Healthy Treats for Positive Reinforcement?

TunaMan

Hey guys, I am in the process of raising a beautiful 10 week old JA pup, Sachi. I am using positive reinforcement techniques with really great results. I am wondering what treats you guys prefer to use in your "treat totes" (or just in general). Ones preferably that are healthy to constantly be giving to my dog during training exercises. I've done some research on some brands with good reviews but thought I'd ask the Nihon Ken community what has worked for their dog personally. I definitely like the idea of smaller "healthy" suggestions.

WhoBitMe

Meitou is extremely picky about his treats. He wasn't quite as picky as a puppy but he grew up to be very picky. Anyway, when he was a puppy I could use cheese, hot dogs, and all sorts of things bought at pet supply stores. But anymore when we are out in public he takes basically nothing. He will usually take boiled chicken (but not always). And I have found one dog biscuit he will take, but it isn't a particularly good brand. He will also sometimes take waffles/pancackes and steak bits. I tried scrambled eggs once, but that was in a class. It isn't something I would use out walking, etc. Too messy, but it was an experiment.

He might take cooked pork, too. I don't know if I've tried that recently.

zandrame

If you are doing A LOT of training and socializing, and your pup isn't too picky, just use a portion of her food as rewards. Assuming you feed kibble!

For other treats I try to stick to simple things with minimal ingredients, like freeze dried meat or jerky. You can even dehydrate your own meat. Chewy has a lot of options - http://www.chewy.com/dog/treats-335/freeze-dried-food

For jackpot treats, my boy loves bacon (but a squeaky ball will also work). The foster girl is a bit more picky and will only take semi-moist jerky or deli meat - smelly stuff.

PoetikDragon

We use kibble for our everyday training, and always train on an empty stomach so the pup is more motivated to eat. We use hot dog, cooked chicken, cheese, Zukes, and Wellness as our high value treats. They get smaller meals to take into account the calories of the treats regardless what we use.

ETA: If the treats would make up a significant portion of the dog's daily calories such that I am worried about it being unhealthy, it means we're doing WAY too much training / too long session. We keep it short and fun.

GrayJJ

I find a variety keeps things interesting for your dogs, so switching what you use day one vs. day two.

I use kibbles, zukes, wellness bites, dehydrated lung/liver, etc. I also cut them up into teeny tiny pieces, which is still satisfying, and you can give a few pieces vs. one which is really great if your doing exercises requiring a jackpot reward (lots of treats)

TunaMan

Thanks for the suggestions! I've been breaking up salmon based treats into pea sized chunks so far. I definitley like the idea of using kibble for a large portion of the time. All the suggestions above with minimal ingredients is what I'm drawn to. So I'll probably check out the zukes and wellness treats at some point and see what she thinks haha.

@zandrame
For some reason, it didn't occur to me to use my dehydrator to make homemade jerky for her either. Great idea! I always have fresh meat after fishing trips. I could even make use of some of the less desirable cuts.

@PoetikDragon
Yeah I agree on that last point. Keep it positive and productive for the both of us. Mostly just trying to avoid treats packed full of corn or other fillers. Excessive calories doesn't concern me, especially if they're from a good source