First a question: Are you feeding your dog a scrambled egg every now and then? If not, what's stopping you? I'd love to hear if you have or haven't tried eggs and any feedback from you.
Second, another question: How often do you want to see blog updates and are there any topics you'd like me to cover? Originally, I'd only planned to update every week or two, figuring most people wouldn't want to read about dog food every other day.
Today's topic is about training treats. When we train dogs, it's important to let them know when they've met our expectation and most of us do that through treats. When one of our dogs first gets a new behavior right, I tend to "jackpot" them with multiple rewards right away to reinforce the message. However during long training sessions or when training dogs that just aren't that smart (that means you, Raleigh), it's really easy to "overtreat" with too much fat and calories. Many people like to give cheese as a reward, but this is my all time least favorite training treat. Many dogs are lactose intolerant because they have grown out of the ability to process dairy products after being weaned. In addition, cheese is LOADED with fat and can lead to a little digestive upset or a mess on the carpet. Another common treat is hot dogs which adds fat and a heavy dose of sodium, which can cause more digestive issues. Training with store bought treats often adds a substantial amount to a dog's diet in terms of calories, so if you're training day after day it can add inches to a waistline.
The most important lesson we need to learn in training is it isn't the size of the treat that matters. It's the transaction that makes a difference to your dog. So lots of small, tiny rewards are even more effective than one big treat.
Dry food is a sensible solution and pretty convenient, since you probably already have some around. Just grab some out of the dinner portion and head off to training.
Another of my favorite training treats is Cheerios (without added sugar.) Cheerios are a good wholesome food, easy to digest and don't leave a greasy residue on your hands, your pants or your dog's head. Try "jackpotting" your dog with 3-5 cheerios when a lesson is successful. Your dog will go bonkers and the "you did a great job" message will be reinforced even stronger.
The below amounts are the maximum I'd suggest per day. If you're training your dog with a new training treat, start out with small amounts to ensure that your dog's digestive system is in agreement.
10 lb dog: 2 tablespoons
20 lb dog: 1/4 cup
40 lb dog: 1/2 cup
80 lb dog: 1 cup
So what are you going to train your dog to do with all those cheerios?
___________________________________
Thanks to all those who have written to me about Jackson. It's really strange not having his big
orange head pestering me for ear rubs, but I'm really thankful for the three plus extra years we had together. We shared thousands of walks that the veterinarian said we'd most likely miss and I never passed by an opportunity to give him his ear rubs. Nutrition from real food not only helped Jackson overcome cancer, but it also powered his body and gave me an avenue to share my affection with him. He changed my life and gave me a mission: to help you feed your dogs better too.
I'll be posting some Jackson stories in the future that will either be included in the cookbook or a later book on dog training. I hope you enjoy them. Here's one called Lead the Way (click on the picture to enlarge.)
For more information about Training Treats go to this article more about Training Treats
EmoticonEmoticon