Treats for agility class problems Cali is taking agility classes, doing well and enjoying it.... we just got home from our morning class and she threw up most of the treats - she never throws up:eek: I first used cheese (velvetta) and she got diarrhea.Today I used Wellness Pure No-grain Rewards cut up into tiny pieces - she weighs 3 pounds 14 ounces. She has never been a treat crazy dog. Gets a few from time to time mostly a couple bites during her daily grooming. But this agility training is very treat oriented which is new to us. During regular obedience classes she work more for the praise. Now, at this place she is checking the floor all the time for pieces of treats left behind. I'm really uncomfortable e with this whole treat thinking - she does not like the clicker thingie but they give treats along with the click also. Hate to drop out! I discussed it at the second class trying to tell the teacher that she has never been treat seeking and that as the smallest dog there this was alot of treats for a little dog even though they are in tiny pieces, almost shreds. Anyone ever experienced anything like this. I will try to back off some, but she sees the other (big) dogs getting them so expects them too. Is shredded chicken easier on the stomach? I have even wondered if I just used her little Fromm kibbles if that would work - don't know of she would think they are treat however. I really don't like the thought of her becoming a treat monger :eek: I just want it to be fun! Sorry so long winded . |
My dog is not treat driven either, so I know how you feel. For training all the other dogs had basic treats but I had to use boiled chicken and mozzarella string cheese. Cut to about the size of 1/2 my pinky nail. Super tiny. For meals I cut his feeding in half since he got so many treats from training. |
I would try Cheerios... mine can eat a ton with no bad effects. Two were not crazy about the crunchiness of them at first but once they got used to them, they love them and try to crunch them as loud as they can, lol! Also they're easy to carry and don't 'go bad' without refrigeration. Mine have also thrown up eating manufactured dog treats (too rich?) just around the house, with no work out. |
Thanks so much for the feedback. She just threw up the rest of the treats a few minutes ago,plus some stuff I think was on the carpet at the training center. I might try the chicken breast or some Cheerios. She has always been kind of neutral about Cheerios but when she sees the others getting treats she might go for it. The other dogs are all really big so when they leave a piece of treat behind on the carpet it is huge for her when she finds it. She is hating that she is throwing up and looks so sadly at me when she does and I just keep reassuring her she is not in trouble. I think it has confused her. I'm afraid she is going to turn into the "cookie monster" :eek: |
You could put a treat in with a bunch of Cheerios in a baggie... the Cheerios will absorb some of the scent from the treat... Haha... dropped treats from big dogs... more like dinner for her! |
Great idea! I'll head to the store to get some Cheerios -do you use the plain/original ones? |
Awww that sucks. I am sure it's hard with her being so small. I actually love the fact that Jackson is SUCH a treat mongrel and will do anything for food, it makes him extremely easy to train in agility or otherwise, but he is 17lbs so a big difference with amounts you can feed. In agility, we use tiny bits of low fat string mozzarella cheese (I would only use less than half a stick in an hour class) but we also use Bravo! training bites. Super super tiny pieces, and the turkey ones are low fat, only ingredient is freeze dried turkey. A lot of treats have a lot of ingredients and/or high in fat. I'd also look into Cloud Star Buddy Biscuits (the soft ones)... they can be broken up into tiny pieces easily. I found chicken to be a pain... I tried it once at a class and just ended up dropping too much and the trainers don't like that because the other dogs are then just scrounging the ground for the leftovers. For agility, I like to use high value rewards, like that was the only night of the week he would get cheese (we're not currently in classes, but when we were) because it makes him willing to work harder. In a distracting environment such as agility class, cheerios or kibble would never cut it, for him anyway. If she works for praise or toys though, there is no reason you can't do that and HAVE to use food. IF she works for it, that's great. |
Interesting you would say that about chicken because I was thinking it might be a mess to manage. I'll give the string cheese a try - she loves cheese! I also think ill spend some time working on getting he enthused about praise and try to make the treats less important. Thanks for your insight! |
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I get the stuff that looks like this- Attachment 390749 But I'm not sure if it's that exact brand or not, but it's similar. I would think the velvetta would be richer? But the mozzarella string cheese has never bothered Jax's tummy. |
In Heidi's trick training I use those Little Jack (from Bil-Jac) training treats and then I cut those in half. It's very little, but she loves it way more than cheerios. I might have to try the idea to put regular treats in with some cheerios to absorb the smell, might be a good change to use every now & then. |
I use plain Cheerios, but others have used the different flavors. Honey/nut might give her some extra energy! |
I used the freeze dried meat. They chicken ones are a little messy, but they break apart easy. I've never tried Cherrios, but I may have to do that. It's the perfect size for these little guys. Is she toy oriented at all?? Squeekie toys, balls etc etc.?? I've seen people train their dogs with the toy as the reward at the end instead of the treats!! They do it a lot with police dogs and other types of working dogs. |
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