High value treats

[overwhelmedbyitall]

We have just got our first dog- a rescue in dire need of some training!
We are trying to find a treat she will love and at the minute pieces of hot dog sausage are the winners closely followed by ham.
We are giving her treats a LOT for every little thing and I'm worried these might be motivating but not very healthy.
Are there ingredients I should look out for/avoid?
Or other healthier alternatives which might be worth a try?
Thanks- all advice gratefully received!

[Chasingsquirrels]

Liver cake (or sardines or tuna)

100g liver
100g self-rausing flour
2 eggs
2 cloves of garlic

Blend all together.
Pour into a greased swiss roll type tin (I line with baking paper).
Bake @ 180°c for 30-40 mins.
Cool then cut into pieces.

[Ihaventgottimeforthis]

Dried sprats.
Bits of roast chicken.
Cheese.
As long as its tiny bits, I wouldn't be worried. You will start to reduce frequency of treating quite quickly.

[GingerAndTheBiscuits]

This stuff is great, easily broken up into smaller pieces

www.nurturingbynature.co.uk/product/500g-puppy-dried-meat

[pigsDOfly]

For very special treats my dog loved Thrive dried chicken liver treats.

The only drawback is that because they're rather rich there's a limit to how many you can give in a day so I used to break them up into small pieces and only used them for recall training.

[tabulahrasa]

I do a sort of treat mix... some hot dog, cheese, smoked sausage with their dry food.

It all kinds of ends up smelling like the meat and cheese and sometimes it is those, so it usually works with most dogs.

[GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman]

Primula cheese in a tube. You can give them a tiny bit, or keep on squeezing for a real jackpot reward.

My dogs have product recognition from across the playing fields...

[MaryLennoxsScowl]

We got cheap chicken and cooked it and chopped it into small bits. Also a block of basics cheese. I don’t think you’re supposed to put garlic in liver cake - I thought garlic (and onions) were toxic to dogs? I would also avoid too much salt so used hotdogs interspersed with the above rather than a lot at once.

[GCAcademic]

Another vote for dried sprats. Healthy too.

[Crazyone84]

We too have a rescue with very little training before we took her on. Coupled with being a bulldog she is very strong willed!

She loves all food but found Primula cheese and now her recall is 100%. She would come back before when we called her with gravy bones but when there was distraction, someone to play or see, there was no hope getting her back. Pull out the primula and she is back like a shot! We just take the whole tube, easier to carry that "wet" treats and let her lick the end more for flavour than to eat so lasts ages and not too bad on the extra calories.

also maybe investigate clicker training so over time you can reduce/stop the treats and use the clicker. We have cracked the clicker for anything at home. Now working on the outside training with it.

Good luck

[Chasingsquirrels]

@MaryLennoxsScowl

We got cheap chicken and cooked it and chopped it into small bits. Also a block of basics cheese. I don’t think you’re supposed to put garlic in liver cake - I thought garlic (and onions) were toxic to dogs? I would also avoid too much salt so used hotdogs interspersed with the above rather than a lot at once.

Interesting, that was the recipe I was given at my agility group - I'll investigate!

[CMOTDibbler]

Dried sprats are great, and I get treats from Treats2sit4 who make them out of dried meat.
For higher value treats out and about hot dog sausages are fine in moderation, but Aldi also do a frozen strips of chicken breast which you can grab a handful of to take out which is handy.
Some of my fosters have gone nuts for the Arden Grange liver paste in a tube