VICTORIA I'm DYING to know....!!!!PLEASE!!!!!

[whalerider23]

Victoria, what kind of treats do you use when you're training the dogs on the show. I've seen on the show and read in your book that you recommend chicken, meat, liver, and cheese. If that's the case how do you prepare the food? Do you add certain spices? Do you bake them or grill them? Are there brands of prepared food that you use or would recommend? Also once prepared what do you do with the food when training? Do you keep them in the training pouch the whole time? Are there pouches out there that keep the food fresh? What pouches would you recommend? And how do you keep the pouches from smelling bad?

I need to know because I'm trying to train a Australian Shepard Mix puppy and there are so many behaviors that need to be addressed: bullying the cats, eating poop, barking, walking on the leash. I've tried short training sessions and the dog does the behaviors I ask her to do but then out of nowhere the dog does the bad behaviors such as barking or bitting the cats. It becomes a problem because I don't have any treats handy so I can't incorporate the positive training techniques. I know what I have to do to change these behaviors but I just need to know what to do about having treats handy. I also need to know this because I don't trust any store treats which have a lot of bad igredients for the dogs health. I'm also tired of wasting my money buying treats that my dog doesn't like.

Victoria please help me, I need to know to your secrets...

[ChillyAndClover]

Victoria, what kind of treats do you use when you're training the dogs on the show. I've seen on the show and read in your book that you recommend chicken, meat, liver, and cheese. If that's the case how do you prepare the food? Do you add certain spices? Do you bake them or grill them? Are there brands of prepared food that you use or would recommend? Also once prepared what do you do with the food when training? Do you keep them in the training pouch the whole time? Are there pouches out there that keep the food fresh? What pouches would you recommend? And how do you keep the pouches from smelling bad?

I need to know because I'm trying to train a Australian Shepard Mix puppy and there are so many behaviors that need to be addressed: bullying the cats, eating poop, barking, walking on the leash. I've tried short training sessions and the dog does the behaviors I ask her to do but then out of nowhere the dog does the bad behaviors such as barking or bitting the cats. It becomes a problem because I don't have any treats handy so I can't incorporate the positive training techniques. I know what I have to do to change these behaviors but I just need to know what to do about having treats handy. I also need to know this because I don't trust any store treats which have a lot of bad igredients for the dogs health. I'm also tired of wasting my money buying treats that my dog doesn't like.

Victoria please help me, I need to know to your secrets...

Since Victoria doesn't usually answer personal questions, I'll answer them, I do use most of the same techniques she uses.

I personally use their regular kibble for inside training. But when I am outside training, I use something special like chicken or cheese. This makes the chicken or cheese extra special. I also use extra special toys for dogs who aren't food motivated. I don't add any spices to the food. It would cover up the natural meat smell that most dogs love. As for baking or grilling them, usually baked. EVO or Wellness are really good brands of dog food that you could use for regular inside treats. As for the treat pouches, I keep the training treats in there all the time. When it is not in use, it goes into the fridge, it keeps doggies away and keeps it fresh much longer. I would recommend the Outward Hound training pouches.

I know you wanted Victoria to answer you personally, but I knew it wouldn't happen, and I wanted to help you out. Please let me know if this helped you! You can also email me anytime at [email protected]

[emmabeth]

Victoria does post from time to time on the forums - however if she answered them all she'd not have time to do anything else!

Whalerider - theres no 'magic' ingredient as far as I am aware... training treats need to be:

Small
Smelly
Tasty
Not too messy

and most importantly - really appealing to the dog YOU are training. If your dog doesnt like roast chicken, it doesnt matter if Victoria uses roast chicken.. its what the dog YOU are working with likes best that is important.

So, think about what that dog likes best - chicken is easy to get and easy to cut up into small pieces once cooked. Its not the smelliest of treats though and its quite messy on your hands/in your treat bag.

I like tiny cubes of cheddar cheese, for dogs who will readily take a treat and eat it. For dogs who find training too exciting though sometimes theyw ill take the treat and then spit it out - too excited to eat.
For these one of the best is ham flavoured cheese spread, the kind you can get in a tube. No preparation needed just take the lid off the tube and let the dog lick a little from the nozzle.

Baby food and meat paste are also successful for dogs like this.

Dogs tend to like strong flavours and soft treats are quicker to give (no big chewy treats, the dog has forgotten what he got that for by the time hes finished, plus he will get full up really fast).

A good one is liver cake - blended liver, garlic and flour and egg, slow baked in the oven until you get a dense but soft, crumbly STINKY 'cake' which you can cut into tiny pieces.

You can also buy freeze dried liver cubes which are very soft and very strong tasting (i use these as bait for my deerhound in the showring, where nothing else will do!).

So - experiment with your dog and use what he finds best.

Second thing - if your dog is already doing something really exciting .. such as chasing a cat or barking hysterically at the postman, its too late and you have really missed the opportunity to offer a treat in return for a more appropriate behaviour.

Its your job to learn to pre-empt these behaviours and distract the dog with another task BEFORE he starts down the path of the unwanted behaviour. Otherwise you risk either being ignored (which teaches your dog he can ignore you) or teaching him that he will be rewarded for that behaviour!

(The exception to this is where you are desensitizing and reassociating a scary trigger such as a firework with a pleasant thing, but even then timing is key and if you wait until the dog is truly terrified before linking treats to crashes and bangs, it wont work).