You read earlier this week about how I’m trying to switch off more between food, toy, activity, and praise rewards during dog training. Here are some more details about the food treats I’m using.
I’ve mentioned before that I usually prefer to use “people food” for my dog training treats. I am still using cut-up string cheese, SPAM, and frozen meatballs. But on really hot days, it’s nice to have something that doesn’t melt, squish, or disintegrate in your pocket. Sorry, once again I do not mean to gross you out!
The dogs have three favorite low-calorie natural commercial treats, and I’m currently using two of them for training. I reviewed the third type, Pet Botanics Healthy Omega treats earlier this year. Although they are still a favorite, I’m not using them for training right now simply because they are chewier and harder to break into smaller pieces, making them less suitable for rapid delivery of treats for some of the things we’re doing right now.
I have given up trying to keep Oliver Kittyweiler out of any dog treat home photo shoots. At least he adds some perspective, so you can see the small size of the treats.
Wellness WellBites (yes, the WellBites of the conspiracy theory) are soft squares that are 12 calories apiece. They can be easily broken into smaller pieces for quick delivery and consumption. Zukes Mini Naturals are small in size and only 2 calories apiece. Both types of treats are free of wheat, corn, and soy.
Freya and Axel both consider these treats of high value, particularly the Chicken & Venison flavor of Wellbites and the Salmon flavor of Mini Naturals. They also seem to agree with Freya, who has a mild case of IBS. I am fortunate in that her IBS is very mild and I am able to use a fairly good variety of food treats without causing her any digestive distress.
Toy rewards have been slightly more problematic. More on that tomorrow!
(NaBloPoMo | August ’10: 4 of 31)