Suggestions for training treats that I can use while in class? Anything on Amazon that's good? Need something that's portable and easy to use/not too messy, but is high value for him.
Chicken or cheese. I just cut up little cubes of both and pop them in a Tupperware box. Always have spare in the fridge as well.
Agree with chicken and cheese took both to my training also fish 4 dogs dried fish skin cubes very popular and natures menu do great treats which mine loves!
Little cubes of cheese seem to be as good as anything! If you want something that is more mess-free, I also use "Poppets" from csjk9.com - they are little biscuity things, apparently all natural and full of good stuff for joints and so on, but more importantly Pongo really loves them and they can sit loose in my coat pocket with no crumbs or (much) smell. I break each one in half to make them go further and because I am a mean person (says Pongo). They're only £2 for a packet so worth a try, see what your boy thinks of them.
Sausage. Turkey frankfurters. That funny "ham" or "turkey" stuff that's sold in blocks for you to slice. Cheese. Fish sticks. Blitzed sardines in a baby food pouch. If you want to buy specific dog stuff, the Fish4Dogs sea biscuits are great (a little large, so need a few seconds to chomp), or sea jerky. Or you could even use a bag of a super premium kibble like Ziwipeak which, whilst madly expensive if you were feeding it as the main food, is actually relatively reasonable compared to other bought dog treats.
OUr trainers all loved hot dogs because they are slimey and slide down the gullet easily so less chance of gagging. Dogs are more likely to gulp in class when there are other dogs around. I can cut an ordinary hot dog into 100 pieces. So pup isn't getting much of them. I took me so long to get through a cheap package of chicken hotdogs that I took to freezing them. After I cut them up. Apparently some here, called Hebrew National, are not even all that unhealthy, no added preservatives and junk. They are kind of messy, being slimey, and I did keep them in a small plastic bag and did make sure I had some way to clean my hands before touching the steering wheel of my car. As well I buy roasts of beef or pork on sale, cook, cool, cut into about 1/4 inch cubes, freeze and take out as I need them. These are much higher value to my dog. I carry them in a plastic bag too, but they're not as slimey, slippery as the hot dogs.
Cor, crikey, reading all these treats, slurp, dribble, beginning to wonder if I'd been better fed as a dog than a human Don't let Molly see all this !
Our dog class teacher said to microwave the bits of hot dog, gets the grease out (which you can use to make kibble extra-yummy and "treat like") and makes them a little easier to handle. I typically need easy and no-mess - even having to cut it up is sometimes too much (single mom, 16yo autistic son, I'm a busy woman!). I've been loving the Natural Balance Mini Rewards, but they're a little expensive. So I switched to Zuke's Mini Naturals. They like them just as much; they're tiny and easy to eat in one gulp. Both you can get on Amazon. This lets me save chicken, hot dogs and cheese as very high-value rewards for recalls, crate time, etc. Oh and dried beef liver is my other super high-value, but pre-made, reward. A huge bag of it was $18 on Amazon, but I can break each of those pieces into 4 or more smaller ones without them crumbling, so it's fairly cost-effective.
I never thought to microwave hot dog - this is going to change my life! My hand is a slimy mess every class from raw hot dog...trying this tomorrow!
Great thread! I was buying liver at the supermarket and baking them and cut to very small pieces. I then freeze dried them. Much cheaper than the liver treats on Amazon. $6! Also started experimenting with cheese. Any specific types of cheese to use or avoid? I'll try hotdogs next since they are not so expensive.
Hot dogs have been a big fail here, just not stinky enough for high value treats. I'm going to have to try buying ox liver and baking it. Do I need to slice it up before baking (it's so big!) How long/how high do you bake it? We have a dog roll in NZ made out of possum. Ugh, it stinks to high heaven (a very strong game-y smell) but it's a favourite in the dog training community.
i think somewhere in the web it says to cook for 2 hours at 200 degrees F. let it cool before slicing into small pieces and freezing. make sure to wash off excess bloody drainage first.
I cook pigs liver for mine (cheapest type of liver around here). I tend to just bung it in the oven whole and cook it for about 40 minutes at 180C or so. I don't dehydrate it anymore (that takes longer at a lower heat), just cook it through then cut it into pea-sized pieces. I freeze them and just take a small handful from the bag when I go out.
I'm not keen on commercial treats given how much we go through still. I'm a fan of roast beef, as is Coco. I buy a joint of topside or silverside a week just about - it's often on offer too, roast and cut up very small. Freeze in portions then just defrost in the microwave (or in the fridge if I've remembered to take it out in time). It's not messy. I made liver cake for the first time recently - that was a huge hit with Coco. Still have some in the freezer, I'll be making more when that runs out. Coco views raw carrot has fairly high value, so sometimes I just chop a carrot into discs.
Thanks Sue for reminding me about liver cake. Fred loves liver cake and I haven't made it for ages. Will make him one this afternoon.
Thanks all for the wonderful suggestions. Went out and bought some white cheddar, at first he was like "what even is this" and ran off to play with it lol But once he sat down and ate it, we have a cheese fiend on our hands... Going to check out the Amazon suggestions as it's convenient to have something long lasting and portable to have on me at times.
The one I did, and you don't have to be precise, was 1lb lamb liver, 1lb flour (think I used plain), 3 eggs, Milk or water. Method whisk eggs & add equal volume of milk and/or water. Blend the liver in a food processor. Mix with the egg mixture. Fold in the flour until incporporated. Pour into a greased baking tray & bake at 180 degrees (or 350F) for 35 – 45 minutes. Allow to cool and chop into little pieces.
Thank you!! Will give it a shot.....don't know if I can get LAMB liver....would calf or chicken sort of sub? Wish me luck!!!
