Training Treats for Puppies

I'm wondering what people use as training treats/bribes/rewards/lures (or whatever you want to call them!) for their puppies???

What is a suitable food reward for a small puppy?

Well when maggie was a pup I wasn't feeding her a raw diet, so used all sorts until I settled on the below, which worked well - still use the training stars now, as its not very practical to have a treat pouch full of raw meat for training! lol

For pups especially I like to use something that is either pretty small or easy to cut up small as training treats as you seem to go through a lot when at training classes etc! I tend to have something biscuity that is for general stuff and then something that is smelly and soft and REALLY high value for training important stuff like 'Recall' and an emergency stop.

I quite like Fish4Dogs Training Stars for general use as they are really small and only contain fish and potato (no grains) and are little star-shaped biscuits. They seem pretty easy on the tum, so not too rich if you use lots of them and most dogs seem to like the fishy smell.

Then I am naughty as I usually use something like tiny pieces of hotdog for my high reward treat...or cheese - I get that horrid plasticy mild stuff and cut it up tiny. They go a bit soft and start getting smelly when you handle it and the dogs seem to love that too :)

But for training in the house and garden I generally used her food when feeding kibble, as then I knew I wasn't giving her too much as we did quite a few short sessions a day, every day when she was little.

I also did a lot training with toys too - so dont always think you have to use treats :)

Just a word of warning, check the ingredients in any commercial treats as I made the mistake of trying the brand 'Coachies' treats with mags when she was little as one of the trainers went on about them - gave her a runny bum AND she was hyper for about an hour after eating them - so I gave up using them after a couple of sessions with them and found something more natural without all the colourings, sugar and preservatives.

Thanks. I like the idea of the fish4dogs training stars as I used to give Veda the Fish4dogs treats and he loved them. Gemma has been off the treats because she's had to lose a little weight but I think they would be good for her as well...I'll go and look them up and find out where I can get them from.

Thanks for the info about Coachies as well because I thought they were supposed to be okay...Guess I was misled by thinking that Wheat Gluten Free meant no artificial ingredients! Should read the labels very carefully I guess.

I use FIsh4dogs training stars too, and have done since Duke was a pup - his tummy is easily upset so I have to watch what I give him.

Good luck with Pearl. So nice that she has a link to Veda!

Yes I guess that is a significant bonus for me. He really was one in a million and I miss him so much...Still Pearl will be her own girl and I'm not looking for a Veda replacement. She is going to look totally different (she is lacking in the white department when it comes to her face and her ruff) and she's a girl...More likely to be like her mum, Libby and her Auntie Tara (the other half of the Gruesomes!) than like my Daft...
Kaos, Pearl's dad, is a real soppy, lovely, soft boy so I think she's going to be super.

I get them direct from their website - their prices include delivery and I have found that they are very quick.

If you want to just try them first you can get them like this - £2.04 for a small tub: http://www.fish4dogs.com/Products/Super-St...ing-Treats.aspx

But if you are going to use them quite a bit, you can order larger quantities in little plastic bags and it is quite a bit cheaper. I normally order about 30 bags at a time to last me a while as I use them every week in agility training to keep maggie occupied in the queue doing tricks! They are about £1.19 like this per bag which contains the same amount as the £2 tub above:
http://www.fish4dogs.com/Products/super-st...ts-bag-dog.aspx

Good luck for puppy's arrival! :) You are going to have lots of fun!

PS: the coachies ingredients COULD have changed since I used them as it was about 2 years ago! so just double check you can read the full ingredients list on the label of anything before buying :)

After posting the above I looked at a pot of Puppy Coachies in my local pet shop and the ingredients state:

Cereals (as the first ingredient this would mean that this is the highest % in the treats)
Meat & animal derivatives (chicken, rabbit, gelatine)
Maize starch
Lupin flour
Sunflower oil
Then in small print it says "With EU permitted preservatives and colourants"

Now you would assume that EU/EC-permitted mean it is ok....ha!!! think again, they appear to permit anything! EU permitted additives include substances banned in the US for causing cancer or that are classed in other countries as pesticides!!

It can include things like BHA, BHT and many pet foods/treats that contain these don't state them on the label but instead hide them under the EU-permitted statement.

Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) - is used as a preservative to stop fat from going rancid. It has been implicated as a cause of bladder and thyroid cancer and damage to the liver.
Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) - which is also used as a fat preservative - and has been implicated as a cause of stomach cancer!
Both have also been found to contribute to learning difficulties and hyperactivity in humans in scientific studies - one example being as far back as Feingold (1975).

Now without contacting the company to confirm which EU/EC permitted items they include in their treats I dont know for sure they include the above, but as they dont list which ones as many other companies do, it seems likely!

Take a look at this list to see just a few of the other nasties that could be hiding under the label "EU or EC permitted additives/preservatives/colourants": http://johnburns.co.uk/petfood_ingredients.htm

Here is a full list of EU permitted additives:
http://www.food.gov.uk/safereating/chemsaf...nch/enumberlist

Fish4dogs Superstar training treats for me too. They're pungent enough to hold her attention if she's hungry..........trouble is the other dogs keep poking their noses into my pockets when I'm out and about !! *thumb*

Ha ha! Tell me about it, same here :)

Well all set and ready to go with Fish4Dogs Stars. I saw the EU permitted indication on the Coachies label and decided that I'd prefer the Fish4Dogs option over permitted colourings and preservatives any day!

Good call *thumb*

i make my own :)

2 tins sardines in oil
1 tin tuna in oil
3 eggs
garlic ( cos i dont like fish smell, and its good for them!!)

mix all of the above together until as smooth as possible

sprinkle in some flour, and mix until a cake dough consistancy

put into oven dish, and either nuke in microwave or bake in oven until its firm to touch

chop up and use for training :)
waggingd

gentle fuss or a tiny piece of cheese. You don't actually have to fill your dog with "treats"

*sheep(

I've used a lot of cheese with Pearl as well as the fish stars. She works very well for either.

for my 2 i use either hotdogs, ham or cheese, they seem to work better for our food than they do for dog treats and of course fuss :)