Treats For a Sensitive Tummy
 He seems to have a somewhat sensitive tummy. Not sure if it's something that will get better as he gets older, or if he's just a sensitive guy. We have tried on several occasions to give him a Kong with a small (pea size) smear of peanut butter, which he absolutely loves. Each time, we are guaranteed one very loose bowel movement the next day.  Yesterday, I tried the Kong spread for puppies. It's supposed to be easier on their tummies. I suppose we will find out today.  We started puppy kindergarten this week. We were told we didn't need to bring treats, so I did as told.  I love the trainer, she is great with the dogs and the owners (and all the kids that came too).  She handed out treats for us to use during the class that night. Sam loved them and did great  , but, although she bragged that none of the treats she used had any sugar (no hyped up puppies in class), I think they must have had a high salt content.  Sam attacked his water bowl as soon as we came in the door, drained it, then proceeded to try and dig - presumably digging a well - until I could refill it. So much for sleeping all night. The poor guy got up every two hours to empty and refill, he was so parched, he was licking the dew off the grass! We found out (after one of the kids spilled their breakfast) that he loves plain Cheerios. I have been using those at home as treats, but the trainer said it's good to mix up the treats they get so they stay interested. I found a pack of Science Diet treats specifically for puppies that he likes and, so far, seem to be well tolerated. Should I just stick with these and the Cheerios, or is there something better that I may not have found yet? Any suggestions for treats I can use that won't upset his tummy too much - either for training or in/on the Kong? |
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I am probably not the best person to weigh in on this since I have a terrible diet and I feed Harry all kinds of crappy table food.  However, here is what we have been experiencing. Bert is 14 weeks and I have been giving him the Kong as well as some soft treats for training. His stools tend to be formed but soft. And his first stool of a poop is always the firmest and they get progressively softer. Sometimes he will take a second poop right after the first and that is always a mess. That has been his basic pattern since we brought him home four weeks ago. He never seems to get any looser it is just the described pattern over and over again. I do think puppies generally have softer stools and Bert's stools seem to be maturing along with him. They are getting more firm with each week and that includes us messing with food ratios as we are transitioning him over to our food from what the breeder provided us with. |
SheepieMommy wrote: Sometimes he will take a second poop right after the first and that is always a mess. This perfectly describes what we see when he has peanut butter. But that's the only time. Every other time it is well formed. |
| For treats I always recommend using their kibble or hard cheddar cheese. That way no tummy upsets on a pups immature digestive system. |
| Great! Thanks Amber! |
| Amber beat me to it, yes, for young pups, stick with their kibble for treats. PB is too oily for their tender tummies. At best you can swipe it on the kong and then wipe it off leaving the scent behind, same thing with tuna oil. Dear departed friend trained his OES on Cheerios. Think mild for young pups. Remember, the "last of the train" has spent the least amount of time drying out waiting to be passed. If they start firm and end soft, nothing to worry about except for the dingles on the hair afterward. Start soft and get softer, yeah, there's a problem. |
| Ditto on using the kibble. When we started Benson in obedience, we picked up her food dish and used it for training treats. We work from home, so we were able to treat/feed her all day long. If you have to leave Sam for work, give him his regular morning feeding, and then hold onto his evening kibble (or at least, most of it) for training. Good luck! http://bensonthedog.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/something-funny-going-on/ |
| I think the water drinking is a stress thing. My dogs do that when they come home from the groomer - and there were no treats there. The peanut butter always gave my dogs the runs. I think its Old Mother Hubbard that sells puppy treats that are little dry like squars you can break in half for training. They come in a small bag and are labeled Puppy Treats. Although my dogs are almost 7 and almost 5 years old, I still use them. They never got tired of them! |
| Cheese gets my vote for a safe treat. We don't routinely use treats for training...but if you want to use something, it is a pretty safe bet. Their food works, but I usually avoid hard treats. When we are doing stuff with treats, it's usually on the fly - and dry treats (even a bit of kibble) just takes too long. And they tend to cough or choke if you use it as you are moving and they don't chew it. Really you only need a speck of a treat - I use a tiny soft treat and still pinch off tiny bits as a reward. |
| For something a little more treat like you can grind the kibble and use it for flour. Add a bit of cheese and some liquid to moisten, bake until it's as hard as you want it. |
bestdogs wrote: For something a little more treat like you can grind the kibble and use it for flour. Add a bit of cheese and some liquid to moisten, bake until it's as hard as you want it. That is a fantastic idea Holly....I think I will try that for my guys |
Blueshire wrote: bestdogs wrote: For something a little more treat like you can grind the kibble and use it for flour. Add a bit of cheese and some liquid to moisten, bake until it's as hard as you want it. That is a fantastic idea Holly....I think I will try that for my guys I really like this idea as I do not like to buy treats because of all the recalls--you just never know and I don't want to take a chance. Only exception that I have made--Kim (Mady) gave us a bag of Purina Pro Plan biscuits when we attended Sheepie Shindig, and my boys love them. They actually are the same as their food just formed in a biscuit so a little more of a treat. My Pet store did not carry them but they ordered them for me. When we were in puppy kindergarten the trainer recommended string cheese if we were going to treat--and just tiny tiny little pinches so one little stick lasted a long time. I use the white kind and the cheese never upset his tummy. She also explained exactly what Dawn said about the coughing and choking so she did not like to treat much--more praise. I also like that the string cheese doesn't go bad quickly. Since then I have only used very tiny amounts of cheese to treat during training--he only gets it as a 'training treat' never any other time, so that keeps it a rather 'high value' treat in his book--  |
| I have found using a few of their kibble as a treat (I did this at night when I put them to bed) didn't change the consistency of their bowel movement but it did cause them to have to do so in a shorter time span than when I used a dog biscuit. I found a brand called L.I.T which is a line by Dick Van Patten. Smaller, thinner, flatter biscuits (easier for puppy teeth to chew) which works well. They come in several different flavors which would mean some of the ingredients would be different but the L.I.T. Stands for "limited ingredient treats". I use the Lamb & Rice formula just because my dogs in the past have always done well on Lamb & Rice. The pups are on ProPlan Sensitive Skin & Stomach (salmon base) as their regualr food. And I use ZACK'S salmon treats for housebreaking training rewards. They are softer & smaller & one of thoe TDF treats in my dogs' eyes. I have noticed as they are getting older their stool is getting much firmer all the time. Rule of thumb is the longer the food is in the tummy the firmer the stool. |
| How about some dry toasted bread, cut into crunchy small cubes |
| I've used dry kitten food for the pups. It is small enough to given them a taste, but not take too long to eat. And they love it. |
| I have found through "trial + error" that Sprocket is best having fish type treats for training etc-usualy have some in a pocket all the time-just have to remember to remove before clothes go in the wash!! Was using his kibble as a training treat but wasn't good enough "value" and then found fish treats work wonders and no nasty tum problems.x |
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