# High Value Treats



## acetheretriever (Oct 16, 2017)

So Ace is almost 6 months and he's very food motivated...at home. I can use his dog food for training at home where there are no distractions but when we are out and about it's a whole different story. Our trainer recommended little pieces of cheese and chicken which is what we use during the training classes since they are a group class and I need Ace focused. However, I want to move away from human food, even though it doesn't bug him stomach wise. I want a treat that he will love no matter where we are and that would be safe and healthy to give to him in large quantities so I can constantly be working with him. Anybody have any suggestions? Preferably something that won't break the bank either lol


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I actually prefer cheese because one cube of cheese (those little cubes you can buy at the store) can become ten treats while training. And it's way cheaper than buying a bag of treats. Premium treats will run you about $8-10 per bag. Cheese is relatively cheap at $2-3 bucks and then you can get a LOT MORE treats and time out of a bag of cheese cubes.

When training your pup, you don't want to stop and wait for him to finish chewing and eating what you gave him. You want them nomming it in a sec and ready to do the next thing. 

Downside is most of the cubed cheese you buy at the store will not have a lot preservatives in it. So it will go bad if you leave it in the car in your training bag. 

Sharp cheddar cheese sticks - actually seem to have more preservatives in them or breaks down slower, because I can get some cheese sticks to go a month in my training bag. 

And I typically open them up, actually use my teeth to chomp the cheese into small bits (I could use scissors too but eh) and stick into my pocket. Biting off the bits, I can also tell if the cheese is starting to go bad before I give it to my dog...  

A typical 2 hour class with my competition dog - I only need two cheese sticks. That's all. Each of those bites becomes smaller bits that I reward with.

I also know somebody who is tops in obedience with her goldens that buys cheese curds for her dogs. 

Chicken is another thing that works very well, but I don't like using because chicken spoils really fast. There's a lot of waste.

A lot of store bought dog treats have a LOT of salt in them to preserve the treats longer. And that means if I'm using a lot of Zukes or whatever (more so with the cheaper treats out there) - my dog gets pretty thirsty. And my dogs are water hounds as it is.


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## Olympia (Jan 11, 2010)

These are some of the treats we use....

Zukes mini naturals https://www.chewy.com/zukes-mini-na...VzUsNCh0LoAWSEAQYAiABEgKSwfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Charlee Bear https://www.chewy.com/charlee-bear-...VzUsNCh0LoAWSEAQYBSABEgJik_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Fruitables https://www.chewy.com/fruitables-pu...VzUsNCh0LoAWSEAQYBCABEgI94_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Stella and Chewy Carnivore crunch https://www.chewy.com/stella-chewys-carnivore-crunch-cage/dp/57182

Stewart Pro-Treat Beef Liver Freeze-Dried Dog Treats https://www.chewy.com/stewart-pro-treat-beef-liver-freeze/dp/44918


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## mbrod12 (Nov 20, 2017)

I really do prefer to use little bits of turkey, chicken or cheese! If I'm going somewhere where I know Goose is likely to be distracted I sometimes even bust out a little to-go cup of Jif peanut butter!

As far as actual dog treats I normally use any type of Zekes, Cloud Star Chewy Tricky Trainers Salmon Flavor (very smelly so they get his attention) or Nutro Crunchy Dog Treats (Carrot or Banana).

Tricky Trainers: https://tinyurl.com/y8o3mvd2
Nutro: https://tinyurl.com/y9apmo3a


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## acetheretriever (Oct 16, 2017)

Megora said:


> I actually prefer cheese because one cube of cheese (those little cubes you can buy at the store) can become ten treats while training. And it's way cheaper than buying a bag of treats. Premium treats will run you about $8-10 per bag. Cheese is relatively cheap at $2-3 bucks and then you can get a LOT MORE treats and time out of a bag of cheese cubes.
> 
> When training your pup, you don't want to stop and wait for him to finish chewing and eating what you gave him. You want them nomming it in a sec and ready to do the next thing.
> 
> ...


 It sounds like you use cheese a lot so I have a question. Have you noticed if the cheese has lost it's high value over time and you need to switch to other treats sometimes? Or has it remained a high value treat


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

acetheretriever said:


> It sounds like you use cheese a lot so I have a question. Have you noticed if the cheese has lost it's high value over time and you need to switch to other treats sometimes? Or has it remained a high value treat


Pretty much it stays high value - and keep in mind with obedience training, your dog won't just be working for food. He's working for play and fun. You pair all of that together and you have a pretty high value combination.

At dog shows (conformation), I've used cheese as bait. However, I do prefer something a little stronger. There's a vendor who is at most dog shows locally who sells FABULOUS liver for bait. And this liver works great with the dogs, but I can put it in my mouth with throwing up. :laugh: <= I don't think you need that much for obedience training though.

Only treat related issue I ran into was when my boy was kinda between 12 months and 30 months and he was going through a phase where he wasn't as interested in food as he was everything else. And he would turn his nose up even at the liver bait. 

He outgrew that and is a total food hound to the extent that I block the kitchen off for him because he is actually the first dog in AGES who is a willful counter surfer and acts like he STARVINGALLTHETIME (when he's not). <= This dog has a number of obedience titles and is otherwise a very obedient dog. He just is a turd about scavenging in the kitchen. :laugh:


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