Using kibble as high value treat?

[user148984678942]

Hello

My dog has some behaviour issues I want to work on and at the same time is very motivated by food. Unfortunately lots of treats are required during the training. I was initially using some dog treats but they were upsetting the stomach of my dog, I now use just the regular kibble and getting away with it. But my dog trainer suggested using higher value treats would deliver better results.

I was wondering if buying different type of kibble ie rabbit or something like that and using it for training only would do the trick? Or do I need proper treats? I don't mind buying them but as I mentioned higher volume upsets my dogs stomach.

My dog must be on a forum, ‘my owner promises me cheese then cheats me by giving kibble’

i tend to use a mix of both so she knows the cheese, sausage or chicken is there but never knows which she will get.

also portion control, if I buy her cocktail sausages I’ll quarter them then slice them into 8 ish then 4 or 5 sausages (border collie cross) will cover the whole training session.

When we had some one-to-one sessions with a dog trainer, he was using tiny chunks of Cheddar cheese and a lick from a tube of Primula cheese spread as a reward.
I do similar to @Billybagpuss , a mixture of cheese, small Millies Wolfheart treats and bits of kibble.

Mine don't consider kibble to be a high value treat but they do rank different kibble higher in the value stakes than the stuff they eat at meal times. So getting some other kibble might pork, along with mixing it up with some truly high value things, so cheese, pate etc. for the lottery effect.

Arden Grange liver paste is also a favourite here and it lasts a long time if they just get a small lick each time.

I use the sausage bits from Millie’s wolf heart, they break up into very small pieces (eg into 6)

my Labrador is not happy about this but she still tries hard to be a good girl on the off chance she might get a full piece

Mine consider kibble to be a high value treat. I use a different flavour only for treats…however they’re Labradors so I can pretend to feed them a treat and they’ll take it 😂

I'll use kibble or things like chopped carrot for treats when it's easier training but use higher value stuff when it's harder for my dog to concentrate. Treats only need to be the size of your little finger, finger nail - most pre-made adult treats are too big so I break them up ready, or use puppy treats which are smaller, or recently have discovered the cat treats dreamies are the perfect size! My dog still gets the reward but overall gets a lower weight which might help yours is tummy trouble.

these are great!

I used to put some kibble in a plastic clip lock tub with some dried sprat (mine was fine to eat the sprat but it made it go further) the smell of the sprat permeates the kibble so your dog will think it’s getting a higher value treat than it really is.

I make tuna bread and liver cake for mine.
They also have any leftover roast meat, cocktail sausages, sausages and ham.
I use Primula cheese or pate for grooming, tick removal and vet bribes.

Eventually the dog will catch on that the reward is worthless. Best bet is to put kibble in a tupperware of cocktail sausages and cheese so the kibble gets extra value and its 2-1 the dog gets a better reward

Ours (only 12 weeks) regards practically anything up to and including cat litter as a treat!

Bits of kibble work just fine, though DH was unwise enough to let her have a piece of emmental cheese during a training session and now she’s on point every time the fridge door is opened.

We give kibble for standard training and use high value when we need perfect behaviour - cheese, chicken and/or small bits of hot dogs (that’s the favourite).

Not sure kibble could be considered high value but if your dog likes it I guess would be fine.
my dog loves the Tesco dog sausages (Like peppers I) which I cut into eighths then each eighth gets cut into 7/8 tiny slices, so she gets a very small intense taste without too much volume or calories over the session.
If you need really high value try Arden grange liver pate, it comes in a squeeze tube so you can deliver a tiny amount and is total doggy crack!

I think it totally depends on the dog. Mine would give you a hard stare if you tried to feed it kibble as a treat.

Mine has tinned hot dog sausage as a day to day treat

I really, really wish mine would take kibble as a treat. He spits it out. Worth trying to see if yours is less fussy though!

I had all great intentions of never feeding him human food, but had a dreadful time in a puppy class and the trainer suggested I tried ham/cheese/sausage. It works, and it’s been worth it. Hotdogs sliced into tiny bits seem to be best for us (but my hands constantly smell of them and it’s vile).

You can get little squares of dried meat in pet shops, these also seem to work but quite expensive. I think venison and turkey are supposed to be less likely to upset stomachs. Or dog pate cut into tiny chunks, you can get all sorts of favours, and bulk buy online.

I tried this ages ago and at first she loved it, but it must have been novelty because it soon wore off. I then tried an expensive freeze dried kibble for treats (still cheaper than actual treats) but the same thing happened.

She isn't obsessed with food* like most dogs though, and will happily skip meals for no reason and turn her nose up at high value chews just because... so that might have played a part.

If you've a Labrador or a spaniel then I could see it working. The breed is probably a big factor...

*unless it's cheese or Brussels pâté of the human variety

The suggestion above about mixing it up so they don't know which they'll get is a great one. Also the fact that everything in there will smell of the high value stuff.

I'd expect it's very breed dependent. My Ridgeback's behaviour is very driven by how she'll get 'paid' - she doesn't work for free/cheap 🙄

I have 2 labs and they will work for kibble. However, they also love liver cake, which can be broken into tiny pieces. For harder training like their assistance dog workshops, I use JR pate. It can be diced, sliced, crumbled, grated, etc., and it comes in loads of varieties. Carrots and cabbage are also very exciting.

I've tried that when my dog got a little fat, I thought I could cut back on the snacks by giving him kibble during training. Unfortunately , he didn't see kibble as a reward, and he's clever, so he would always check the possible reward before doing what I wanted him to do. If it was just his plain old kibble, he would ignore me. But then I've found soft (semi-moist) kibble (Platinum, but there are other brands), it smells absolutely vile to me but he's crazy about it. He gets his normal kibble for dinner and I've replaced part of his portion with the soft one, so he's still getting all his nutrients without the snacks.

We could never use kibble or standard treats in training because they were so dry and our dog would eat them so fast due to excitement she'd cough them up and lose focus. We used dog pate, the kind that comes in solid sausages that you can then cut up to the desired size.

Sadly in our house, kibble won't do it.
YlvaDog#1 loves his kibble but he knows its not a treat!
Found out the hard way when he raided my treat pocket on the way out to training. (You know when you fling the stuff on a low table because you need to go back upstairs for something else...)
Anyway he eat all the sausages & cheese leaving the pouch on the floor. Didn't have time to cut up more so just filled it up with normal kibble... I think he did a few of the exercises and then walked off laying down near the exit. Totally ignoring me! Lesson learnt the hard way- btw this dog is a huge character and does a lot of wird & wonderful stuff.

So kibble isn't a treat!!

One agility trainer used to say the same about turkey training treats that I used to buy from Millie’s wolfheart. But my dog only got them at set times and still 8 years later treats them as high value and loves to sniff them out in the house. I hate how some people including trainers treat all dogs the same. They have individual personalities and if your dog finds them high value treats and you get good results then it’s fine. I get no better behaviour whether I use them or cheese or bits of carrot. To him they are the same.

If you’re using a lot of rewards for a behavioural issue, you probably want something soft tbh - less of a choking hazard.

Commercial dog treats are rarely great in terms of quality and value to a dog. But it’s often a bit of trial and error to work out which foods your dog finds high value.

Chicken is usually worth a try, soft, not likely to upset their stomach, easy to cut into small pieces.

Ours wouldn’t eat kibble as a treat. She voms them up after eating too fast, we use either liver treats or primula Squeezy cheese