[coco77]

We are attending a training class right now that is all clicker training. Dakota has done wonderful with clicker training and I was very excited to find a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training partner 15 minutes from my house! Here is my problem...last class I used a combo of cut up Natural Balance food roll, Zukes, a tiny bit of dehydrated liver, and some tuna treats. That night Dakota had to go out in the middle of the night with an upset stomach What are some non-rich treats I can use? I am training two 15 minute sessions a day at home as well. We feed raw, so using kibble or her daily food is not an option.
Thanks for any ideas.

 

[GingerGunlock]

I use hot dogs, which is probably not much of a help. Or cut-up string cheese, which you can get low-moisture, low-fat iterations of. I know Elka, at home at least, also love carrots and apples, but I don't know that you want to hand those out in clicker treat quantity!

 

[Jaycee]

I use the natural balance roll and zukes as well. My dog can not have liver at all. He had it once in class as a high reward and had liquid diarrhea. It was the 2nd time he was given liver, same diarrhea issue that i connected the liver treats to his upset stomach. He hasnt had any stool issues since.

I also found great recipes on this site that i use. He loves home made treats more than the zukes and natural balance.

 

[Doug & Lucy AKA Hoopdie]

Cheerios

 

[achiever]

I feed raw as well and my dog has many allergies so I use wellness brand soft treats. They are also very easy to break up very small.

 

[Paladin]

I use cooked chicken and hot dogs as high value clicker treat. I have used cherios as a lower value treat.

 

[mmctaq]

My dog can not have liver at all. He had it once in class as a high reward and had liquid diarrhea. It was the 2nd time he was given liver, same diarrhea issue that i connected the liver treats to his upset stomach. He hasnt had any stool issues since.

It probably is not liver, but WHICH liver. My dog has issues with chicken liver, but can have beef or lamb livers.

Also, on the off chance that these two times he had liver were also the first two times he had class, sometimes just excitement/stress/novelty can have this effect and maybe by the third class all that had worn off.

 

[MeadowCat]

My old trainer who fed raw used grain free kibble for clicker training. Her dogs thought it was THE BEST because they didn't eat it regularly, and they had no digestion problems. I also use kibble for clicker training. I sometimes mix in kibble that isn't their normal food because to my dogs, that's a treat. If you use some kibble, you can mix in some stinky stuff (just small amounts) in a plastic bag and the scent of the stinky stuff will make the kibble even more appealing.

String cheese is easy to cut very small and seems to work okay for us. I also like the Charlie Bears treats. They are only 3 calories per treat and the ingredients aren't too bad. I use them for our therapy dog visits.

 

[Adara]

You can try cooked chicken. I get the big bags of precooked on sale at the store or Costco. Also string cheese. I think over time his tummy should also get used to the variety.

You could slowly add in less bland food, like the previous treats. I feed a huge variety to my puppies when I get them and (fingers toes paws crossed) we just don't have tummy/loose stool issues ever.

I joined Barking Deals and Doggy Loot at get great deals on grain free treats. Might be something for the future when his tummy is stronger.

Also you can use tug/toy for a reward also depending on the exercise and if it is feasible.

 

[MIA]

I found these treats called Tid Bits at the local feed store, great ingredients and are the perfect size for training treats, I actually cut them in half.

 

[Herb2relax]

I feed raw also. For Kyrah I used to use lots of turkey dogs. Now I mostly use boiled meats....Gizzards, bf heart, pork tongue & ck breast. She does get a milk bone dog biscut probably one a day and pup-peroni lean bf every few days. Some home sessions I use baby carrots sliced into small pieces. I use some salmon pancakes I made. I used to make liver treats but dont care for how much corn meal it calls for. Might try to substitute with wheat flour. Today actually am going to try a new recipe for pumpkin treats.

Organs with her I have to be careful. They will upset her stomach. I give her way less than my terriers. Cujo can eat the most without upset tummy or loose stools. Bf Liver & bf kidney especially will almost always give Kyrah loose stools.

 

[coco77]

Thanks for all the feedback, lots to think about and try out. I mixed the treats, reasoning that too much of one thing would be bad... maybe stick to one thing to pinpoint which upsets the tummy? Since we have a huge Costco box of Cheerios, going to try those today! Thanks everyone

 

[coco77]

My old trainer who fed raw used grain free kibble for clicker training. Her dogs thought it was THE BEST because they didn't eat it regularly, and they had no digestion problems. I also use kibble for clicker training. I sometimes mix in kibble that isn't their normal food because to my dogs, that's a treat. If you use some kibble, you can mix in some stinky stuff (just small amounts) in a plastic bag and the scent of the stinky stuff will make the kibble even more appealing.

String cheese is easy to cut very small and seems to work okay for us. I also like the Charlie Bears treats. They are only 3 calories per treat and the ingredients aren't too bad. I use them for our therapy dog visits.

Thank you for the kibble idea. I went to my local pet store Monday night and got sample bags of TOTW and grain-free Natural Balance. They loaded me up with every variety, it was great. Dakota was happy with these during class yesterday, seemed just as motivated as by treats, and best of all....had no upset tummy last night :nicejob: I think this is our answer! As a bonus, I can get twice as much TOTW or Natural Balance kibble for the price as the treats. Yeah!

 

[KevinK]

During initial training, if I'm going to be treating alot, I don't give whole treats. If they are soft, I will take a knife and cut lots of slivers, depending on size you can get somewhere between 10-15 rewards or more, and it all equals 1 treat. You can break hard ones as well, so by the end of the session, your dog only gets maybe 3-4 treats, then you have no upset stomach!