# Low-Calorie Training Treats



## Brie (Jan 12, 2015)

I'm trying to find a good low-calorie training treat for Brie. She's at a healthy weight now, and I want to make sure I keep it that way! Her high value treats used for training are Zuke's Mini Naturals, and I usually break these in half. For her potty training, she gets 1/2 of a Sojos Good Dog treat. Do you have any recommendations for anything that is lower calorie than these two? Thank you for your help


----------



## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

I asked Pam. She said maybe something as simple as Cheerios, depending on how food motivated she is. She told me a long list of possibilities, but it would be simpler to just call Pam than for me to remember everything to type.


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Brie said:


> I'm trying to find a good low-calorie training treat for Brie. She's at a healthy weight now, and I want to make sure I keep it that way! Her high value treats used for training are Zuke's Mini Naturals, and I usually break these in half. For her potty training, she gets 1/2 of a Sojos Good Dog treat. Do you have any recommendations for anything that is lower calorie than these two? Thank you for your help


I don't worry about low calorie. I worry about good food value. (in other words, usually human food grade, lean meat) Then I just factor that into the my dog's caloric intake for the day. If anything, kibble diets tend to be on the low side for protein, and they are definitely low in water content. Real meat is not only high value, but it's good for them too. For low value treats, I just use kibble.(subtracted from their total amount for the day) Cheerios are fine too, but don't have much nutritional value, and most dogs find them VERY low value.

Also, please be aware that Zukes was sold to Nestle Purina last year, and Purina has a bad record in terms of poor ingredients, recalls, sick and dead dogs. Not specifically for this product, but still&#8230;

Also, commercial dog treats are just about the most expensive dog treats you can use. Good, healthy, whole foods are WAY cheaper. Buy a pork loin or a turkey breast and roast it. Cheap!!! For "low value" treats (though Kodi seems to find these "high value" too!) when I need something soft at home I use cooked vegetables, like green beans or carrots, or fruit, like small pieces of apple, or his all time favorite, blueberries!!! (though I have to admit that blueberries are NOT a good "pocket" treat! )


----------



## Carma (Mar 10, 2015)

I give my dogs cut apples, banana, carrots . They might not at first know what to do with it , but catch on.


----------



## Brie (Jan 12, 2015)

Thank you for the advice! I would much rather feed Brie fresh human grade food instead of commercial training treats. Thanks for the heads up about the Zukes brand, she will definitely not be having those anymore. 
For everyday pocket treats, I'm going to give the kibble another try. Once Brie discovered the other types of treats, the kibble became very low value 
I'm looking forward to trying out all these new training treats. Hopefully they will be her new high value treats!


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Brie said:


> Thank you for the advice! I would much rather feed Brie fresh human grade food instead of commercial training treats. Thanks for the heads up about the Zukes brand, she will definitely not be having those anymore.
> For everyday pocket treats, I'm going to give the kibble another try. Once Brie discovered the other types of treats, the kibble became very low value
> I'm looking forward to trying out all these new training treats. Hopefully they will be her new high value treats!


One "trick" with using kibble as a low value treat is to use a high quality kibble that is NOT her regular one. Most high-end pet stores have small sample packs of many of the top small producer foods. Just the fact that it's not her "regular" food will make it more interesting.

Another one we use often when I need dry "pocket" treats is Nature's Variety Freeze Dried Raw Bites. These are top quality food, available in several flavors. These are more expensive than "human" food, but in a pinch, good quality frozen food from a good manufacturer. (100% U.S. sourced and manufactured)

I also sometimes buy their frozen raw diet that comes in tiny nuggets. I cook these in the microwave, and they become little tiny bite sized "meat balls" of top quality food.


----------



## Brie (Jan 12, 2015)

That sounds like a great "trick". We're going to check out a new pet store this week, and I'll ask them about the sample kibble packs. I don't feed Brie raw food, but the different brand of kibble for treats will be good to try 
Do you have any brands you recommend or advise against for the samples? Right now her kibble is Wellness Simple Limited Ingredients.


