training treats

[Manchester-Mike]

which treats do you use for training? we tried the obvious ones first off the pet shop shelves and she would eat them in the house (although she kind of looked like she was being forced to) so we went onto small peices of cheese which she liked indoors but outdoors there was way more interesting things going on to her, same with hot dog sausages. tonight we had a few beef steaks out and i chopped some up into little training size treats (still raw) and she was doing anything.and everything i asked, actually looked like she was willing to work for the treat. i ended up chopping the whole lot up into treats for the dog and had pie for tea instead lol. anyway, is there any reason why i shouldnt be using raw meat as treats? and id be interested to hear what you use too? must admit it was a lonnng process chopping it up aswell as expensive but definitely chuffed with how well she did some training.

[Tedsmum]

I make my own liver cake. It is cheap, easy and my dog loves it.

[sams mum]

i cut well cooked liver/sausages/pork into tiny bits..

[jesterjenn]

I use allsorts of treats for mine. I like to put different treats mixed with each other so they don't know what they're getting next. I use things like:

liver cake
sausage
cheese
chicken
black pudding

If I had the nerve too, I would most definately train with raw meat if that was what got my dog going (I'm OCD about raw meat contamination).

[DelsMum]

I usually find the more it stinks, the better they work lol

[lauraburns]

Only trouble with using raw is it gets rather messy!!!!

I tend to use roast ox heart for treats, my lot love them!

[claire_88]

the ground meat i get for the original dinner i mould into teeny lil treat sized balls, then cook them off on a low setting until crisp. I find that this get rid of the fat content within the meat and also they last longer. I also have multiple bags of pork burgers (through a kind/very cheap gesture) which i only use for treats (if you want any! )

I thought about using raw treats but .......... i too don't like contamination, before you knew it it'd be everywhere. (sorry the kitchen training kicking in there....blab over)

[Stuart]

I have never used treat to train mine with,.. but if I am dealing with another dog, I buy the morrisons `rashers`,.. cheap and the dogs seem to like them a lot

[LindaM]

Good question. I think it has to be something really tasty but I can see where Stuart is coming from and I sometimes think with 'Lukey and me' that food sometimes confuses the issue.

It is not easy for me to explain as I am new to this and you see I've said that I'm referring to me and Lukey as I am not saying it is so with all dogs and their specific owners. Every partnership has to be different I would have thought.

If something really tasty is in the offing he is more interested in that and sort of 'loses' his head a bit.

Stuart what is your dogs reward for doing as you ask? is it just praise and knowing they are pleasing you if that makes sense. I'd be interested in your point of view because I have found Lukey different from any other dog I've had - thanks

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by LindaM

Good question. I think it has to be something really tasty but I can see where Stuart is coming from and I sometimes think with 'Lukey and me' that food sometimes confuses the issue.

It is not easy for me to explain as I am new to this and you see I've said that I'm referring to me and Lukey as I am not saying it is so with all dogs and their specific owners. Every partnership has to be different I would have thought.

If something really tasty is in the offing he is more interested in that and sort of 'loses' his head a bit.

Stuart what is your dogs reward for doing as you ask? is it just praise and knowing they are pleasing you if that makes sense. I'd be interested in your point of view because I have found Lukey different from any other dog I've had - thanks

Some dogs are very food oriantated, for some dogs it a toy, mine have never been intrested in doing a lot for treats,..and anyway when I first started I usualy forgot them anyway...lol
Its just Praise, if they do as requested they know I am happy by the reaction they get, and that seems to be enough

Reference your third paragraph, `loses` his head..... yes of course the dog is [often] more interested in the food, but he knows he has to do whats required in order to get that food,..and training is all about repertition, so if the dog does right and excepts the treats 30 times, the idea is that you then start to reduce the treats, because after the 30 times, it is becoming habit