Captain and i were getting along well during one of our training sessions in the backyard. My wife was watching and she asked, "how many treats are you supposed to give him?" Her intention of this question was to make sure we are not unbalancing his diet. He's a healthy boy; at 7-1/2 months he weighs about 60 pounds, plays with seemingly endless energy, has a good shape to his body, cant see his ribs, but we can feel them, eats about 4 cups of eukanuba dry large breed puppy food, and has water bowls that we refill approximately one million times per day. How do you ration the amount of training rewards you give your dog(s)? Through my own research the standard seems to be 10% of the daily caloric intake. This is to say that if his diet is 1000 calories without treats, he should be getting about 100 calories from treats, and the other 900 from his kibble. I have no intention to mathematically and scientifically calculate his caloric intake to this serious of a level, but i am curious what others do and think. Currently, i have paid no regard to it until my wife asked about a week ago. Since then, i have continued to pay no regard other than to research it. I feed Captain as many treats as our training deems necessary. There are days i am certain we go over the 10% standard, and others i come nowhere close. I figure, if he is maintaining a healthy body and lifestyle, we can't be doing too much wrong.
i've never seen such an observation before. can you please provide a source? I don't believe it is sound. i could feed my dog 100 per cent of her daily allowance in say 2 training sessions but as far as her body is concerned kilojoules are kilojoules. It doesn't matter., as far as weight control is at issue, whether she gets the kilojoules from training or no-strings attached meals.
@Michael A Brooks i did a google search and read multiple articles. I tried to find an article of such information here, but was unlucky. Like i mentioned, i don't intend to follow the information, but it was something i hadn't read about and piqued my interest.
When training at home, train with your dog's meals. There is no need to feed any additional 'treats' on top of normal regular kibble, when training anything at home. When training away from the house, you will need to use tastier food to compete with distractions. But still try to ensure those treats are healthy and nutritious - it doesn't mean you have to feed pet shop bought dog junk food or dog treats. Buy some meat and roast it up and chop a bit up every day for training treats.... Choose pure meat products, not processed meat... That way these 'treats' are just another part of your dog's daily nutritious food - not bad calories of doggie junk food...
@Jo Laurens i have re-started using Captain's kibble for training at home. I am going to look into alternative food for rewarding while we are away. Any and all ideas are welcome! Captain is food motivated, not picky, and has shown no food allergies.
Lots of options: Cheddar. Roast beef, pork, lamb, chicken - chopped up into pea-sized bits. Liver, kidneys and hearts - boiled and chopped up the same. For recalls: Paté. Smoked mackerel. Sardines.
