Harley starts puppy training class tonight. It is reward based. Usually Harley has her tea around 7pm. She isn't going to have tea due to training. Question is :- how much food do I take? I have sausages and cheese and some kibble. Do I weigh it the same as her normal allowance or less? Thanks all
Re: How much food to take?? I'd take quite a lot - although depends on the dog. I remember having to hold fistfulls of chicken under Charlie's nose to get his attention away from the other puppies! You might not use it, but best not to run out. I think in class 2 I had to borrow some chicken! It depends how scientific you want to be about swapping out the food amounts for kibble. I'm a bit OCD... The first thing is the calories. It is not the case that all dog foods have the same amount of calories per g, and it would be an amazing coincidence if your dog food had the same calories per g as sausages and cheese. Google says 1 cup of American cheese contains 520 calories. This web site gives the calorie content per cup of dog food: http://www.petfinder.com/dogs/dog-nutrition/dry-dog-food-calorie-count/ . You can see the calorie content varies from about 230 to 560 calories per cup. Royal Canin large breed puppy food is 365. The second thing is the nutritional value of the treats. Because I swap out a huge amount of Charlie's kibble for training treats, I'm really careful what I use because I'm at risk of feeding more in training treats than kibble. I try to use sea biscuits where I can as these are a mix of protein and carbohydrate that is not way off the proportions in Charlie's kibble. All of that said, just for your first puppy class it doesn't really matter! Take plenty of tasty things and I hope you have a great time!
Re: How much food to take?? If it was me, i would use her evening meal of kibble for training, and if you wanted to use sausage and cheese, i would take out 20g of kibble per 10g of sausage or chesse, as they are higher in calories than kibble. We used to use puzzle's kibble for training and whatever kibble was left at the end of training went in her bowl for her evening meal. But now since she is being moved to raw food, we are going to be using treats or sampels of puppy food.
Re: How much food to take?? [quote author=Puppypal link=topic=3417.msg37470#msg37470 date=1385381540] If it was me, i would use her evening meal of kibble for training [/quote] If you can use kibble, that is best, of course - as you don't have to worry about amounts and swapping things out. But lots of dogs won't work for it, and certainly it was a waste of time trying to reward Charlie with kibble in a village hall full of other puppies. So, Naya, you should at least have a reserve of something tastier!
Re: How much food to take?? Riley always turned his nose up at kibble too : Chicken or cheese worked well and he loves toast.....a mix of toast and cheese is one of Pippa's tips I think as the toast takes on the taste of the cheese
Re: How much food to take?? I agree With Julie Naya,although Annabelle's method of substitution sounds a good idea.my first round of obedience classes were a waste of money,we were trying to get Dexters upset tummy right so he could only have his kibble,everything else was upsetting him...because it was a special puppy gastro intestinal blend the pebbles were the size of ice chips ???....I spent the 4 weeks getting a lot of Leave it practice in while Dexter nearly strangled himself to get to everyone else's tasty snacks.....that's when he wasn't mugging every owner in the room....for this first week I would pack up her dinner portion kibble in a bag and take a big bag full of what you are going to use as high value treats....and see what you use...you'll have a better idea then to use your judgement next week.good luck....let us know how you do! X
Re: How much food to take?? Thanks ladies, I will take her RC food in a bag and if this doesn't work I will use cheese and sausages - Harley can be challenging when around other dogs as she just wants to play, so I think the treats will be favoured I will let u all know how I get on later :
Re: How much food to take?? Hi everybody... Cooper has been turning up his nose on his kibble everytime i try to feed him this has been happening for quite a few months and its really bothering me alot he did this wen he was around 4 months old wen i started feeding him pedigree then i switched to science plan food which he liked nd now again he is refusing to eat this wat do i do... i tuk him the vet thinking he might be unwell but he is perfectly fyn y does he do this wat alternative can i try to get him eat his kibble i don want to change to any other food again as it may upset his stomach.. he is 23kilos hoping tat it is ideal weight at 7 months... pls tell me how to make vegetable broth or soup for him nd pls tell me is it gud to feed him raw bones or cooked ones....
Re: How much food to take?? Hi Teena - DEFINITELY NOT COOKED BONES! - Only raw ones, preferably with lots of meat on them. Its ok to use things like uncooked chicken wings and thighs, but as soon as they are cooked, the bones become too sharp and brittle and can cause damage to your dog. You don't want to end up at the vets...... Naya - For training treats our trainer said absolutely NOT the normal kibble as its not interesting enough ;D And definitely do not feed your dog for several hours before training. HIS treats were like a miracle though - he used Frolic, normal kibble, though he says he would never use it as a main food, and they were quite soft and could easily be squeezed and break into 3 bits - the dogs seemed to do anything for them! I must say we graduated on and have used sausage, cheese, toast, bacon other packaged "treats", and I think myself that sometimes its just something new or something different that works best. Nowadays she seems to work quite happily (apart from the Recall) just for normal kibble - we kind of mix the 2 meals a day approach with the odd day of hand-feeding for training. Whatever you use, its good fun to go to Classes ;D
Re: How much food to take?? Not long been back from puppy class and I am so happy to say that Harley was an angel. Whilst the trainer was speaking I squished cheese around the inside of a kong to lick out. For rewards I used cheese and sausages. Harley now know lie down this is massive as she refused to before So glad I have all of you on the forum as your advice with food was spot on. Also with your support by teaching her sit, and taking her off lead on our first walk she was well ahead . I'm sure she will have a session that doesn't go so well, but for now I am soooooooo happy. Hubby is coming next week too
Re: How much food to take?? Tats Cooper yes Jacqui I feed him raw bones but hw do I get him to east his nd wat abt washing d raw bones bcoz they contain blood ryt don't they harm Coopers health
Re: How much food to take?? Naya I'm really glad you enjoyed your class,well done x Teena Ann,Cooper looks lovely,so nice to see his handsome grown up face x I can't help you with any of the bone questions as I'm too scared to do it,which is silly because I know it's ok as so many of the members feed them to their dogs...
Re: How much food to take?? Hey Naya, super result with Harley, well done you!!! Teena Ann, Cooper is beautiful! Such a lovely shiny coat, and definitely not too thin! No, you don't need to wash his bones, as long as they are fresh - he is a carnivore and is bred to eat bones, meat and blood.
