# Best treats for obedience training



## rodrigo858 (Nov 5, 2019)

Hello all, I am new to Vizslas and we will be bringing our new female puppy home in a couple of weeks. I was wondering what treats you all use for obedience training. Can anyone advice? Thanks ahead of time! Happy Thanksgiving!


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

The best treat is you. 

Really, if you've established yourself as her person by being consistent and predictable, patient and loving, and you've taken the time to teach her the words for her desired actions, then a warm "good girl!" with a smooch should do it. Otherwise, you get a dog that works for food/treats instead of you, so be careful how much and how frequently you use food as a reward. At most, it should be to get and hold their attention, not more.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

While I agree with gingerling, my dogs will do just about anything for string cheese. Cut it into very small pieces ahead of time.


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## InTheNet (Jun 1, 2016)

Cheese! 
small pieces of cheese or hot dog.


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## Dallyo (Jan 27, 2018)

I second that. our boy goes crazy for cheese and hot dogs.


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

i would say, be very careful with treats for a puppy. Give her some time to settle, to get to know her and her stomach, taste etc and then you will figure the `best` treat. Some treats agree with a puppy stomach, some don`t. Bende used have upset stomach from beef as a pup, so we banned that up until recently, and did not even offer it to Miksa. Nowadays we do regularly dehydrated beef at home (calling it beef jerky lol) and no one has issues with it.


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## Kedves (Nov 18, 2019)

Gabica said:


> i would say, be very careful with treats for a puppy. Give her some time to settle, to get to know her and her stomach, taste etc and then you will figure the `best` treat. Some treats agree with a puppy stomach, some don`t. Bende used have upset stomach from beef as a pup, so we banned that up until recently, and did not even offer it to Miksa. Nowadays we do regularly dehydrated beef at home (calling it beef jerky lol) and no one has issues with it.


Best advice possible. Take it slow with the pup to figure out and learn what works well for the dog and what doesn't. While I am sure that hot dogs will work fine, I'd suggest that cheese should be used with moderation, as even for dairy tolerant dogs, when overused, it can cause some diarrhea. Other than that, cheese is awesome.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Oh, no..no hot dogs! In addition to nitrites and nitrates..known carcinogens......they are loaded with onion and garlic, both toxic to dogs.

My dog will do anything for cheese, preferably low salt and lower fat. I know, I sound like such a worry wort and tree hugger, but better to be safe than sorry.


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## joav (Aug 10, 2018)

george and i were big fans of “tricky trainers” when i was starting him out on his edumication.

really small in size, so he could digest quick and focus on what the lesson was...
they break in half easily, so, i could reward often without ruining his diet (less than 3 calories each)

do constantly, do in small sessions,
and never miss an opportunity to praise and treat when you see a behavior you like,
whether in a “training” session or not.
(i still find ziplock baggies of treats in random jacket pockets over a year later)

i agree, ultimately you are the only treat they really want,
we got to praise only after about 9 months, but,
i think a little food bribery when george was young didn’t hurt to get him there...

lastly, someone told me when i was starting out that visual commands are easier for puppies to understand than verbal. for the core bread & butter commands (stay/sit/come/down/free) i taught with both the name and a hand signal. george is extremely well behaved, probably 95% response to the verbal, but,
when things get chaotic, when there are tons of distractions around, the hand signals never fail...


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

If you find your pup has a intolerance for somethings. I go with whatever protein is in their normal food. Either baked, or dehydrated, then cut it into tiny pieces. Keep it in the refrigerator, and only get out what you need.


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## Kedves (Nov 18, 2019)

I will be the first to say that onion is bad for a dog., however I will strongly object of placing garlic in the same category. IMO the health benefits greatly outweigh any dangers. I provide you with couple of links that you can do your own digging and come to your own conclusions. 

https://www.natural-dog-health-remedies.com/garlic-for-dogs.html

In the above link you will find reference to Dr. Martin Goldstein, author of The Nature of Animal Healing. This book has been my bible of sorts for feeding my dog for most of her life. 

https://www.petguide.com/health/dog/the-shocking-truth-about-dogs-and-garlic/


I will not even touch the subject of carcinogens in human grade foods, unless a proper discussion is had on kibble food for dogs and commercially made, available treats.


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## rodrigo858 (Nov 5, 2019)

Wow, thanks everyone! I will take it easy and introduce her to small treats when she is ready. I agree that after a while I will switch from a treat to just our affection.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Kedves said:


> I will be the first to say that onion is bad for a dog., however I will strongly object of placing garlic in the same category. IMO the health benefits greatly outweigh any dangers. I provide you with couple of links that you can do your own digging and come to your own conclusions.
> 
> https://www.natural-dog-health-remedies.com/garlic-for-dogs.html
> 
> ...


It's unclear why you're trusting a website with dubious (if any) credentials over those run by qualified professionals with access to clinical data, but for your review:

https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/toxicity/are-onions-and-garlic-bad-your-dog https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/can-dogs-eat-garlic/ 

Beware slick websites and unqualified authors who proclaim truth based on junk wrapped in some counter culture oppositionality. Garlic is a known toxin to dogs and should be avoided.


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## [email protected] (Jul 9, 2019)

rodrigo858 said:


> Hello all, I am new to Vizslas and we will be bringing our new female puppy home in a couple of weeks. I was wondering what treats you all use for obedience training. Can anyone advice? Thanks ahead of time! Happy Thanksgiving!


Hi rodrigo,

I would recommend that you follow Larry Krohn, Trainer owner PaK Masters. I did -religiously- with amazing results with my Vizsla; Uma. She is 7 months now and I am VERY pleased on where she is in her training. Check him out at http://pakmasters.com/. He has many videos on utube for puppies.

Uma, my Vizsla. Is wonderful off lead already. She has great recall, keeps me in site. We always practice that when there is another person, dog car etc; nearby that she recalls. 

Her ability to sit, stay, come, place, touch, wait (stay beside me on trails), it pleases me each day as we continue to learn and reinforce accepted behaviors.

She also is very well accepting and well socialized with other dogs and has never shown aggression.

All my best to you with your new love...


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## Kedves (Nov 18, 2019)

gingerling said:


> It's unclear why you're trusting a website with dubious (if any) credentials over those run by qualified professionals with access to clinical data, but for your review:
> 
> https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/toxicity/are-onions-and-garlic-bad-your-dog https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/can-dogs-eat-garlic/
> 
> Beware slick websites and unqualified authors who proclaim truth based on junk wrapped in some counter culture oppositionality. Garlic is a known toxin to dogs and should be avoided.


Oooooo, shots fired????

Your argument is flawed at more than one level. Please forgive me, if, for the respect of OP I will not respond to your one sided agenda and keep sidetracking this, otherwise great thread, any more.


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