Favorite Bait for Confo Shows

Elrohwen

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#1
For those who show in conformation, what is your favorite thing to use as bait? Watson is very food motivated and not at all picky, so I'm not concerned about him not liking something. Mostly I've been looking for the most convenient thing for me to handle in the ring and haven't quite found it.

So what do you use? I think my current favorite is liver - boiled and baked to dry it out, cut into big chunks. I loved the venison heart that my trainer gave me (not messy, easy for the dog to nibble), but I don't have access to that on a regular basis.
 

Finkie_Mom

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#2
Beef jerky for us! I also like turkey jerky that looks like slim jims. Easy to transport/hide in pockets, not messy, my dogs go nuts because they never get anything like it usually.
 

Saeleofu

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Logan's overly food motivated, so I actually can't use any bait in the ring or he gets all sorts of squirrely and starts throwing out behaviors lol
 

Elrohwen

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#4
Beef jerky for us! I also like turkey jerky that looks like slim jims. Easy to transport/hide in pockets, not messy, my dogs go nuts because they never get anything like it usually.
Good idea! We have some chicken jerky at home that Watson got as a gift, and I've tried it for training, but even with little pieces he chews and chews after he gets a piece. :lol-sign: Not attractive. I do love how low mess they are though, and they're high value for him. I'll have to play dog show tonight and see how it works with very little pieces.
 

Elrohwen

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Logan's overly food motivated, so I actually can't use any bait in the ring or he gets all sorts of squirrely and starts throwing out behaviors lol
Yeah, Watson does that too if we have to wait around too long and I'm holding food. Sit/stand/down/up on hind legs. Haha. Luckily the breed is so small that most of the time it's just me and one or two other dogs, so things move quickly and he can't get too bored. I'll admit that I totally use food to bribe him into letting me hand stack him. If I let him nibble first and stack he's quiet, but if I just try to set him up without the food he's squirrelly.

I do have to be careful to pocket the food while gaiting or he turns his head and stares at my hand.
 

SizzleDog

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#6
Smallish steaks (the palm sized ones) cooked with garlic. Learned that trick from an Elkhound breeder.... my dogs love it WAY more than they ever liked liver, and it smells so much better while cooking.
 

MrsBoats

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#7
I know a lot of people around here use natural balance rolls for bait. I use it for training and I have yet to meet a dog who doesn't go nuts for it. :)
 

Elrohwen

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Smallish steaks (the palm sized ones) cooked with garlic. Learned that trick from an Elkhound breeder.... my dogs love it WAY more than they ever liked liver, and it smells so much better while cooking.
Another good idea! Chicken liver smells ok, but boiling beef liver isn't my favorite scent *blech*. How do you cook the steak? Boil and bake the same as liver?

I know a lot of people around here use natural balance rolls for bait. I use it for training and I have yet to meet a dog who doesn't go nuts for it. :)
I keep them in the house for training, but don't love them for confo bait. They tend to crumble on me and get messy in my pocket. Also, Watson is somehow able to pull off large chunks so a piece I think should last me a while is gone in a minute :lol-sign:
 

MrsBoats

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#9
They tend to crumble on me and get messy in my pocket.
LOL...I just accept that every single pocket of vests, jackets, sweaters, sweatshirts, etc have dried out natural balance crumbs/dust in them. It's just a part of my life now. ;)
 

Elrohwen

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#10
LOL...I just accept that every single pocket of vests, jackets, sweaters, sweatshirts, etc have dried out natural balance crumbs/dust in them. It's just a part of my life now. ;)
I figure my show blazer can get dry cleaned less often if I minimize the crumbs. Haha. My winter jacket has so much dried up crap in it now. Sometimes I find really large pieces of rock hard string cheese that I somehow missed.

My biggest issue with the natural balance rolls is that he can rip off such large chunks no matter how I hold it. I can make a chunk of liver last a whole show, but I went through some really big pieces of natural balance during 5 minutes of a conformation class. I would have to stuff my pockets to make it through a big class.
 

iriskai

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#11
Ezra.. I could bait with a rock. Mimi's a bait snob. She wants high value items in conformation. I'm going with pork heart this weekend, boiled with garlic and dehydrated some in the oven on the lowest setting with the door cracked until it's chewy. I've done liver before but if I have to pop it in my mouth quickly... Gag! Heart is better. :) I'll do hotdogs if I forget to make bait, but those are a little more damp, or greasy if you microwave them to dry them out.
 

