# Need Advice: Treats for 12-week old Pug Puppy?



## mss (Nov 15, 2011)

What are some good "reward" treats to give a 12-week old puppy? I live in Ecuador and can't get any of the boxed organic goodies mentioned on so many forums. I can get the standard Milk Bone/Purina-type puppy cookies, and then of course I could give her unprocessed things like bits of cheese, boiled chicken or carrot (I hear from so many people that pugs love carrots!)...is this okay? Do puppies have to slowly be introduced to different foods (like human babies) or can I just give her that stuff right away? Any advice would be appreciated...we pick our baby girl up to bring her home tomorrow!


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## Fuzzy Pants (Jul 31, 2010)

I'd go with chicken and carrots over milk bone biscuits. Can you get any type of freeze dried meat? You could try to make some dried meat in your oven yourself to use as treats.


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## LittleFr0g (Jun 11, 2007)

I used tiny bits of cheese to train Kuma, and he also loves carrots and goes CRAZY over peas, lol


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Cooked chicken or other meat and cooked carrots and other vegetables are great treats. Cheese is even tastier but richer so when you use it, use less. 

Do introduce goodies like these slowly and if you use a lot at one time cut back on the following meal so as to not overfeed your pup.

You might just use her usual food as treats the first week or so as she will be all upset at the new home as it is.

Remember SHE decides if a treat is great or not. She may hate cooked chicken and go nuts for cooked pork or hate carrots and love apple. Max won't eat hot dogs or veggies but adores bread.


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## Sybille (Oct 5, 2011)

Like Kathyy said, it is the dog that decides what is a really high value treat for it and what is 'just ok'. Sam for example adores bread (yes, he gets it only occasionally), would walk on his front paws for a bit of tinned cat food, finds apple really good and carrots just ok. Just try out a few healthy things and see how she reacts. Pieces of cooked meat (NO cooked bones!!!) go normally down well also.


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## mss (Nov 15, 2011)

Thanks for the advice! It sounds like fresh or cooked food is the way to go (over boxed biscuits)...and I never thought about just giving her some of her own food as a treat. That sounds like a good idea to start. By the way, can the carrots be fresh? I assumed that's what people meant when they said pugs loved them...I assumed the crunch was part of the appeal!


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

If you give her raw carrots, expect to see orange bits in her poop, LOL. Dogs don't digest raw carrots very well.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

You can give a big raw carrot as a chewie but there will be orange bits in the poop. When I noticed the dogs wanting to eat grass outside I would treat them to a raw broccoli stem or large carrot, they loved ripping them to shreds. 

For training treats give a little cooked piece of carrot. Small pieces of raw carrots could be a choking hazard.

Raw carrots are sweet and crunchy, cooked carrots are still nice and sweet.


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## PackMomma (Sep 26, 2011)

I find giving raw fresh veggies can cause a bit of diarrhea occasionally, depending on the amount they get, I think it has something to do with the cell walls in fresh veggies that are harder for dogs to digest opposed to forzen/thawed veggies where the freezing breaks down this cell wall.. I can't remember maybe someone can clarify this... but my point is that the fresh/raw veggies always cause some loose stool with my dogs... if I freeze them and thaw them.. this problem does not occur.

I usually just buy the bags of frozen veggies and I usually just stick to frozen peas, carrots and green beans as treats. I also use cooked meat, goat cheese, and fruit such as chunks of apple. Does the trick for mine anyway


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