Your best suggestions for highly enticing dog treats that won't break the bank?

[Laurie4b]

I've been working with our new 1 yr old dog. She's quite smart and learns fast.

 

One thing that is an issue with training is that she isn't super interested in food. She got tired of string cheese partway through the first stick, so I've learned I have to have a variety of treats and alternate. We cannot afford bags of high priced dog snacks (and I took a look at some of the ingredients and was "yuck!" )

 

I tried making homemade high interest treats by stirring her kibble in bacon grease, thinking I'd have a whole pack of yummy enticements. No go. She isn't crazy about kibble but the bacon grease didn't make it enticing enough for her.

 

What has worked when intermixed with other stuff:

Bits of string cheese

Dog chicken jerky

Milkbones are kinda "meh"

Bits of apple (really!)

Dried cranberries ( Her former owner said she loved frozen grapes, but I am pretty sure grapes/raisins can make dogs sick. )

Bits of bread rubbed with bacon grease

Peanut butter

 

 

I took her into Petsmart with me today to go buy a ball she couldn't rip to shreds, but she wouldn't even eat actual bacon there---much more interested in the distractions.

 

Balls are very high reward for her (I think being handed a ball in Petsmart would have drawn her attention) and I was able to substitute one ball for another to teach her to "drop it" and fetch today, but handing her a ball isn't going to work for a lot of training, so I need several suggestions for treats dogs really like.

 

We are all really enjoying her. She is very well behaved in the house and she seems to understand a lot. For instance, in the house, I asked her where her ball was and she went looking for it.  I've told her "go find it" (never training her) but pointing to where a ball went into deep underbrush  (she hadn't seen it go in) and she went looking till she came up with it.

 

Have watched a dozen or so Kiko dog training videos. Thanks for the recommendation on the other thread!

 

 

[Farrar]

Not a permanent one since it's only a sometimes thing, but someone I know saves mostly empty but uncleaned peanut butter jars when they're finished as a good reward. She got other people to give them to her too. I mean, who needs an empty plastic pb jar?

[songsparrow]

We had a pup who was not food motivated, but was extremely frisbee motivated.  We trained with the frisbee.

 

One item to add to your list: hot dogs, cut into very small chunks.  There was another food that our trainer recommended that was extremely smelly that dogs are supposed to love, but I'm drawing a blank - I'll try to think what it was.

[Pawz4me]

Ditto hot dogs. But cut them into tiny pieces and microwave them until crispy. It will make your house stink. But most dogs love them. I slice them into "coins" and then cut each "coin" into fourtths. So one pack of hot dogs makes a lot of treats. But be aware that some dogs just aren't food motivated.

[Jen500]

Our dogs love Zukes. They are a bit smelly and nice and small so good for training.

[hornblower]

If you feed kibble normally, I think you're on the right track with using regular kibble with a flavour enhancer. Grated parmesan cheese, popcorn, shredded bbq chicken, the bacon bits that come in a jar are some good things. Sprinkle 1-2 tbs/ 2 cups of kibble in a large jar, shake. Popcorn on its own is a good reward if you don't have corn allergies. It's just hard to throw so not great for distance work but for close work, it's low cal & my guys all love it.

 Also see * & consider getting rid of the bowl for 1 of the daily meals.


You can make your own liver brownies for very little $. Google for the recipe - they stink horribly when you bake them so I usually make huge batches & freeze.

My bait bag is always a mix of things, but I have to say I've also had times when the only thing in there is kibble. two of my guys are raw fed so kibble is a treat for them but even my kibble guy will work for kibble.

I do try to rank treats (&other rewards) & get fancy ones for difficult, challenging bhvrs but it takes time to figure out what a particular dog's SUPER reward is. My malamute girl is a carb fiend. Her top rewards are squares of toast, pieces of bagel, or a cut up soft tortilla.  She's all "yeah, liver, organ, tripe, whatever. OMG, YOU HAVE A BAGEL! I'll walk through FIRE!"


Generally though, at the end of the day I expect my guys to work for any food or for a play/tugging session. 

*When I'm prepping for a trial & brushing up behaviors, at least one of the daily meals is earned entirely in a training session. The bowl simply never comes down - it's all given from my hand.  You can just measure out their day's food in a container & use it for training sessions throughout the day.

 

[kroe1]

Our trainer would not let us use treats. We were only allowed to give pets and hugs and praises. It seemed to work as our dog is quite trained.

 

I will sneak her a little treat here and there if she does something really great. I use whatever dog biscuit with a dab of peanut butter on it. She gobbles them up.

