First Session Puppy Class with PetsMart

[CJsMommy]

I know in previous threads it was suggested that PetsMart would not offer the best of training. But to be honest, our first session went very well. We sat down with the trainer for a good 30 minutes after class, she has been doing this for 10 years, with several well trained dogs of her own.

The class consisted of 7 puppies total with 2 other rottweiler's. CJ really took a liking to one of the female rotts and they just rolled on the floor together while the trainer was giving us instructions. It was so cute to see him get along with the other pups so well. With the except of this little thing that was about the size of a small shoe, now that was a feisty dog! We're spending this week learning how to say hello to other dogs and the watch me command.

My question is this..we are required to bring in soft treats to use for the sessions and she recommended we don't use the same treats twice in a row. We've been using snausages cut into small peices. Are there any "people food" treats we can use? Maybe hotdog peices or little ham cubes?

[sophie's-mom]

you could use hot dogs or cheese.

Be careful on the salt intake though........hot dogs, ham, cheese......they have a lot of sodium.

perhaps some healthy choice hot dogs??

maybe some bread?

make REALLY SMALL pieces.

[SWEETBREW]

I use Healthy Balance rolls. Buy it at the pet food store, then cut up small pieces. It is pretty inexpensive and there are a few flavours. My boy LOVES them...

[frontierrots]

leftover cooked beef or chicken from your supper cut into dime size or smaller pieces, Solid gold jerky (dog treats) or string cheese cut up tiny

[sophie's-mom]

Originally Posted by frontierrots

leftover cooked beef or chicken from your supper

be sure to wash off any spices that might irritate the dog's stomach.

would HATE for you to have an accident in the car on the way back from a great training session!

[ElsasFamily]

you could make some too.

This is a recipe that one of the members here posted. I forget who posted it sorry I cannot give them the credit due. I've made these a bunch of times and Elsa loves them.

2 six oz cans tuna, UNdrained
2 eggs
1-1.5c flour
1 TB garlic powder
parmesean cheese
Mix...it's sticky. Bake in pan sprayed with Pam for 15-20 min at 350. Cut into 1 inch bites with pizza cutter. Freeze beautifully!

I dont sprinkle the parmesean cheese on until they come out of the oven.

[CJsMommy]

Bread huh, it never occured to me that dogs would eat that. I'll give that a try. I think there are some healthy choice hotdogs, I'm not much of a scrap meat eater, but I'll take a look. Thanks!

Oh I forgot to mention, the trainer also introduced us to clicker training, she said it was up to each person whether to add it to the mix, but we decided not to. It just seems like it would complicate things.

[moondog]

I've been making training treats that are easy to make and have been a big hit with Chili AND, even better, a big hit with Parker, the hard headed dog aggressive Sharpei that shares the office with us....(he's learning better ways to manage his time, LOL)

I take a pound of ground turkey, toss in about a tablespoon of worchestershire sauce, sprinkle with garlic powder....then mix it all up and press into a baking sheet so it's as thin as a piece of cardboard, and bake at 350 til browned. Tear into "training session" sized pieces, put in a sandwich bag and pinch off eensy weensy bits as needed during training. My eensy weensy bits are about 1/4 the size of a dime. The dogs love it.

[Sharon Marples]

Originally Posted by CJsMommy

Oh I forgot to mention, the trainer also introduced us to clicker training, she said it was up to each person whether to add it to the mix, but we decided not to. It just seems like it would complicate things.

Quite the contrary, clicker training is a very valuable tool that the dogs catch on to quite easily. You can do a search on Google for it and find out lots of tips, etc. We have found that it works very well.

[Lola B Marie]

Lola went to puppy classes and we were told to bring high valued food treats. Translated, food she would normally not get but would really love. I used liver. I baked a piece of beef liver at 350 for about 45 mins. When it appeared leathery, I let it cool and cut it into inch sized pieces. You can freeze the balance and it will thaw by the time you get to class. To this day, she will stop dead in her tracks if I say liver treat. She is 107 lbs and once in a while , I still need the liver to distract her when we are on a walk. She is sooooooo powerful!!!!Also works well and not as messy, string cheese. You can just bite off the pieces and it stays wrapped in its little package Good luck at class,you are doing such a great thing for you and especially your pup.

[TheBoysHarleySpike]

Ditto on the rolls of lamb and rice food from Petsmart. Just slice like summer sausage and cut each slice into strips. All my dogs will do anything I ask for a smidge of that. Spike even climbs a step ladder. LOL So funny to watch him. What about carrot slices just to mix it up a bit. Harley just drools for those straight from the fridge.

[BostonRott]

Clicker training, when done correctly, is one of the most powerful tools you'll ever have for dog training. It makes things clear very quickly (when done with proper timing).

Here are webpages by the two gurus of clicker training:

Karen Pryor

Gary Wilkes

[BruizerGypsy]

I took my 6 1/2 yr old Rottie to PetSmart when we first got her and she had a great experience. She's a very well-behaved dog. I took our newest pup to a place called DogSport here in Lancaster. Also good experience.

As for training treats, I used low-fat, low-sodium turkey dogs, cut them in 1/4s and nuked them in the microwave until they turn to a jerky-type consistency. He loves them!

[CJsMommy]

Wow, thanks for all the great treat tips. Some of those are things I had no idea dogs liked.

[bolt94]

I've had bad luck nuking hotdogs in the microwave. It's like they almost catch fire?!

What could I possibly be doing wrong?