Let’s Talk About Treats

When someone tells me that their dog isn’t cooperating with them or they seem board with canine fitness workouts, my first question is always:

Are you giving them enough reinforcement?

These workouts can feel super weird to your dog and, let’s be honest, confusion and discomfort aren’t fun. Success in fitness workouts includes providing lots of communication when a dog is doing well - and, oftentimes, that is best offered in the form of a treat .. and another treat .. and yet another treat.

How many is too many?

If I’m working with a dog that is new to fitness, I’ll give them a boatload of cookies just for interacting with a piece of equipment. My personal dog, Ca$h, who’s nervous about everything, STILL regularly gets rewarded for stepping up on equipment in order for me to say, ‘I appreciate you trusting me, buddy - you got this!’ And that’s before he’s done any sort of exercise!

So, whats the problem?

While I am not concerned that a dog is going to be spoiled or ‘not willing to work without treats’, you do have to keep an eye out for other health concerns associated with overtreating. In addition to obesity due, simply, to excess calorie consumption - there are some ‘high-value’ treats (like beef liver) that can result in nutritional toxicity if used too much.

And I’m not saying to eschew all hot dogs and cheese cubes from your training repertoire, but it’s nice to have a baseline treat that keeps your dog motivated without packing on extra pounds.

So, whats the solution?

I always tell my clients to find a dry food or kibble that their dog enjoys - if your dog is already on a high-quality dog food that they love, you might just be able to use that! If their regular food is ‘meh’ - there are a ton of options to experiment with. There’s the old standby of ziwi peak or the controversial moist and meaty (I can’t explain it, but dogs love it!), but there are also zillions of other kibbles out there to try. Don’t always think the most expensive, raw-coated, freeze-dried, etc. is your only option - Ca$h currently excitedly works for Natural Balance . Sometimes different is enough to be motivational!

And once you find your ‘treat’, simply feed a little less at breakfast and dinner and you’ll keep your fitness goals on the straight and narrow!