# Potty training treats



## scoutsdad (Jun 19, 2013)

Hi folks! First time posting here. Our Scout is 9 weeks old, so we've had her about a week and love her SO much!

She's actually been doing extremely well with potty training -- she's only had two accidents! She usually gets anxious and starts pacing out even goes to the door and whines when she needs to go. We take her outside to her potty spot and reward her when she goes. But I'm wondering how long we should keep up the routine of giving her treats every time she goes. Already she's starting to act like she expects the treat, and she usually goes two or three times every time we take her out, (and you know how often puppies have to go...) so the treats are adding up.

So I guess I have two main concerns:
1. Is it bad for her nutrition to have so many treats?
2. At what point should we stop giving her treats every time?

Any tips/insights are greatly appreciated. I look forward to getting to know you all and becoming part of this community! Thanks!


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

Hello! 

We have an 18 month old and a 5 week old who is coming home in July. We used the Zuke's training treats and break them into tiny little pieces. We usually make the Zuke minis into 4 pieces and they are only a few calories each so it's not much. 

I wouldn't worry too much about treat intake at this point as long as they are high quality treats. They are so active they burn it all off! Likely your pup will become praise oriented as well and you can start substituting praise for treats. 

Congrats on the new pup!


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## chrispycrunch (May 11, 2012)

My boy is 12-1/2 weeks old and I got him at 9 weeks. He was pretty much potty trained in 4-5 days and once he started asking to go out, I stopped treating him every time. Then I just got less and less frequent with the treats and kept up the praise. Now I don't even treat him and just say "gooooooooooooooooood boy!!!!" and give him a good butt scratch and a pat on the head.


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## CzechCheek (May 27, 2013)

We got our pup at 8 weeks and he was pretty much potty trained. @ 15 weeks today he has only had 2 accidents in the house and both were because he was too excited playing with the kids. I don't remember giving him treats for going potty other then praise.


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## Kelly10772 (Jun 22, 2013)

I have a brand new V. Roscoe will be 9 weeks on Monday. Our breeder suggested plain Cheerios as treats. Inexpensive and he loves them.


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## lonestar (Jun 2, 2013)

Gratz on the new girl, she looks like a real cutie!

Generally speaking, treats are best to learn new behaviors or reinforce them...until they've gotten the hang of t, when youre confident that learning has occurred and the dog is reliable with whatever the new learning is. Based on what you've described, you're there, so it would be best to offer lots of verbal rewards, kisses, etc. , but maybe not the food. You want the dog to do whatever the *It* to please you, rather than to get the treat....that's part of your role as pact leader, and theirs as puppy.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Welcome to the forums, scoutsdad!! 

The Cheerios are a good idea. You can gradually fade them out whenever you want. The main reward is going to be (from here on out) your praise. When he performs the desired behavior, you just throw a party right then and there. "YAY!! YAY!! What a GOOD BOY you are, Scout!!" Use that happy, goofy voice that all dogs seem to recognize as approval. Make a big deal out of it. ;D ;D ;D Praise is the thing.


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## scoutsdad (Jun 19, 2013)

Thanks for the advice everyone! Cheerios sound like a great idea for a training treat. (super cheap!) I'll keep those in mind for future trading endeavors -- as for potty training, I think she's got the hang of it so we'll start removing treats from the routine.


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