Training Treats?

[marissa]

We are taking our puppy to puppy kindergarden. During the class we're supposed to use treats as a reward but no matter what treat we try during class Ali doesn't seem interested in them as he's more focused on playing than he is on "working" for a treat. We tried Milkbone treats, liver and lamb treats but none of them seem to grab his attention. We usually try him with 1 or 2 of the treats at home and he loves them at home but when he gets to class he loses all interest after eating a few and all he wants to do is play with the other puppies (the food does NOT keep his attention).

Can someone recommend a treat Ali won't be able to resist? Something that will grab his attention in the midst of all the other puppies? I heard that boxers aren't really "food dogs" so that may be why the treats aren't really motivating him. We tried dipping treats in peanut butter but peanut butter gives him the runs so we stopped feeding him that. Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[Jan]

I have found that the best treats are ones you make yourself. If you look in the dog recipe forum you should find the recipes for Tuna Fudge and for Liver treats. They both work really well and they are worth the effort to make them. If you can't stand the smell of lliver, try the tuna fudge. I help out at training classes and it's a rare dog that won't work them. Cheese also works well.

Here's the link to the recipes: http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57909&highlight=Tuna+Fudge

 

[littleone]

Our 2 got absolutely bonkers over raw carrots (either baby ones or the big ones cut into pieces about 1 1/2") and bananas (might be too messy). If he likes the carrots, they should be easy to carry to the class.

Hope this helps,

 

[BeckyNC]

I use the Bil-Jac liver treats (Petsmart sells them, as do many places). I use them almost solely for obedience and Tae loves them. I think the trick is to use something of high value to your dog.

I bet the hot dog will do the trick. I have used hot dog before and it went over quite well! Bought a reduced fat, reduced sodium package.

 

[Jade010103]

My Jade is also a picky treat dog and what I found helpful for training was cheese and freeze dried liver treats she absolutely loves them and will do almost anything for them. It is better to use a soft treat for training though such as cheese or a hot dog.

 

[bea'smum]

variety

Bea is somewhat picky about treats too. What we found worked best in puppy kindergarten was to make sure we brought a good variety. We would usually bring a couple regular soft dog treats (e.g., Bil Jac liver treats, Fish and Venison jerky treats) along with something "human" like pieces of a left over roast beef or turkey or a cooked hot dog. Our class also required that we bring one special treat for reliable recall training. For this we used cheese. When Bea would get tired of one treat we would just switch to another. It seemed to keep her attention from wandering to all the other dogs. I also think a general rule is that smellier treats work better. People in the class who tried to use kibble or milk bones seemed to have a harder time keeping their dogs' attention.

I almost forgot - some of the best tricks for keeping Bea's attention in class were making sure she was hungry and somewhat tired. We often fed her dinner very early so that she would be hungry for treats in class and she was best behaved if we had the opportunity to take her out for a run before class (less energy to spend on playing with the other pups). I hope you enjoy your class. We just finished last week and really enjoyed it!

 

[marissa]

Thanks everyone! Such great suggestions. This weekend we'll try a mix of cheese and liver treats as I have those at home. Next week we'll do the carrots and hotdogs. Hopefully mixing things up will help prevent Ali from getting tired of any one type of treat.

Tiring him out before class is also something we'll give a shot.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

 

[Letty]

I have had great success with raw carrots as well and I would microwave hotdogs too until they are crispy chips. They tended to go over well. I kept those treat separate so that they were only for training purposes

 

[Anna Begins]

Luka is super picky and just recently started liking treats. He LOVES the Old Mother Hubbard treats- Petco and Petsmart sells them. They had a small $1.75 bad of mixed flavors to try.
He also loves banana's, mangos and cheese and raw mushrooms.

 

[br54_9]

The bil-jac liver treats do the trick for max, but now I get the ones at walmart they are in the same milk pint container, and must be made by them and they are only 94 cents. Good luck with training.