What to give an 8week old puppy as treats?

niceshoes_2

Hi Everyone

We are due to bring home an 8 week old puppy tomorrow

I've been reading up for weeks on training methods and housetraining tips etc but it occured to me today in the pet shop that all of the puppy treats in the pet shop said that the treats should only be given to puppies of 4months or more. The shop worker said this too, but did say that puppies as young as 8 weeks, could have dog chocolate drops?

My question is what sort of treats can he be given at this early age to encourage his potty training and re enforce positive behaviour and is he too young to start "gentle" training?

I assumed he could have all the normal treats the books specifiy, ie, chicken liver pieces, beef, cheese etc from 8weeks onwards? At what age can he have these sorts of treats?

Thanks In advance

borderlakland

when we took our (now 11 month old)pup to classes the trainer advised us to weigh out her dry complete food and use half for training and half for feeding. this worked v well for her and us you can put a few bits in your pocket when out etc and know you are not over feeding them.we did use odd treats but mainly stuck to what trainer said

Justie

as border says use the dry food as treats - with a young puppy you want to begin to introduce the idea of what treats mean not just give treats with a value in themselves. Also always use a sound reward too to go with the treat - a good upbeat good boy/girl (and some fuss) so that you're associating the verbal signal with the treat. This makes it easier if you happen to be treatless and eventually hopefully will mean you need to use less treats and just use your voice.

lil_me

Would agree with using the dry food from daily amount for treats, aswell as the using affection aswell, they usually appreciate that the most.

Shambler

Yes, definitely just use part of its daily allowance of dry food, that way you know you aren't overfeeding.

I would never give a dog anything with sugar in, try to stick to dry biscuity things...he will thank you with fresh breath and a healthy set of gnashers into old age

Also look into clicker training, its a really effective method and stops the dog getting 'treat addiction'.

Glad to see you are going to train your dog, it makes both of you much happier :cool:

niceshoes_2

Thanks everyone. We've been using small pieces of chocolate drops - really tiny tiny tiny pieces, so he's not having too much and some dry treats that the breeder had given us. He seems to be doing really well so far.

He's got the hang of sit already and he's getting the hang of "come"

One more question if you don't mind me asking, but yesterday he was fantastic, played, slept, did his jobs, played, slept, did jobs etc and there was very little whining apart from when he was in the car when we picked him up.

He went to sleep last night at 12 and he didn't wake until 7 this morning. He's been fed, played with and done his business, but he is very whiney (?) this morning. Yesterday he seemed quite happy and content but if I try to leave him in his safe area he starts to cry. I don't want to re enforce his whining but how can I discourage him to stop as the OH is in bed sleeping, and won't be too amused if he's woken up by the pup!

borderlakland

what we were told was similar to babies make sure he has everything he needs,done all he needs to do then leave hime for a short while, when he is quiet for a few mins go back and make a fuss of him,they very quickly learn(quicker than kids:p )that making a fuss gets him nowhere/being good gets him attention.we also did this with ours who went nuts as soon as we walked in the door we ignored her till she sat quietly then made huge fuss of her.our trainer showed us this with another pup in class she picked it up after bout 5 mins.it may seem cruel and hard but it does work.if you go to him all the time he his whinning he will learn to do it for attention(hope that makes sense)

niceshoes_2

Thanks borderlakland - that makes perfect sense, its just so hard to ignore the whining. I think because I don't know his toilet habits yet, that I am ultra sensitive to any whining whatsoever, as I don't want him to have an toilet accident. I've read the books, it just seems so hard to put it into practice, and I so desperately want a well trained and obedient dog!

Have just cut tiny tiny pieces of cooked chicken up for him, and am planning to use these "special" treats when he does his toilet jobs where they should be.

I

x_raphael_xx

niceshoes wrote: »

Yesterday he seemed quite happy and content but if I try to leave him in his safe area he starts to cry. I don't want to re enforce his whining but how can I discourage him to stop as the OH is in bed sleeping, and won't be too amused if he's woken up by the pup!

Unfortunatly the best way to cure this is to leave them cry! Its annoying at first but he will learn quickly. If you go to comfort him he learns that if he keeps on whining you will eventually go to him.

My puppy learnt it in a couple of weeks. I took her to the kitchen and told her to 'guard the house' (shes a dobi) and just walked out. Now when I go to work I tell her to guard the house and she just settles into her basket.
She knows Im leaving but I will be back.

ponsuk

small cubes of cheese, thinly sliced bits of frankfurter or something like Feelwells Probiotic puppy treats, suitable from 6 weeks of age, get them at https://www.puppyluvsme.co.uk

spankymonkey_2

best thing i have found which i had for our 2 pups is puppy mixer. winalot etc, you get loads in a bag and small enough for them just to get a taste!