Elrohwen

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#12
Ezra.. I could bait with a rock. Mimi's a bait snob. She wants high value items in conformation. I'm going with pork heart this weekend, boiled with garlic and dehydrated some in the oven on the lowest setting with the door cracked until it's chewy. I've done liver before but if I have to pop it in my mouth quickly... Gag! Heart is better. :) I'll do hotdogs if I forget to make bait, but those are a little more damp, or greasy if you microwave them to dry them out.
The Asian/Mexican grocery store that I go to always has weird cuts of meat and offal, but I haven't seen heart yet other than chicken. Maybe I'll have to ask if they have some in the back. I looooved the venison heart I got from my trainer. It was the perfect texture. I think she cooked it like you do. I tried chicken hearts that way once, but they didn't end up quite like I wanted, and they're small.

I still haven't put any bait in my mouth. Not sure what I'm afraid of ... probably that I'll accidentally swallow it if it tastes good.
 

iriskai

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#13
The Asian/Mexican grocery store that I go to always has weird cuts of meat and offal, but I haven't seen heart yet other than chicken. Maybe I'll have to ask if they have some in the back. I looooved the venison heart I got from my trainer. It was the perfect texture. I think she cooked it like you do. I tried chicken hearts that way once, but they didn't end up quite like I wanted, and they're small.

I still haven't put any bait in my mouth. Not sure what I'm afraid of ... probably that I'll accidentally swallow it if it tastes good.
Yeah, I get it at Jungle Jim's, the most local super international market in the area (it's like a mall.. For food). They had beef heart, too, but the pork was on sale for 1.69 a pound. I'd prefer not to stick random organs in my mouth (that's what she said?), but sometimes it's easier! Heart tastes more like a muscle meat and has the added benefit of not giving them the runs if they have too much. :)
 

MrsBoats

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#14
My biggest issue with the natural balance rolls is that he can rip off such large chunks no matter how I hold it. I can make a chunk of liver last a whole show, but I went through some really big pieces of natural balance during 5 minutes of a conformation class. I would have to stuff my pockets to make it through a big class.
I break the large pieces into much, much smaller pieces before I give it to them. ;) Between the two dogs, I would blow through a ton of roll in a training session if I didn't. And they ain't cheap...so I try to spread it out when I can.
 

Elrohwen

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#15
I break the large pieces into much, much smaller pieces before I give it to them. ;) Between the two dogs, I would blow through a ton of roll in a training session if I didn't. And they ain't cheap...so I try to spread it out when I can.
For training I like them cut them into little pieces, but for confo it's so much easier to have a big chunk of something that he can nibble instead of lots of little pieces. I've littered the ring with tiny pieces of bait before while gaiting. :rofl1: Won't make that mistake again!
 

Elrohwen

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#16
I'd prefer not to stick random organs in my mouth (that's what she said?), but sometimes it's easier! Heart tastes more like a muscle meat and has the added benefit of not giving them the runs if they have too much. :)
:rofl1:

Luckily Watson has an iron stomach. The only time he got the runs from treats was on day two of a seminar where he probably had 5,000 calories worth of treats. He was only 9 months old and a PITA, so I spent both days cramming treats in his mouth. That's also what I do at conformation shows, but at least it's only 5 minutes of cramming stuff in his mouth instead of hours. He needs a really high rate of reinforcement in the conformation ring or he checks out and looks for trouble. "No dog, trying to play with the dog in front of you isn't appropriate. The judge doesn't want to play with you either."
 

iriskai

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:rofl1:

Luckily Watson has an iron stomach. The only time he got the runs from treats was on day two of a seminar where he probably had 5,000 calories worth of treats. He was only 9 months old and a PITA, so I spent both days cramming treats in his mouth. That's also what I do at conformation shows, but at least it's only 5 minutes of cramming stuff in his mouth instead of hours.
Jealous of your iron gutted dog! :D

I'm constantly treating Mimi in the conformation ring, mainly because so many all breed judges want to see whippets 'give ears' all the time.. Which should be necessary, but seems to be more often than not and I'd rather her not be the only stoic looking bitch special in the ring! So.. We do stupid pet tricks when it isn't our turn. I'm not above food bribery wih my dogs!!
 

Elrohwen

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Jealous of your iron gutted dog! :D

I'm constantly treating Mimi in the conformation ring, mainly because so many all breed judges want to see whippets 'give ears' all the time.. Which should be necessary, but seems to be more often than not and I'd rather her not be the only stoic looking bitch special in the ring! So.. We do stupid pet tricks when it isn't our turn. I'm not above food bribery wih my dogs!!
I'm all about bribery in the show ring! As a young active PITA dog, he really hates standing still, so I try to make it fun and worth his while. He loves to gait though, because running!
 

Elrohwen

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#20
I always used turkey/beef jerky to hot dogs so that I could carry some in my mouth if I needed too lol..
Also good if you get hungry during the show! :lol-sign:

The last time I cut up hot dogs and string cheese before a training class, my husband was stealing pieces out of the bag.
 

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