thing and treats cannot be used in the ring (and really.. if you go in the ring you should not need them). To that end I spariningly use them and eventually use them randomly and do not associate them with any particular behavior so they AREN'T pay for doing something. They are pay for sticking around for the fun and keeping watch of me 'cause in all the fun once in awhile a treat comes out and gets tossed. 

FWIW the only store bought treat I use are those Little Charlie things because they are dry and can be left in the car or truck.


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## petpeeve (Jun 10, 2010)

KBLover said:


> I didn't think that stuff was safe for consumption. Human or otherwise...




you mean, spam has another use BESIDES being dog food ???

*shock*




Kinda reminds me of that wet "cat food" that a major taco chain uses .. yuk

I guess some (brave) people will eat anything ...

LOL


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

petpeeve said:


> you mean, spam has another use BESIDES being dog food ???
> 
> *shock*
> 
> ...


Oh my, Spam and eggs is still a staple at our house. How did I live this long eating all that bad stuff. Oh well I have often confessed to not being the brightest bulb in the box. Believe it. Oh I like garlic baloney too. I'm a lost cause.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Haha, I take Spam camping since it's nonperishable and survives campfire cooking pretty much no matter what. 

Guess we're both lost causes.


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## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

I have been in situations where food has had to be both cheap and not need refrigeration. Spam fits both those things.. as do a number of things that most here might find inedible. 

You do what you have to do. At least when I eat Spam my dog is paying attention. Of course this also works for Ice Cream but that is real hard to keep in a treat bag!


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

sassafras said:


> Haha, I take Spam camping since it's nonperishable and survives campfire cooking pretty much no matter what.
> 
> Guess we're both lost causes.


I'm wondering if there are more Spam eaters in the closet afraid to come out. 


> You do what you have to do. At least when I eat Spam my dog is paying attention. Of course this also works for Ice Cream but that is real hard to keep in a treat bag!


I'm just wondering how a Spam ice cream sandwich would score in the world of dog treats.


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## hachna (Jul 31, 2010)

wvasko said:


> Oh my, Spam and eggs is still a staple at our house. How did I live this long eating all that bad stuff. Oh well I have often confessed to not being the brightest bulb in the box. Believe it. Oh I like garlic baloney too. I'm a lost cause.


Well I will eat spam every day if i could but i don't except we are camping out with dogs. A few slices of ham with some hard vegies really satisfies me while camping. Of course dogs love them too.

I also make sliced japanese style egg omelette and use blanched fish cake as treats.


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## tskoffina (Jul 23, 2010)

wvasko said:


> I'm wondering if there are more Spam eaters in the closet afraid to come out.


I despise it, but when you loose power for a couple of weeks and all the stores have no food, you eat what you have. I've found I'm not a happy camper if I don't have a supply for hurricane season. It's like my security blanket, even though I haven't had any since '05.


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## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

Between Spam and Fruitcake you could be all set for years...... and years.....


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## Angela (Aug 21, 2010)

I have bought many different training treats and my puppy, hands down, prefers the Pet Botanics Training Treats. When she was really little I used to cut them in half (I should probably still be doing this) because it takes her too long to eat them whole.

I can't even get her to eat crunchy treats, I've tried Mother Hubbard, Royal Canin, Milk Bone, and she doesn't eat them. She will eat the Wellness Rewards Jerky but she doesn't go nuts over it. 

I am totally going to pick up one of those meatsticks so I can cut them into small pieces. I also want to try the freeze dried liver although I just looked and it suggested not to give a dog more than 2-3 / day. That doesn't seem like a lot at all. Maybe I just over treat my dog. I would guess she gets about 10 of the Pet Botanics treats per day. She is 13 weeks old and weights about 12 lbs. She doesn't seem to be gaining too much weight. I've had her for about 6 weeks and she has gained 7 lbs. She eats her kibble but less than the recommended amount (she eats about 1 1/2 cups) a day.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

Re: Liver Treats. I buy the $1.50 bag of advantage liver treats from PetsMart ... not an endorsement. However, they are soft and I cut them into dime-sized slices, which I then cut into fourths to use as treats... for my 65 lb Lab. Adding to what Elana said, it is quantity of the treat, not size of the treat... and a taste is all you need for training, as a tasty substitute to mark "good dog!"


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

Hmm, I thought this was appropriate


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## JR Banks (Sep 24, 2010)

Grabbing stuff you have around the house is easy, and you can control the size of the pieces depending on your dog. I don't bother buying dog treats most of the time. Here are some good ones I have used and also seen others use on this forum

cooked chicken pieces
cubed cheese
cubed ham kielbasa
sliced chicken wieners (freeze first, then slice as thin as possible)
kibble other than their regular stuff (sample packs)
cheerios


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## crysania (Oct 1, 2010)

Here are some that I've used:

Turkey hotdogs cut up into small slices and microwaved for about 1 minute. I use turkey because it's lower in fat.

Freeze-dried liver treats (they make beef and chicken that I've seen -- we use beef because Dahlia has issues with chicken)

Tiny little hamburger pieces (I roll up a little bit of ground beef and then cook them up -- let them cool down on a paper towel so the grease gets soaked up a bit)

Cheese curds

Pet Botanics rolled meat cut up into tiny pieces


I once used pieces of steak that was leftover from dinner but she was way too focused on the treats. If I needed super high value for something (like when she was reactive) I'd use this, but otherwise I found it too distracting for her.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

I found those .99c natural balance rolls! 

SCORE!


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## Miranda16 (Jan 17, 2010)

... i cant turn down a good fried spam sandwich i have to be honest.... and the dogs will just about to backflips for it ...


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## l2andom (Aug 30, 2010)

Spam rolls are so good, dont know what you guys are talking about! 

But I normally use kibble or cut up hot dogs. Never got really serious with training my previous dogs in the house as my dad did most of that. When I pick mine up I'll make sure to use what you guys are


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## mitzi (Aug 3, 2010)

Cooked chicken breast or Wellness Well Bites torn up in 4-5 pieces. Except for his Orijen kibble, I wouldn't feed Bosley anything I wouldn't eat.

Unfortunately it doesn't help, 2 months and he can't remember 'sit' 75% of the time


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

l2andom said:


> Spam rolls are so good, dont know what you guys are talking about!
> 
> But I normally use kibble or cut up hot dogs. Never got really serious with training my previous dogs in the house as my dad did most of that. When I pick mine up I'll make sure to use what you guys are


I knew some more Spam rascals would be popping out of the closet.


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## Shandwill (Jul 23, 2010)

I had been using hot dogs that were cut up and nuked until desired jerky-like consistency. Tried the same thing with bologna this evening and seemed to turn out well. Guess we'll know after class tomorrow!


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

Shandwill said:


> I had been using hot dogs that were cut up and nuked until desired jerky-like consistency. Tried the same thing with bologna this evening and seemed to turn out well. Guess we'll know after class tomorrow!


I never thought about nuking them to get some of the icky greasy juice out of them. Good idea!


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## Shandwill (Jul 23, 2010)

DJEtzel said:


> I never thought about nuking them to get some of the icky greasy juice out of them. Good idea!


Yep, when I work with my two dogs, there's already enough slime involved! =) Beware, though...don't nuke them too much, too quickly and cover them with a damp paper towel. I smoked up the kitchen and stunk up the microwave the first time! (Even though they looked a bit like charcoal, the dogs still LOVED them!) I usually start out with one minute at 70%, then stir and repeat until I get them where I want them. Once they cool, I seal them up in a baggie and toss them in the fridge. Also, anything you put in the baggie will absorb the same smell/taste, so I usually add in a handful of Cheerios, too.


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