I am in my second week with little foster Pug Kilo facing a few Fit Dog Challenges.
He is so cute, sweet and calm in the house except for twice a day when he gets the zoomies and likes to chase and chew his toys (or any stray fingers or dirty socks). He has quite a drive to chase and tug, but not to retrieve. He is very agile, and a great sprinter. Unfortunately our garden fence is not secure enough to hold him, plus he can get hot easily, so we mainly play off leash inside the house and practise come, sit, stay, drop, heel. He has really caught on to sit, and tries it randomly with a winning head tilt.
I’d love any suggestions for other games. He did not quite catch on to hide and seek yet.
Unfortunately he is still rather aggressive/insecure when out, so his freedom is very limited. He starts private classes on Tuesday. He can not do any activities with other dogs or strangers and requires constant supervision and training on manners, leash, basic obedience, potty etc. He is very food motivated and will do most things I ask for a treat. This means a lot of treats.
He is super fit and slim now, and I want to keep him that way, so I am looking at all different healthy treats and ways to make them go further. I save a bit of his meagre morning food ration and use the kibble as individual treats. Then he loves slightly cooked carrot sticks, banana and melon, so I cut up tiny pieces and dole them out for good behaviours.
Plus I tried a variation of Sugar’s banana ice cream recipe, as he loves a little natural yoghurt and really loves peanut butter- a big success. A Kong toy with a little peanut butter and banana is heaven if he needs to go relax in his crate. I am also using the Barnsdale Farm treats in tiny tiny pieces or Bullwrinkles as a delicious rare chew.
I would love any other great ideas for low fat healthy treats, like veggies or fruits. Happy Fit Dog Friday!
The trainer we have worked with recommends using Natural Balance food as training treats. The Natural Balance comes in a tube like a sausage and is soft so you can break of little pieces. It is kind of smelly so that helps too. Just don’t use to duck kind for training, it is too dry.
Thanks Mark- I’ll have to check that out.
Carrots!! We cut them into tiny pieces and our pups just go nuts for them. 🙂 Low calorie and healthy – so you won’t have to worry about giving him too many.
Yes thanks- he loves carrots (so my daughter and I). I just worry he might choke as he is very greedy, so I soften/cook them slightly and cut up small.
There are lots of games you can play in the house – it’s so important to keep them stimulated – maybe some treat games/toys will help.
Good idea. I have some treat toys but will look into more. So far he only really likes the red cone Kong one. Plus making a wobble board tomorrow and planning more games. Have a great weekend. Love this hop. XS
He’s such a cutie! I did lots of tricks training when Rocco was a puppy. The most fun was teaching him to wave, but the simple stuff kept him busy too. I took a small phone book and wrapped it in duct tape. Then I used the little platform to teach him front paw targeting (paws), rear paw targeting (feet) and all four paws on the platform (up, up). We also rotated around the platform with front paws on the book. We also played chase where I’d have him chase after me around the house. Have fun!
Fantastic ideas. I bought some great tricks books but have not really started things like that as needed the basics so badly – will start this weekend. Got some tips from behaviourist yesterday and amazing the difference today with some small adjustments on my part. He loves chase as he is my shadow. He is like a ninja and he loves getting on things and showing off on platforms or stairs so can’t wait to reward him for it and direct him better. Have a great weekend with Rocco. XS
It’s hard finding training treats for little dogs sometimes. And Mr. N generally refuses to eat fruits and vegetables. So we compromised on him running all the calories off and he gets the meaty training treats he likes lol.
If we’re doing a lot of training, I try to use air dried food (like Ziwipeak or Real Meat) for training treats because they are relatively high value and he gets a complete meal that way.
Thanks so much. Luckily Kilo loves anything including chewed or chopped carrots and fruit. But OMG did he love a tiny bit of left over plain chicken in tiny pieces tonight to try to get him to behave with guests so clearly meaty are the faves. He did so well with my friend – the Mom- but the tall Dad had their dog smell and was considered a threat at times- awkward. Not a great night for Kilo.
We modified the execution of Marquie’s peanut butter & banana treat recipe (http://lovedbyacollie.lifeseven.com/2014/02/04/peanut-butter-banana-training-treats/) by just rolling the dough into teeny tiny balls rather than cutting out perfectly shaped treats (I am not that patient!). We literally get 100s of treats out of this recipe. It takes forever to turn all the dough into little balls, but the treats last forever and you know exactly what’s in them and my pup goes CRAZY for them.
Yum- I think Kilo would LOVE these. Will make tomorrow. Thanks so much!! Xs