# High motivation treats



## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

I was going to suggest dried liver - beef liver, not chicken. It was SO high value to my pup that she couldn't concentrate on training (I had to not use it for that reason). I liked Zuks Minis - they're soft, so easy to eat while training. You could also try cheese or Cheerios.


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## shanburr (Feb 24, 2021)

Sweet Girl said:


> I was going to suggest dried liver - beef liver, not chicken...


Awesome thx! I just phoned my local butcher and they have it for $2.29/ LB pre-sliced. I'll try it and cook it on a low temp.


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## Lovin'Goldens (Feb 17, 2021)

If he is not food-motivated, maybe see what works for him. Some dogs are praise-motivated, others are toy-motivated. Have you tried using other things as motivation, other than food? Maybe that would work better!


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## LA152 (Dec 31, 2020)

Sweet Girl said:


> I was going to suggest dried liver - beef liver, not chicken. It was SO high value to my pup that she couldn't concentrate on training (I had to not use it for that reason). I liked Zuks Minis - they're soft, so easy to eat while training. You could also try cheese or Cheerios.


I second dried beef liver. My girlfriend has a non golden mix who isn’t very food motivated and liver is the first thing I’ve found that gets her REALLY excited (my cats also stick their heads into any container the treats have been in and they once pulled the bag down from the top of our refrigerator and dragged it around the apartment). I’ve used this brand SIMPLY NOURISH Beef Liver Grain-Free Freeze-Dried Dog Treats, 5-oz bag - Chewy.com but of course there are many others. One thing to keep in mind, it is very rich so don’t feed very much at a time. Our dog also enjoys string cheese and it’s really easy to tear or cut into very small pieces for training sessions.


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## cjsammy13 (Aug 28, 2020)

My dog goes nuts for bits of string cheese!


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## shanburr (Feb 24, 2021)

Lovin'Goldens said:


> If he is not food-motivated, maybe see what works for him. Some dogs are praise-motivated, others are toy-motivated. Have you tried using other things as motivation, other than food? Maybe that would work better!


Frankie is very praise motivated for sure!!!


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## shanburr (Feb 24, 2021)

cjsammy13 said:


> My dog goes nuts for bits of string cheese!


hmm cheese eh?? I do see several here who say cheese and Im so surprised; maybe I had a misconception that dogs and dairy don't mix

Thank you!!


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

My guys love tuna fudge. I also use it in the conformation ring as bait.


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## GrandmaToGoldens (Jul 2, 2019)

shanburr said:


> hmm cheese eh?? I do see several here who say cheese and Im so surprised; maybe I had a misconception that dogs and dairy don't mix
> 
> Thank you!!


My understanding is that dogs don’t digest lactose, but cheese is fairly low in lactose. If you don’t use it in excess, it’s normally okay. Likewise, liver should be used gradually and shouldn’t be used in excess, because it can cause diarrhoea.
I vary the treats I use. I find dogs value food they haven’t had for a few days. Cheese, sausage, jerky, salmon, chicken, beef and well-cooked pork are all on the menu. I only use pea-sized portions as treats, particularly for puppies.
Although I use treats in training, I think praise, play and “puppy retrieves” are even more important rewards. Treats are great for marking specific behaviours (eg when the puppy’s rear end plops on the ground in a sit) or for luring a puppy into a down. Praise, play and puppy retrieves make YOU the most fun person (human or canine) that your puppy has ever met.


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## GoldenGirlMinnie (Jan 23, 2020)

If your pup is very praise/affection motivated (mine was/is!), you could try to find their favorite thing and only do that when they successfully listen to a command. Sounds silly, but my golden loves to walk in between my legs and get her butt scratched (she puts on a show, grunting and doing little hops). Every time she fetches the ball or ignores barking dogs on a walk, she knows she'll be rewarded and pushes right between my feet and waits for a scratch! It looks so goofy but it works much better than treats for her. Maybe your pup loves the happy voice, or his ears scratched, or something you can use!


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## Bellbird (Feb 22, 2019)

My trainer always kept her treats in a container with some highly-flavoured, highly-scented (totally no nutritional value!) commercial treats, so they absorbed the smell. The dogs loved it.


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

Both of my dogs love string cheese. My competition girl loses her mind over liverwurst, but that's too rich to use except in limited qualities when I want something VERY high value. I recently tried some Newman's Beef Jerky treats that I found at the grocery store. All healthy ingredients and smell great, and my dogs are seeming to consider those a high-value treat. I also almost always have some cooked chicken breast on hand. I sometimes use hotdogs, but they are high fat and I won't give them the kind with nitrates... so that's a special treat, in small quantities, nitrate-free turkey dogs, and I sometime cook them in the microwave to make them crispier and less greasy. You can sometimes also buy "ends" at the deli counter (roast beef, turkey, etc.) that can be chopped into bite size treats and frozen until needed.

You can also Google "dog treats pyramid pan" for some good home cooked recipes make in a silicone "pyramid pan" and they are just about the right size for training a puppy.

I see you are in Canada... Susan Garrett (a well known Canadian trainer) swears by "Honey Beefers" as her high-value training treat... available only in Canada!


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