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Posted by fullottermoon on February 25, 2003 at 02:48:12:

In Reply to: Re: Trainging treats??? posted by carver on February 24, 2003 at 22:20:35:

So very happy to see that I am not the only one after all! Thank you!
True: raw foods are best for your dog. True: it's not for everyone. True: health benefits are remarkable from raw diets oreven modified raw diets. True: not for everyone. True: Purina is nasty stuff! True: many of us suffer the pangs of guilt from past practices- but we knew no better so we changed. True: vets seldom understand the importance of diet for dogs & other creatures. True: it most likely isn't their fault as they had very little education in nutrition and that little bit is often given by pet food companies.
The good news is.... we can change that for our dogs & other creatures! As previously stated- don't feel bad about feeding Purina- most of us did the same thing before we knew better.
Training treats! You DO want to use something that does not take time for your dog to chew up. Those treats take time (and focus) away from the tasks at hand. The soft ones will be swallowed whole and appreciated just as much by your dog. Also try to remember- your dog does NOT care about the size of the treat! A treat is a treat is a treat --- size DOESN'T matter! LOL My trainer also use sausages sometimes- but she swears by pepperoni and kielbasa. I use a few different things - turkey hot dogs, chicken pieces, beef liver. Hot dogs are cut into pieces the size of a nickel. I can cut up a whole pkg. take what I need for a training session and freeze the rest. I do this with all of my training treats (or bait).
Chicken breasts (boneless are easiest) can be cooked, but not over cooked (!) as they won't hold their shape when cut up. Beef liver I boil 1st for about 15 mins. Then I cut it up into pieces about 1/4" X 1/4"
(a bit larger is fine- my dogs need to loose weight!). Then spread the pieces onto a cookie sheet and bake @ 350 for approx. 15 mins. This makes them tough and easy to handle for you and an excellent training treat. Many dogs really love liver. If you don't bake the liver it iscrumbly and will fall apart in your pocket, bait bag, or whatever you carry them in. All of the above I cut up lots of it and freeze which makes it so easy to just take the right amount out of the freezer an hour or so before training so it will be defrosted before the session. Plus you can rotate the treats to keep it more interesting for your dog.
Well, there's my 10 cents worth! lol Nancy

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