Dog training sessions include lots of love, patience, and treats! Treating frequently as a reward for desired behavior is sure to encourage and excite your dog -- the tastier the better! With so many treats during training sessions, it's important to many trainers to use treats that budget-friendly. It is also necessary for the treat to be something that your dog will love -- the more he/she loves it, the more motivated they will be.
A few things to keep in mind:
- As with any new food, introduce new treats of any kind to your dog slowly, including miniature treats! Start with a few treats the first day and gradually introduce more over the next few days to get your dog's stomach accustomed to new food.
- Depending on the size of your dog, you may be able to divide miniature training treats even further! Puppies and extra small dogs may still find half of a miniature sized treat highly incentivizing, so you'll get extra bang for your buck if you divide the treats into two. Medium to large dogs may as well, but the success will depend on how food-motivated your dog is.
- We recommend training sessions that happen before their regular feeding time. For example, if your puppy/dog is usually fed around 6pm at night, then training them in the hours right before that, such as 5pm, or even 4pm, may be even more effective because they won't be as full as they would be after eating dinner. Please don't starve your dog for training! We are simply suggesting that timing training sessions that can take advantage of natural time periods of the day that your dog will pay the most attention. Some dog owners find that with exuberant dogs, training after going a walk with them is more effective as well by training them when they are more calm.
- For best results, choose a treat that is small and soft - that way your dog won't spend a lot of time chewing a large biscuit in between takes, and can spend more time focusing and learning what you are trying to teach them.
- As always, have fun! We love our pets and know you do too! Here is a shortlist of some miniature training treats at reasonable price points.
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Zukes Mini Naturals Training Treats
These miniature sized treats are a big hit in our household -- they come in a variety of different flavors and sizes. We usually get the 1lb bag which lasts for quite a long time -- one reviewer calculated that a 1lb bag contains 700 miniature sized treats! That's a lot of bang for your buck. We like that this brand includes so many different flavors as well -- including salmon, chicken, duck, peanut butter and oats, pork, and rabbit.
To avoid taste fatigue / your dog getting tired of one training treat, it's a good idea to switch it up and have a few different flavors -- especially if you do choose to buy in bulk.Each treat has 3 calories, and does not include corn, wheat or soy. Made in the USA
Blue Buffalo Wilderness Training Treats
These are soft miniature treats that are high protein and grain-free as well. They come in three varieties -- duck, salmon and chicken and are 4oz a bag. We like that these treats are by Blue Buffalo - a trusted brand - and that reviewers dogs seem to
Lil Bitz Hickory Smoked Beef Training Treats
Over 180 treats per 4oz bag, about 4 calories each piece.
Pet Botanics Training Rewards
1 20oz package contains approximately 500 treats! Reviewers say that their dogs loved the taste -- however some owners complained about the ingredients and upset stomachs. If you have any concern about the ingredients, we recommend checking with your veterinarian, and as with any new food, we recommend introducing new treats slowly to your pet. The smaller your dog, the slower you should introduce new food.
Sophia Zey has two large rescue dogs.