Best training treat?

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#1
So my 5 year old boxer is really not a big foodie. At home, he will begrudgingly take a treat, but only if it's something like liver. Dry, plain dog cookies he won't touch, even if given for free.

Fruits and veggies are a no.

Meat is a big yes at home. So in anticipation of starting classes with him tomorrow, any ideas for a treat I can use that's not too messy, meaty, but not too rich as to cause diarrhea?
 

BostonBanker

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#2
Deli ends are one of my most common. You can get a bland turkey or chicken if you are lucky; my dogs are also good with ham or roast beef, but they don't have sensitive tummies. If I'm feeling really lazy/running late, I'll just buy one of those packages of grilled chicken strips for putting on salads and stuff.
 
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#3
Ah the chicken strips! Good idea. Someone else suggested turkey meatballs. Right now I'm cooking some tuna fudge to see if that's palatable enough for him.
 

yoko

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#5
Have you tried toys? My dog is super food motivated but when I have no treats having her do a fetch or 'bring it here' as we call it XD is a really close second place reward for her.
 
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#6
Red.Apricot, that's a good idea.
I've made some tuna loaf but I'm going to take some liver too.

Toys aren't a big motivator for him. He lives for praise so hopefully I will be able to rely on that, and not just the treats. Treats just seem so much more quantifiable and tangible though so we'll see.
 
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#9
I've never heard of yummie chummies-- are they squishy?

Zukes we've tried, hotdogs we tried. They were a no.

Cheese is hit or miss.
 

monkeys23

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#10
Dice up some chicken and dehydrate it in the oven at home? I've done that before.

I dehydrated elk liver at home in anticipation of Scout refusing treats in reactivity class. She didn't, but refused the Nature's Selects treats someone else brought for us all to try.
 
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#11
I've tried dehydrated chicken breast before, and it was a no, dehydrated sweet potato is a no but dehydrated liver was okay. Right now with the XL beef scare, I'll have to wait until my local butcher is open to get my hands on some liver. I've never dehydrated meat on my own before-- sounds...stinky. LOL

We did a taste test with the tuna loaf an so far so good so we will try that tomorrow. I'll also pick up some meatballs just in case.

Keep up the ideas though folks! I suspect we will need an arsenal!
 

BostonBanker

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#12
I find using a mixed bag of different treats works better than one kind no matter what I have in the mix.
Unless your mixed bag includes both meat and animal crackers. Then you just have a gross gummy mess. Ask me how I know!

Other things I've seen used/used myself: cheese balls (the human chip kind, like Cheetos), pieces of egg, pieces of bacon. Meg's special agility trial treat that she goes gaga over is Nutter Butters.
 
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#13
Hmmm I don't think we have nutter butters here but I wonder if I could make a peanut butter ball type cookie that's easy to throw in a treat bag? Googling recipes now!

Also, for anyone else interested, the Tuna loaf was the easiest thing in the world to make. A can of tuna, an egg, some whole wheat flour and some flaxseed oil. Mix it together and microwave for 6 minutes at 2 minute intervals. Easy peasy!
 
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#14
For really high-value treats, in high-distraction environments (training class, pet stores, etc) we use hot dogs, string cheese, or plain chicken strips. We've used lunch meat cuts before, but he's not as crazy about those.

I definitely advise getting a mixed bag of treats - cut up a bunch of different things and mix them together. Although I will second that mixing hard treats and soft treats just turns into a mess! I usually cube up hot dogs, cheese, and chicken, and freeze them before I use them so they're not so mushy.
 

Southpaw

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#15
Tuna fudge is good. As is baked liver sprinkled with garlic powder, or lamb meatballs. In Juno's opinion, anyway :p

As far as commercial treats go I love love love using Natural Balance food rolls.

Luckily though I have a dog that gets excited about any sort of food.
 
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#17
Well the Tuna treats worked really well, despite that during our "watch me" exercise I realized Obi's pupils were uneven. Sigh. Unexplained Anterior uveitis and pain on the left side of his face/head. Go figure.
 

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