What are the Best Training Treats

Dog Training

Most often, obedience training and teaching your dog to perform tricks will be more successful by using treats, along with verbal praise and petting.  Dogs love food and considering their incredible sense of smell, treats have a huge impact on the success of training.  However, to quicken the time it takes for your dog to learn something and provide reinforcement, the key is to use the best training treats, as provided in this article.

Obviously, some foods are not good for dogs, causing digestive problems and in fact, foods such as chocolate can be very dangerous.  Therefore, the goal is to choose safe foods but also foods that he will love and respond to best.  In addition to buying some of the best training treats on the market at your local pet supply store or online, you can always make homemade treats.  The most important thing is to find your pet’s favorite food, which comes through trial and error.  Some of the best training treats we recommend include the following:

Store Bought Treats

The one downside to choosing store bought training treats is that many are expensive.  Additionally, some work much better than others do.  Even so, these listed are great options to consider.

• Natural Balance – Made with 100% natural ingredients, these rollup treats look similar to sausage with a like texture and consistency.  Simply pinch off a small piece for training.

 

• Bill-Jac – This too is a high quality treat that dogs love but the texture is hard, making these treats better for larger or mature dogs

• Sniffers 101 – Formulated specifically for training, these all-natural bits are made from real meat, cheese, and herbs, making them one of the best training treats on the market.

• Goldfish Crackers – Dogs love these small crackers, which are affordable and not messy.  These cracker snacks also have some nutritional value.

• Old Roy – This product is sold exclusively at Wal-Mart, which are tiny treats that are tasty but also fit within any budget

• String Cheese – Today, you can purchase string cheese in the traditional roll form or in cubes.  Either type is an excellent food for training, being soft, delicious, and healthy.

• Hot Dogs – Although tiny pieces of hot dog are great for encouraging training, just as with small children, you need to make sure the pieces are small to avoid potential choking.

Homemade Dog Treats

• Bacon – Take a piece of bacon and soak it for about 10 hours in water, changing the water several times to remove preservatives.  After soaking, simply cook the bacon to crispiness in the microwave, using small pieces for training.

 

• Peanut Butter Treats – Even though dogs do not do well with actual peanut butter, they love the taste, which is why these are considered one of the best training treats that you can make at home.  The following recipe is easy to follow and you can be sure your dog will be doing flips just to get one.

o 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

o 1/2 cup oil

o 2 eggs, slightly beaten

o 1 1/2 cups water

o 2 cups whole wheat flour

o 1/2 cup rolled oats

o 1/2 cup cornmeal, fine

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a bowl, beat the peanut butter and eggs, gradually adding in the oil and water, mixing well.  In another bowl, mix the flour, oats, and cornmeal.  Add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture, blending to create dough.  Roll out to about 1/4-inch thick, cutting into squares or using cookie cutters to make shapes.  Place the treats on a lightly greased cookie sheet, baking for 20 minutes or until browned.  Allow the treats to cool on the cookie sheet, helping to make them crisp.  These training treats can be stored in an airtight container and then broken into small pieces for training.