Training Treats

[dodolah]

Nobody told you how to cook liver yet-you can just boil it,well simmer once it boiled,for about 15 min or so,cut into treat size pieces,mix some cut up garlic in with the pieces,put into oven on 140* for half or so ( untill dryer in texture) and voila! You can freeze them and take out as many as you need on the day you want them,xxx hope that helped

Forgive me if i am wrong.. I always under an assumption that you should never give your dogs garlic or onions. My vet warned me excessively about how toxic onions are to dogs. The garlic and the onions won't affect your dogs right away, but since the substance cannot be dump by regular defecation, the dog's liver will be the one that is likely to take the hit.

[Sarah83]

Onions are a big no no but I've always been told garlic is fine as long as not fed in huge quantities. Helps keep fleas away and fight infection too. The jury seems to be out on the matter though, some links say it's poisonous, others say it's not, some vets say it's fine in small quantities, others say it's not. I know a hell of a lot of people who add garlic to their dogs diet and have never had problems though.

[InLoveWithSammys]

Would giving a dog something like strawberrys or blue berries be bad for them? I know that you can do that with horses (in moderation) but I dont know if its even close to the same with dogs..

[Nettle]

Berries are fine my dogs pick their own, given the chance. But grapes are toxic to dogs and must not be fed at all.

[Noobs]

I thought strawberries were a no-no because of the seeds but I must be confusing that with my friend who has Chrones.

(Ok having Chrones isn't funny but that I mixed that up with a dog rule is.)

[wvvdiup1]

I use all real meats (all cooked & heated later for training purposes) such as beef, chicken, liver, turkey, real beef hot dogs, real cheese (but not too much or else Karma cuts the real "cheeses"), and when those don't work, I break out the secret weapon: EVO Wild Cravings: Turkey & Chicken. Karma goes crazy of these treats! She can be tired, but once I break out the "Secret Weapon", I get Zoomies!

[junebug]

Forgive me if i am wrong.. I always under an assumption that you should never give your dogs garlic or onions. My vet warned me excessively about how toxic onions are to dogs. The garlic and the onions won't affect your dogs right away, but since the substance cannot be dump by regular defecation, the dog's liver will be the one that is likely to take the hit.

Garlic should be fine.... but onions cause Heinz body anemia, so that's the big no-no.

For treats, I make use of whatever I can get. Usually "people" food but I sometimes get free bags of some cheapy treats (Beggin Strips, Science Diet), so even though I wouldn't normally buy them, I still use them. We've used Zukes, Natural Balance rolls, Buddy Biscuits (the mini ones are the -perfect- size training treat, even broken in half they're still a good size), freeze-dried liver (from pet stores), hot dogs, cheese, "fishy fudge," peanut butter, canned tripe, canned salmon, boiled chicken, and if we have something like leftover chicken or steak after dinner, I'll save it for Juno. So far, the peanut butter and any fish-flavored dog food are the winners that keep her focused in any situation.

Unfortunately, it's the messy/slimy treat she likes the most. Biscuits and such, for us, really only work in areas without distractions.

[sj96skittles]

Really??? What's the whole point in ACCUALLY cooking meat or steaming hotdogs when you can just get those beggin strips or dog bones. I use dog bones and break them into smaller peices!! Simple as that!!!!!

[Noobs]

What's the whole point in cooking chicken, etc when you can just get those begging strips or dog bones. I use dog bones and break them into smaller peices!! Simple as that!!!!!

Chicken contains chicken. Begging strips is like giving your dog Doritos. I stopped buying those a long time ago and use Natural Balance food rolls or cooked chicken, or leftover deli sliced turkey from sandwiches.

[sj96skittles]

Ok. In case y'all are wondering what dog bones we use we use pedigriee breath busters. Our dogs accually like the taste of these bones. We break them in half then if they do something good I give half a dogbone to them. I ussually do not give them more than 4 whole dogbones. They are split in half. I use these on walks

[jacksdad]

Really??? What's the whole point in ACCUALLY cooking meat or steaming hotdogs when you can just get those beggin strips or dog bones. I use dog bones and break them into smaller peices!! Simple as that!!!!!

OOOHHHH if it were only that simple. 2 points to keep in mind. first. Each dog is a little different and my dog may not get all that excited over the same things your dog does. Also many of the store bough treats have little or no meat in them. Why is that important? welll my second point is when in high distractions areas and/or with behaviorally challenged dogs such as my dog Jack who is can be fear aggressive, most store bought treats just aren't high value enough to make him want to break focus from another dog to me. But take a fresh cooked chicken or hot dog, or liver etc. you have smelly, tasty, interesting and something worth paying attention for.

Many of the store treats are heavy on flower, corn, fillers. very uninteresting. For a highly food motivated dog like Jack, they would work in my living room, but forget trying to use them to break his attention from a dog that is about to or has set him off. ain't going to happen. The only store bought "treat" that works for Jack in high distraction and or situations dealing with his triggers for an "explosion is natural balance. tasty, smelly. and it will catch his attention. real food like chicken and hot dogs works better, but is harder for me to pull out quickly due to them being slipperier.

[Sarah83]

Really??? What's the whole point in ACCUALLY cooking meat or steaming hotdogs when you can just get those beggin strips or dog bones. I use dog bones and break them into smaller peices!! Simple as that!!!!!

With the amount of junk in them I'd rather not feed them to my dog even if he would work for them. Plus I am not going to stand there attempting to break a dog bone into small enough pieces that I can give 10-20 (or more, depends what we're doing) rewards several times a day without worrying about my dog getting fat. Hot dogs, chicken, cheese, peanut butter etc are far easier to give as tiny rewards.

[sj96skittles]

ya. you know what, im worried bout my dog getting fat too!! thats why i get only 3 dogbones for her and then break it up. also 3 for my other dog but shes not fat at all. my other one isnt overweight yet but im afraid shes getting close. i read the back of the bag they're in and i limit the # of dogbones they can have and i do NOT use them daily

[Sarah83]

That's the thing, 3 dog bones broken in half wouldn't even last one training session here. I do training sessions several times a day so I need something I can give that can be cut really small. I also use part of his meals for rewards at times but he doesn't work anywhere near as well for it as for something like chicken.

[Echuca]

Hey I just wanted to know what kind of training treats people like to use with their dogs? Or more importantly how to cook them? I've read in Victoria's book that she recommends poultry, beef, liver and cheese. My dogs love cheese and that's what I use all the time when training them, but I want my dogs to have a variety of treats to make their training sessions more interesting. I've asked Victoria herself what she uses on her show and she said she uses the food that is prepackaged at the grocery store. I've asked other people too and that's what they've said too. Are there any brands out there that people recommend that is cooked properly and not covered in spices and herbs? Also how do you cook liver? What kind of meat can be used as training treats? I've seen on the show that she has used pepperoni, tripe and hot dog? She also said to make the treat more appetizing, you should heat it up so the scent molecules are released which entices the dog even more. I'm not a cook by any stretch of the imagination so I wouldn't know how to cook it properly. Any thoughts?

Hi

I use livertreats when training my Collies. I buy raw liver, cover it with 1/2 part milk and 1/2 part water, and let it simmer until it's tender (and grey). It's then cut into small pieces and I freeze it into portions

Sincerely
Elisabeth