Using dog kibble as a training treat?

[Camilla and Darwin]

We were hoping to start using dog kibble as a training treat for Darwin because it is cheaper, and less fatty than other treats we have looked at. We have made our own "jerky" by dehydrating beef and chicken, but it's kind of pricey. Do any of you use kibble as a treat? We are currently feeding him Eagle Pack Large Breed Puppy. We would use that, but thought it would be fun and more interesting for him to use a different food for treats. We were thinking about getting a really nice brand like solid gold or something similar. Do any of you know of a kibble your dogs go wild over? Of course it varies depending on the dog's tastes, but any suggestions would be helpful!

[Lee Seidman]

we buy calves liver, not expensive and healthy. We microwave cook and cut into small treat size pieces......Doodle friends told us about this, called it "Doodle Cocaine"....Lexi loves it!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I agree with trying the Orijen and also making your own liver treats. VERY good and very inexpensive. It is recommended that they get some organ meat occasionally anyway, so it is more for nutritional value, similar to using good kibble.
My two love both the kibble and the liver.

[Missi]

Lizzie doesn't respond to using kibble as a training treat and never did. But she also doesn't think eating is that exciting either and is NOT food motivated. I used cut-up, cooked hot dogs, cherrios, and string cheese. She doesn't much care for cherrios any more though. Really just a bunch of praise and pats makes her happy. So sorry, no help here!

[Adrienne Shapiro]

Hello.
I began using treats to train my Doodle, but I never really believed in treat training, because if she didn't see the treats, she wasn't going to do whatever! And frankly I didn't walk around with treats, especially when it was an emergency and she needed to follow a command like STOP and COME. So finally I found a fabbulous, real world dog trainer, Jeff Gellman who also didn't believe in treats or clickers or anything except real world training! You all can go to his web site and check it out. He gives all his taining tips there as well as on his radio show for FREE..... www.solidk9training.com Fortunately for me, he is in R.I., many people do send their dogs cross country to be trained by him, but you really should check out his site for all tips.....He is our dog whisperer and then some.....
adrienne and Shayna.....check us out too on his blog arouond Aug...2009 and testimonial pages..too 2008 and 2009.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Adina, if I can ask, what brands of kibble have you used for your dogs treats? I am just trying to find one that Darwin will love the taste of.

I have wanted to try the liver treats but I haven't been able to find liver at smith's, walmart or maceys, the grocery stores in my area. I am currently trying to find a butcher I can buy them from.

[Adina P]

Solid Gold hunden flocken or whatever funky name it has. But seriously they'd eat just about any kibble so my dogs are not a good example. But it IS cheaper than buying treats. I bought the smallest bag and it has lasted me a long time for 3 dogs.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Thanks, I've been looking at Solid Gold and Evo and Orijen, so I will try the Solid Gold first. Darwin eats anything too, so he will probably love it.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Another good idea is to use carrots. You can cut them up really small and train with those. Peri goes crazy for them and they are obviously really healthy. And cheap!

[Dan, Judi, & Timbow]

We also use carrots as chew toys. We buy the normal size carrots, peel them and let Timbow have them long (if it;s a really long carrot then we will cut it in half). He loves them and they are so healthy!

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

I have found that the reward value is just not high enough when their kibble is used. Dogs treats aren't that much~ but if you are worried about fat and over feeding, I suggest that you dont feed her on the day of training and use the treats as her primary meal then feed her a small meal when you get home. This will also keep her very focused during training.

You can also make your own treats using pieces of chicken or other meat that you cook without seasoning for her. I use dried cheese.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

I use kibble as a treat (Orijen or Petcurean Now, both grain free) and Cooper loves it, but she is not regularly fed kibble (we feed raw diet) so to her it is a special treat. It works really well for training. She is motivated by both food and praise so now she is almost 7 months she only gets treats for special training, not walking, sitting at the road etc.

To find out what drives your dog, read Dog Training For Dummies. We did all the tests (form this book and Puppies for Dummies) when Cooper was little (we had had her about a month) and the test seems to be spot on with her personality.

I think if you feed your dog kibble then maybe she/he wont respond as well to kibble as treats. It needs to be something different. But all dogs are different.

[Leslie, Dexter & Kirby]

Dexter will do anything for any type of food/treat so we often use his food during training. We also use ice cubes which they love.

Kirby is a little more picky - we save the good treats for important things like grooming :)