Time for New Training Treats....maybe

Mel Blacke

Mel Blacke

Well-Known Member
Looking for opinions here.....until now I have been using freeze dried liver treats for training which she positively adores. Yeah, I know, they say use your dog's dinner kibble for training treats....and it might work at home but it isn't practical at all for a training environment. If you hope to take your young dog to intensely distracting environments then you have to be more interesting than the potential distractions in that environment. It might not work that way with all dogs but it definitely works that way with Fiona. I don't constantly reward because she is kind of conditioned to expect great snacks while she is there so I only use an intermittent or random reinforcement. I cut them way down in size(think pencil eraser). I also use a couple of small toys but I have to limit their use because she really ramps up in response to the toys and if things don't move quickly enough she tends to vocalize which is a really bad habit to let her get into. Plus the food drive tends to fall lower on the hierarchy of her desires than a really fun game with mom but I don't want to push that engagement level to the point where she is bounding around on her ....semi out-of-control.
Anyways, there is a practical consideration regarding the amount of organ meats that she is consuming. This a lot of rich, rich food....plus, these treats cost a fortune. It has been worrisome to me for some time. I think I have hit upon a solution: What if I just bought a whole turkey and baked it. Stripped off most of the meat and cut it into little bits and put them in Ziploc freezer bags and tossed them in the freezer to be retrieved as needed? She really goes for it. I have noticed that a LOT of people at the club tend to use hotdogs and string cheese which are high in sodium which has its own health considerations, especially because she is a small dog.
Thoughts....? Opinions?
 
Turkey bits sounds like a good plan. You might have to cut the pieces larger so they don't fall apart. I use ham steak because it's easy to cube and doesn't spoil so easily. I put a handful in a baggie and freeze them. You could boil the ham to dilute the salt.
 
I think your idea is great Mel, inter disburse them with the liver. Or go to Chewy.com and buy freeze dried food, they sell chicken, beef, duck, buffalo etc.
 
manuel said:
Turkey bits sounds like a good plan. You might have to cut the pieces larger so they don't fall apart. I use ham steak because it's easy to cube and doesn't spoil so easily. I put a handful in a baggie and freeze them. You could boil the ham to dilute the salt.
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That is a wonderful idea to get rid of that salt....never thought of it....I'm gonna try it. You are right about the treat size of the turkey, the dog doesn't learn much if they are diving after leftover pieces of treats on the floor!!
 
look around at your grocery store. You should be able to find beef heart. Sometimes you can even find kidney but I prefer heart. Slice into thin strips and stick on a piece of parchement paper or foil if you dont have parchment paper. Then put in an oven at low 200deg for an hour or more until its dried out. Then slice into training sized pieces and freeze in portions. thaw and use.

The longer you leave in the oven, the more it dehydrates and the longer it will be shelf stable w/o refridgeration but then it can be too crunchy for obed classes.

you could use liver too but its slimier, richer and takes longer to dehydrate.

For quickie treats, you can take a hotdog and cut into 4ths and then into pieces and stick in the mircowave between 2 paper towels for a 60-90sec. If you buy low sodium/low nitrate (applegate?) ones, they are more expensive but should address your concerns. Should still be cheaper than 'store bought' treats.
 
I am going to try this, my Finley is a really picky girl about treats. I really want to find a motivational treat to help with some training modifications. So far, the only thing she really goes for is proteins (beef or chicken) and since a give her those with her dried dog food, I wanted something different for a treat.
 
I am gonna try to find beef heart this month. I am trying behavior modification with Fi on some new issues that have developed so that means LOTS of snacks. In a distracting environment, I need a higher end treat. Again with the toys, winds her up too much although I can now use them as a reward in the ring at the end of our heeling pattern.
 
Cockers4Ever said:
look around at your grocery store. You should be able to find beef heart. Sometimes you can even find kidney but I prefer heart. Slice into thin strips and stick on a piece of parchement paper or foil if you dont have parchment paper. Then put in an oven at low 200deg for an hour or more until its dried out. Then slice into training sized pieces and freeze in portions. thaw and use.

The longer you leave in the oven, the more it dehydrates and the longer it will be shelf stable w/o refridgeration but then it can be too crunchy for obed classes.

you could use liver too but its slimier, richer and takes longer to dehydrate.

For quickie treats, you can take a hotdog and cut into 4ths and then into pieces and stick in the mircowave between 2 paper towels for a 60-90sec. If you buy low sodium/low nitrate (applegate?) ones, they are more expensive but should address your concerns. Should still be cheaper than 'store bought' treats.
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A lot of people at the kennel club use hot dogs. One woman at the kennel club can actually put the whole hotdog in her dog's mouth holding it like a stick and the dog will not bite into it until she takes it out of the dog's mouth and breaks it into pieces----I was so impressed!!
 
organ meat is healthy and as long as its not giving stomach upset, it isnt a problem. really any cut of lean meat will be fine. dehydrate if you like or you can bake and cut into small pieces. break into small batches and freeze in snack bags. then you can defrost for a few days worth.

I've used beef or pork heart, liver & kidney . Straight leg/breast etc works too. Really, any fresh food is better than super processed dog treats or hotdogs. Though I've used my fair share of hotdogs/cheese as well.
 
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