[Laurie4b]

We had a pup who was not food motivated, but was extremely frisbee motivated.  We trained with the frisbee.

 

One item to add to your list: hot dogs, cut into very small chunks.  There was another food that our trainer recommended that was extremely smelly that dogs are supposed to love, but I'm drawing a blank - I'll try to think what it was.

 

How did you train with a frisbee? Curious.

[hornblower]

Our trainer would not let us use treats. We were only allowed to give pets and hugs and praises. It seemed to work as our dog is quite trained.

 

 

 

LOL, I don't know if you realize but in dog training circles this is sort of like a phonics v. sight words debate. WARS start. Moderators go mad.

 

Here's Silvia Trkman - gazillion billion time (well, I've lost count. I think she has too) agility world champion, European Open, & national champ. She trains all her dogs with plain kibble & a tug/throw toy -

 

with one of her dogs as a puppy. In the early part, she's using a tug as reward. From 1:50 on she's using a clicker & food to teach her dog lots of fun tricks. http://silvia.trkman.net/bi3.htm 

 

Silvia has tons of great videos of her dogs doing fun tricks (& her great agility runs too) online.

 

 

more seriously, from well respected behaviorist Jean Donaldson on the issue of using food in training:

http://academyfordogtrainers.com/blog/2011/cooked-chicken-also-now-dangerous/

 

You don't have to use food. There are many ways to motivate dogs & you need to find your dog's reward.

 

The 1st rule of reward based training is that the organism being trained determines the reward. 

One of my dogs DETESTS being touched when he's working. He'll take food, he'll tug, but touching is a punisher.

My malamute girlie loves pets & cuddles & belly rubs so those things can be used as a reward for her.

Food hwvr is still a primary reinforcer & it's what I use when teaching new bhvrs or & fine tuning an existing behaviour.

 

[meena]

Our dog's absolute favorite is dried liver. I'm sure this could be made at home inexpensively, but the idea of handling raw liver grosses me out so I buy mine from Trader Joe's, Amazon, or the local feed store.

 

A cousin's dog loves frozen blueberries. Maybe try those instead of the grapes?

[hornblower]

I took Susan Garrett's online course a couple times & each time one of the things we've had to do is to rank our dogs' reinforcers.  Specific toys, games, activities, foods. Dogs find all sorts of things reinforcing.

For some it might be the chance to chase a frisbee. For others it might be a tennis ball.  There are drug detection dog trainers in my city who are constantly on the look out for truly, truly ball obsessed dogs in shelters. For various reasons, they don't work with food, & they need dogs who go absolutely crazy, borderline OCD for a ball. The ball is their primary reinforcer & they will work hard & continue to work hard for a chance to interact with the ball.

Tugging is a common one among agility & flyball peeps. Here's a Susan Garrett post on the importance of developing a good tug & how to do it right.

http://susangarrettdogagility.com/2012/04/improve-your-dog-training-by-playing-like-a-dog/

[songsparrow]

How did you train with a frisbee? Curious.

 

Imagine that we were trying to teach a basic command, like sit or down.  We'd pick up the frisbee, which would immediately get pup's attention on us.  We'd ask pup to sit or lie down (or whatever command we were trying to teach).  After he had done so, we'd say good! (and OK if he required a release) and throw the frisbee.  Pup would retrieve and bring it back to us.  Repeat.  

 

It's really the same as training with treats, but instead of giving the dog a treat we'd throw the frisbee - that was his treat.

 

I hope that makes sense!

[AnIslandGirl]

Our newfoundland is particular about her training treats as well.

Things we found that she does like are: dehydrated liver, boiled chicken (cut into 1/2 inch cubes), pieces of watermelon, and bread cubes.

Good luck! Finding their currency really does make training so much easier.

[hornblower]

oh & forgot to add, I too use hot dogs. One hot dog is worth about 80-100 training pieces. Cut lengthwise in 4, then cut crosswise. Lay on paper towel on plate & microwave. They dry out & become more rubbery.

My dogs are large (smallest dog is 50 lbs) but I use tiny treats. This means I can do many repetitions if we're working on something.

 

[Tammyla]

I used to make oven baked liver treats.  When baking they stink like nothing else, but most dogs go a little mad for them.  Please note, that I mean they super-stink up the entire house. 

 

The recipe was from a trainer friend and my memory is vague, but it was basically...A tub of liver put through the blender or food processor, a tea to table spoon of garlic salt, and equal parts flour and cornmeal, a bit of water if necessary.  Blend until it is mushy, then bake it on cookie sheets.  Slice it up with a pizza cutter once it's cooled.

