Question about treats

[martina1]

Our GSD (2.5 years, male) has food sensitivities and has been placed on the Hills z/d dog food. We're trying to train him but it's difficult to do without being able to offer him any treats. Does anyone know of any treats that he might be able to have?

 

[donaldbjohnson]

@martina1 You can always use kibble for training treats. It might be sort of low value depending on the dog. If you say, only feed them half at feeding time, and then save the other half for training, you could have more success. I guess I'd try to figure out what the sensitivity is. Chicken? Seafood? You can buy treats made with all kinds of different things.

 

[anvil]

@martina1 Hill's, Royal Canin, and Purina all make prescription treats to compliment their allergy/limited ingredient foods. Vets usually carry at least one.

 

[jilas1]

@martina1 Our GSD also has some food sensitivities, and he has always been motivated by food. I cooked venison and cut it into small bits, to be used as treats. Then, I froze them after a brief drying period. He was extremely motivated by the venison. It was a dramatic change. I wish you the best!

 

[gloriabex]

@martina1 You can work with a tug toy/ball on a rope and build it into a reward. Check out Leerburg's video on the power of playing tug.

 

[martina1]

@gloriabex Ooh looks interesting! Wed have to invest in a strong one since he destroys everything in his path lol

 

[gloriabex]

@martina1 For the tugs, I have a bite suit one and a firehose one and they are both super durable. The firehose one is showing some wear, but I've had it for almost 5 months of near-daily use (plus I use it on the flirt pole sometimes) so it's been through the wringer.

They're pretty cheap ($12-15 CAD) so occasionally replacing one isn't too painful. I highly recommend giving them a shot, they totally changed how I played with my dog for the better.

 

[danielpaulrainbow]

@martina1 Ask your vet for suggestions. They often have vegetable-based treats in their counter that they hand out to patient pups. I suspect those would be fine, but none of my dogs would ever eat one.

 

[martina1]

@danielpaulrainbow Will do! This guy is even excited to eat his flea and wormer so I suspect he might enjoy those

 

[nazmulrobin2014]

@martina1 It looks like hills also makes dog treats for dogs with food sensitivities.

 

[emilyjolene]

@martina1 Barkbox has different treats for allergies/sensitivities. My golden has a very sensitive stomach and he loves the barkbox treats. They have duck,lamb, salmon, pumpkin, chicken and beef treats.