Training with treats while keeping our dogs at a healthy weight
Original Post Feb 1, 2021
Dear Dog Lovers,
As a positive reinforcement dog trainer I am often asked about the number of treats we are using to train. People are shocked that I keep the food flowing for much of the training hour. For some reason it’s hard for us to grasp that we can feed our dogs much of the day in smart ways to shape and reinforce behaviors we like and need from them. And for the most part, the “treats” we give are dogs are nothing like Twinkies are for us. They are usually fairly nutritious and while not a complete meal are more like a healthy snack than a treat. For dogs we usually explain that meat and cheese are the most valuable to them, and we have a lot of choices in those categories.
Imagine my dilemma when my current Galgo, a sighthound from Spain, was getting a clear layer of chub on his skinny frame. For sighthounds in particular, being thin is a health benefit. They are made to be lean and fast. And so for the first time in my training and dog guardian career, I took a look at calories. Before I explain what I found I want to emphasize that if your dog is not overweight now, you don’t need to change what you are doing. If you want to increase the number of treats or snacks you can use to train your dog, or if your dog is overweight, there is likely some great information here for you.
What I learned:
Food bags over estimate the number of “cups” your dog should eat for their weight. For a better count, see this chart and use the highest number of calories for maintaining a healthy weight: https://petobesityprevention.org/pet-caloric-needs
Although some tiny treats are only a few calories a treat, be sure to measure out how many fit into a ¼ of a cup. This was a huge eye opener for me. For example the peanut butter Zukes are three calories a treat, but 50 treats fit into a quarter cup. That means 150 calories per ¼ cup compared to my dog’s 93 calories per ¼ cup of kibble.
While a bit pricey, I was thrilled to calculate what one third of a pre-packaged stack of turkey cold cuts contains: 50 calories! I rarely use this many during walks and it’s my dog’s favorite treat.
If your dog will work on food puzzle toys, training games and basic relaxation techniques with kibble, you can reduce the meals you give in a bowl to half or a quarter of the size and use that kibble for training or enrichment. Some guardians ditch the bowl all together!
If your dog is anxious, scared or triggered by things, you can use lean meats and get a lot of mileage out of high value food.
Other light calorie options are things like carrots, apples, broccoli and cauliflower. These should be used for basic manners training, not for fear or anxiety and behavior modification.
On a final note, puppies under 6 months of age are growing like crazy and need more calories to fuel that growth than adult dogs do. For that reason it is very hard to make a puppy overweight! This means that all the training and socialization that we need to use treats for in those early months are burned quickly, so I urge you to put weight gain out of your mind and work on your dog’s emotional and psychological well being while they are growing! And for your adult dog now you have some information on how to find a happy balance in training and physical health.
As always, happy training!
- Alison Buehler, CPDT-KA