[Kebo]

liverwurst / braunschweiger is usually a sure bet. It's kind of messy, but can be served off of a tongue depressor. Ditto for cream cheese.

[hornblower]

liverwurst / braunschweiger is usually a sure bet. It's kind of messy, but can be served off of a tongue depressor. Ditto for cream cheese.

 

Oh, how could I forget?! 

 

I fostered & rehabbed a fear reactive boy & we used a lot of gooey stuff to really stick in his mouth .... food tubes are awesome for that!

 

here are pics of food tubes & possible recipes:

 

http://eileenanddogs.com/2014/11/03/food-tubes-dog-training/

 

I have used a tongue depresser & well, just my hands, too with canned pate food & raw dog food.

 

 

Also, in a pinch I used a fish paste spread from Ikea. Too much salt for day to day use but great in an emergency.

[6packofun]

Make your own pumpkin dog treats.  My dog LOVES these and the batch can make a lot if you use very small cookie cutters.  :)

 

Cleo’s Pumpkin Dog Biscuits

2 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons dry milk
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 1/2 cups brown rice flour *
1 teaspoon dried parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.

In large bowl, whisk together eggs and pumpkin to smooth. Stir in dry milk, sea salt, and dried parsley (if using, optional). Add brown rice flour gradually, combining with spatula or hands to form a stiff, dry dough. Turn out onto lightly floured surface (can use the brown rice flour) and if dough is still rough, briefly knead and press to combine.

 

Roll dough between 1/4 – 1/2″ – depending on your dog’s chew preferences, ask first – and use biscuit or other shape cutter to punch shapes, gathering and re-rolling scraps as you go. Place shapes on cookie sheet, no greasing or paper necessary. If desired, press fork pattern on biscuits before baking, a quick up-and-down movement with fork, lightly pressing down halfway through dough. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully turn biscuits over, then bake additional 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely on rack before feeding to dog.

 

[Laurie4b]

LOL, I don't know if you realize but in dog training circles this is sort of like a phonics v. sight words debate. WARS start. Moderators go mad.

 

Here's Silvia Trkman - gazillion billion time (well, I've lost count. I think she has too) agility world champion, European Open, & national champ. She trains all her dogs with plain kibble & a tug/throw toy -

 

with one of her dogs as a puppy. In the early part, she's using a tug as reward. From 1:50 on she's using a clicker & food to teach her dog lots of fun tricks. http://silvia.trkman.net/bi3.htm 

 

Silvia has tons of great videos of her dogs doing fun tricks (& her great agility runs too) online.

 

 

more seriously, from well respected behaviorist Jean Donaldson on the issue of using food in training:

http://academyfordogtrainers.com/blog/2011/cooked-chicken-also-now-dangerous/

 

You don't have to use food. There are many ways to motivate dogs & you need to find your dog's reward.

 

The 1st rule of reward based training is that the organism being trained determines the reward. 

One of my dogs DETESTS being touched when he's working. He'll take food, he'll tug, but touching is a punisher.

My malamute girlie loves pets & cuddles & belly rubs so those things can be used as a reward for her.

Food hwvr is still a primary reinforcer & it's what I use when teaching new bhvrs or & fine tuning an existing behaviour.

 

 

I have to just keep my head down on this one. ;) I can rub her belly for lying down at my feet, but I like the Kikopup videos and she pops treats very frequently, and that's worked well . I think we will be able to fade that but for now, it's a keeper!

 

[redsquirrel]

Back when I owned a dog, we took a dog obedience class and it was fantastic. I loved those classes and so did my doggie. He was so smart and just loved doing the work.

 

Anyway, they had us start with treats to reward good behaviour and then move on to verbal rewards, with the occasional treat to make everyone happy, lol. 

 

Anyway, they had a great suggestion. They said to get hot dogs and put them in the freezer until they were firm but not rock solid. Then, using a sharp knife, cut the hot dog into very, very thin slices. I could get so  many slices out of one hot dog you would not believe it. One hot dog lasted us days, so it wasn't exactly breaking the bank. One good thing was that the slices were just the right size to hold one between your fingers to train the dog to follow your hand commands. They worked beautifully.

 

I haven't thought about that dog in years.....

[MiMi 4under3]

Both of my dogs consider baby carrots to be a huge treat. Seriously.

 

[Flowing Brook]

Google clicker training. You tube has some good videos. Clicker training conditions the dog to respond to the click like it would to a treat.  Our dogs go wild over puperoni's.  We just give them little pieces.  Baby carrots are also a big hit.  Or whatever the other dog has:)