# Treats?



## Maisy Mae (Jul 22, 2011)

I was just wondering what kind of treat you give your dogs. We give Maisy Ol'Roy puppy biscuts, oven baked duck treats and ice cubes. Some vizsla owners think its not good to give Vs treats and I wonder why. Either way what treats work for you? Thanks ahead of time!


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

I think some people view treats as bad or not good for Vizslas because they can be such finicky eaters. Anyway, I give my dog carrots, ice cubes, some boiled chicken, bits of roast beef, Blue Buffalo treats...really anything that he likes, in moderation, and only if he earns it. Turns out he loves lots of stuff!


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

I used kibble as treats. Tried dried liver, Sam loved it but gave him the runs.


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

Mother Hubbard's


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## hollyandnick (Apr 28, 2011)

Lucy LOVES Three Dog Bakery treats. Her favorites are the PBnJ treats and the PB, Carob Chip and Vanilla cookies (come mixed in the box). Other times we give her Cheese and Egg Charlie Bears and Wellness Chicken/Lamb jerky.


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## Lincolns Parents (Aug 6, 2011)

We buy the Petco bulk treats.....but only the ones with low sugar and higher protein in the ingredients. 

We also put kibble in their kongs and seal the end with a little peanutbutter....that's usually only when we put them in their kennels when we need to leave the house.


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## laurita (Jun 12, 2011)

my pup loves wet treats the most and I've found that the biggest bang for the buck for us is steamed sweet potato. I also use boiled chicken, blue cheese (harder tricks), string cheese sparingly, and light hot dogs for very distracting environments. My pup loves to eat so I have to be careful with using treats, esp the cheese and dogs!


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## sarahaf (Aug 17, 2009)

We also use Mother Hubbard and our obedience instructor suggested buying the roll (looks like a salami roll) of Natural Touch food (I think from Petco), dicing and crumbling it up and putting it in a baggie in the fridge. It does have to be refrigerated, and Rosie loooves it. She also adores zuke's mini naturals, and dried chicken jerky (which is kind of hard to cut or shred into smaller pieces).


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## Mischa (Feb 17, 2010)

laurita said:


> My pup loves to eat so I have to be careful with using treats, esp the cheese and dogs!


ours is a little hoover too!  
It's helped a lot with training because she'll do anything for a treat.

We like all the natural ingredients in the Old Mother Hubbard brand so we use those and get some dried liver every now and then also.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

How do you guys carry the treats on long walks? 
I have a treat bag. Usually, Sam catches on and keeps looking at the treat bag. The bag becomes a distraction.
For me treats only work if I teach him something in a controlled environment.


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## Mischa (Feb 17, 2010)

datacan said:


> How do you guys carry the treats on long walks?
> I have a treat bag. Usually, Sam catches on and keeps looking at the treat bag. The bag becomes a distraction.
> For me treats only work if I teach him something in a controlled environment.


I just keep them in a sandwich bag in my pocket. She sees where they come from but doesn't bug me for them.
Are you talking about one of those nylon bags that you wear on a belt? Try hiding them in your pocket and hope for "out of site, out of mind" 

I use them for a reward after she comes back and sits next to me for leash time(g/f trained her to do that), to jump over stupid stuff(g/f hates that I do that! lol), and the biggest work in progress...heel. 

We couldn't really train that sort of stuff at home. Or at least not well enough for them to work while there are distractions around.


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## sarahaf (Aug 17, 2009)

There is something called a "quick draw bait pouch" that was recommended to us. In essence, it has a pop-open, pop-closed type closure, so that you can easily snap it closed if the dog starts going for the treat before you're ready to give it to them. Something like this: http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/product/dog-training-treat-pouch It works well for training because you're not constantly zipping and unzipping the pouch.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Thanx,
Funny, I tried to keep treats in my shorts pocket once. Sammy smelled them and bit a holes in it. Almost pulled my shorts off. Had to wash them to take the smell out. 
My previous dog didn't care where I kept them. 

I got the one from petsmart it has a string, very annoying. I rather go to the bus station and lick the door hanle than use that treat bag.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Wow -- That must have been an EXTREMELY ANNOYING treat bag!!

I bought these things at Costco called Kirkland Dental Chews. Says on the container "plus glucosamine & omega 3 & 6 fatty acids -- Unique shape helps prevent gulping & choking (they are "X"-shaped) ... reduces plaque & tartar... freshens breath... promotes healthy joint function... promotes healthy skin & shiny coat." I guess you might say they are pretty proud of their own product!! But anyway, Willie just LOVES these things! The package says for dogs over 45 pounds, give two per day. Well, that's not going to happen. Willie gets one on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. He gets so excited he does a little dance!

Other than that, I like to use a few pieces of his kibble for a treat.


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

datacan said:


> I got the one from petsmart it has a string, very annoying. I rather go to the bus station and lick the door hanle than use that treat bag.


Sometimes if you go over to the aisle that they have the Gentle Leaders, there are other, nicer treat bags there. I have one that I got from my training club that has magnets that hold it together when I snap it closed--loads easier than the string kind. Plus it has some extra zippered pockets that are handy for holding poop bags/keys/etc. Then one day I saw the same/nicer ones at Petsmart in that aisle...for less! I was kind of annoyed, but then remembered that my money at my training club was going to help make the club better.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

The snap open/close and magnet closing bags make sense.

Interesting, there are no treat bags on http://www.gundogsupply.com/ 

My grandfather's brother was a hunter. He kept a big bowl of freshly cooked chicken meat as treats. There was a big empty wine barrel he used as platform by the back of the house. The dogs were literally working for food. 
I remember he had 3 dogs, not sure if he was hunting them all at once but I saw them working together, 2 dogs honoring the point is quite a sight. 8)


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

I imagine your grandfather's brother enjoyed emptying that big wine barrel. I know I would have! 

Forgot to mention--lately I've been putting the treat bag back behind my back. Jasper usually doesn't see it back there. I imagine he still knows I have treats somewhere, since he can smell them, but at least he's not just staring at the dang bag the entire time. I've gotten pretty good at reaching behind my back to grab treats!


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

;D the barrel was empty. He used it as a platform to train the dogs on kind of like a shaky training table hunters use. 
;D The wine barrels were in the celar ;D
For me it was a summer holiday visit. I was 5 at the time. Over 40 years ago. Now, I really wish I took more interest in their way of life. 

Yes, timing is so crucial and reaching the bag while it's out of sight, splendid idea. Definitely, I don't want to cofuse Sam, that is why treats are very rare for me. @ 6 months he can go from a high frequency to a low frequency behavior in nanoseconds.


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