Best Training Treats

[capple24]

HI all your Yorkie Lovers,
I hope you are all having a wonderful weeked
I am training my puppy Riley (9 weeks old) to use to pee pads. Someone told me to use cap-n-crunch cereal but I noticed that it is too hard and too big for him to actually enjoy and just leaves it there after a while. Do any of you guys know of a great treat that is both soft and small and of course tasty so that he will actually want to perform for his treat?

What about the clicker method? I saw it on the Today show today and was curious about it for potty training or is that just used for other types of commands?

I am also going to get him trained through petsmart as soon as he is old enough and my schedule allows for it. I dont want what I teach him at home to interfere with what they are going to teach him...

Thank you ALL!!!

[Hickey007]

The key to treats, I think at least, is to find something moist. Then no matter what size it is it can be broken into smaller pieces suitable for smaller sized pups. I like the Bil-Jac liver treats you can find them at PetSmart and they come in a little milk box (like the ones in schools). Also I found some live treats that are a bit cheaper at Wal-mart that seem pretty much the same to me, same container and same size and shape treat, they say hollywood stars and have pics of famous(I think) dogs on the side. Reagan loves both of these. Usually she gets them after she goes potty and I break it in half, occasionally giving her a whole one but usually a small bit is enough to say good job.

I don't have any personal experience with clicker training so I really can't help you there. I will say though everyone I've come across that uses it swears by it so it may be something worth looking into.

[zoeybear]

We used tiny bits of luch meat to get Zoey potty trained. I was home with her 24 hrs a day at first, so every time she went on the pad I gave her a tiny bit of Turkey or Bologna. She is 5 mo and totally trained. She was about 90% at 3 months. I never concentrated on scolding the accidents, just praised the times she did it right! Positive reinfircement worked like a charm for Zoey.

[chachi]

I used lunch meat also

[Gracie2006]

More info in this recent thread

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sho...highlight=huey

[FirstYorkie]

The best treat is something your puppy goes wild for. You want it to be motivating for him.

Cheerios work really well for alot of people. I personally don't use them because I worry about the sugar content affecting my pup's teeth. For potty training, I always used a tiny piece of cheese or leftover meat.

[Superstarkba]

Cheese!!! That was whatused with Aubrey, and now I am using it with Dakota, it will take them a few tries to get use to it, but after that they will also want more!!!

[pinkfashionista]

What worked for Jack was the Gerber dried apple pieces! They're really tiny, too. Perfect size for training. He went CRAZY over them! Rosie, however, likes the banana puffs by gerber. She spits out the dried apples.

[catser2002]

I agree, you need to find something that your dog goes wild for. They are all different.

The one thing both of mine love is string cheese. I buy the light kind and cut it in slices and each slice into quarters so they just get a tiny bit at a time. That is their one reliable reward and what I mainly used for potty training. Now it is just a treat or training reward for at home practice.

I also give them little bits of boiled chicken breast. I always have that on hand since it is what two of my cats eat.

For training classes I usually use either Natural Balance rolls - cut into little bits (that is also what they usually get for dinner) or cut-up bits of Wellness jerky. Those are easier to transport. There are several varieties but mine only like beef or lamb and chicken.

Many others use things like cheerios or bits of fruit or veggies, but mine can take or leave those. And mine had no interest at all in the Gerber items or any of the other treats I've seen suggested.

They would love to have lunch meats, but I've been a bit leary of giving them too much of those. Although I have tried a couple lately that say they are minimally processed with no preservatives. Those are probably ok for them and better for us too.

[Jenn218]

We use Yorkie Yummies for training treats! All the dogs love them and they work great because of their small size, etc.

Good luck!

[Yorkiekids]

Bil-Jac liver treats are good, and so are cheerios.

[joshdoodle]

I found that cheese, left over chicken/turkey/beef, cut up hot dog sausages, lunch meat (like wafer thin boiled ham and chicken) works best when training dogs.

I vary as dogs who get used to a treat dont see it as a treat anymore.

If you ate fries for your whole life and someone said "here, go wash my car for some fries" you wouldnt do it.

Variety is the key IMO.

[Desiree]

Eros learned to potty in his litter box with just praise, kisses, and petting. When I'm teaching him things like tricks though I like to use the Itty Bitty Buddy Biscuits by Cloud Star that I get at Petsmart since they look tiny gingerbread men, and I break them up into even smaller bites for training sometimes. They come in several flavors and don't contain corn, artificial coloring, and you can also get them in wheat free flavors. That is all important to me because Eros is a Maltese and artificial coloring, corn, etc. is horrible for their tear staining. This site has several versions of these treats and even lets you buy them in bulk https://www9.mailordercentral.com/cl...?number=W12X30

Desiree & Eros

[pinkfashionista]

Found another thing Jack goes wild for! Little bits of unsalted pretzel.

[AVERYxo]

cheerios!! break them in half if they are still too big.