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Brie said:


> That sounds like a great "trick". We're going to check out a new pet store this week, and I'll ask them about the sample kibble packs. I don't feed Brie raw food, but the different brand of kibble for treats will be good to try
> Do you have any brands you recommend or advise against for the samples? Right now her kibble is Wellness Simple Limited Ingredients.


I don't feed raw either. But freeze dried raw is processed, so it's not the same as feeding "raw" raw. And the way I use the the frozen raw, it's cooked before I feed it as treats, so that's not a problem from the "raw" standpoint any more than roast pork is. 

As far as kibble is concerned, I just check that it is processed in the U.S. or Canada and made from ingredients fully sourced in one of those countries. *NOTHING* from China.

But kibble is a bit limited as a training treat. It works for some things, especially in the very beginning. But when you are trying to get many quick repetitions of a behavior in training, you need something soft that the dog can swallow quickly. Kibble is too crunchy. They stand there and chew it for so long that they often don't remember what they were doing by the time they finish the food!:laugh:


----------



## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

krandall said:


> Kibble is too crunchy. They stand there and chew it for so long .........


You're supposed to chew kibble?????????? Ay, ay, ay, I been doing it all wrong!

besos, Ricky Retardo eace:


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Ricky Ricardo said:


> You're supposed to chew kibble?????????? Ay, ay, ay, I been doing it all wrong!
> 
> besos, Ricky Retardo eace:


Ha! Ricky, you're so silly!


----------



## Brie (Jan 12, 2015)

We went to the pet store Phydeaux today, and they gave us six different brands of sample kibble to try. The kibble works really well for potty treats and reinforcing things she knows. But you're right, it does take her awhile to chew it!


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Brie said:


> We went to the pet store Phydeaux today, and they gave us six different brands of sample kibble to try. The kibble works really well for potty treats and reinforcing things she knows. But you're right, it does take her awhile to chew it!


Sometimes it matters sometimes it doesn't! Use the kibble for times when low value, slow chew treats are "good enough"!


----------



## Ari214 (Oct 9, 2014)

Brie said:


> I'm trying to find a good low-calorie training treat for Brie. She's at a healthy weight now, and I want to make sure I keep it that way! Her high value treats used for training are Zuke's Mini Naturals, and I usually break these in half. For her potty training, she gets 1/2 of a Sojos Good Dog treat. Do you have any recommendations for anything that is lower calorie than these two? Thank you for your help


I'm a little late to this thread but I just wanted to share what I recently found out. Kipper loves the thick, white part of Romaine lettuce! I usually cut that off and throw it away but now I use it as a healthy treat!


----------



## lakesideliving (Mar 27, 2015)

If you can find them, Simcoe LOVES Great Jack's treats - they're a semi-soft liver treat with a few variations. They stay in my dog walking bag so I don't have to worry about getting the big guns (veggies and home made jerky!) out of the fridge before we go out to potty in the city. You can find them direct from manufacturer here - made in Canada!


----------



## harmony (Jan 18, 2015)

We made dehydrated liver treats for Luna a long time ago. It didn't take long, it was really healthy, and she _loved_ them. Another option is to beat an egg, cook it like a very thin omelet and cut it into tiny pieces. And I don't know if you have an Asian store near you, but they sell tiny dried anchovies for really inexpensive. I've never used them as treats before, but every time I cook with them the dogs come running. :laugh:


----------



## My2Havs (Jun 5, 2009)

I would recommend Real Meat treats (website is http://www.realmeatpet.com), they are soft, can be broken into however small you want the pieces to be and they are very whiffy. It comes in different meats but I've been using lamb and my dogs absolutely love them. I buy them from Chewy.com
http://www.chewy.com/dog/real-meat-company-95-lamb-jerky-bitz/dp/110501
but Amazon also carries them. The 12 oz bag lasts forever and we use them every day on our walks. USA made of course...
Monica, Dooley & Roxie


----------



## whimsy (Apr 3, 2010)

http://www.purebites.com/products/en/dog/chicken/

Whimsy loves the Chicken..or the cheese.


----------

