I have a 7 month shih tzu who is really smart but not obedient , i have trained him to do all the basic things like housebreak ect. but i want to teach him some tricks . Everytime i play fecth with him , he refuses to give up the ball . I would like to know some recommendations on doggy treats , i have gone to Petsmart and spent quite a bit on some brands that he has no interest in them . What are some doggy treats that my puppy will more likely love ?
A tiny, tiny piece of cheese.
1. Not all dogs view food as a reward. Sometimes you can change this.
2. Do some reading on NILIF (nothing in life is free)
3. No free feeding. In fact *I* would make the dog earn every bit of food it eats (see #2).
4. I use a variety of treats.. usually a DIFFERENT brand of premium kibble for low value treats or a premium brand of catfood and tiny miniscule bits of leftovers or cheese or apple for higher value treats.
I do NOT buy doggie treats… partially because I’m frugal.. partially because MOST of them are just not very good for dogs.
I use small bits of string cheese. Not messy and dogs usually love it.
Get a seperate bag of soft treats in liver, chicken, beef, salmon and lamb or turkey flavors. find out which one he likes and continue to train with it.
Dehydrated beef livers. Its like doggie crack!
I use Cheerio on my Yorkie, work very well. And it is healthy and not expensive.
The best treat? Praise from you.
Next best: Charlee Bear Dog Treats with Liver all natural–3 calories per treat. They are really small, a little bigger than an ‘M&M’. (and real handy to stuff in your pocket just in case you are working on off-leash training or outside training and need an extra bit of incentive to make you appear more desirable than that squirrel they’re chomping at the bit to go after…..)
Might help you further to know I worked with a shih tzu who, at 5, decided he would NOT go potty unless he got a walk first….I usually don’t use treats— but being the stubborn, independent breed that they are…had to resort to them in this case. He loved them (except the ones w/cheese, gave him the runs).
I really love these dogs, their facial expressions seem to look like they have the ‘wisdom of the ages’ within them. Sometimes called him ‘Buddha Dog’…It’s that or when you want them to come to you for a belly rub, they calmly look at you as though to say, “EXCUSE YOU? YOU want ME to come all the way over THERE? Are you SERIOUS? That would simply take too much of my time, I am quite comfortable staring at you here. How about YOU come to ME? In the end, I could really care less anyway….” Oh, well, enjoy him. He will never be boring, I can assure you of that! Woof.