Since I switched over to a Solid Gold product both of my dogs have gained a little weight... One seems to always be skinny, so I'm not too worried (like I can control this with portion size until we get the right amount), but the other-- Mr. Couch Potato-- has gained quite a bit. I'm measuring this by feel, so I'm not sure exactly how much.

My question is, I've started feeding one meal a day by hand as rewards for training instead of additional treats to cut down. This is probably 1-1/2 to 2 cups worth of kibble. Is this too much to feed while they're "working"? I don't want to put stress on the digestive system. We're just doing sits, downs, stay, and place, nothing too energetic. I usually make it through half of the serving one piece at a time before they start to lose interest and I just give them the rest.

p.s. the Solid Gold Millennium is what we switched to and their coats look fantastic!! Plus the 'waste' is a lot smaller and firmer. This is definitely not a complaint on the food, just my ability to figure out how much, lol.

What kind of training? Obedience, what? With most training, a piece of hand-fed kibble for each reward would not pose any problem. JMO.

As for weight (a totally different issue), watch them. Look down at the dog. If you see any softening of the waistline hourglass, back off. If all the ribs are padded, back off. Or weigh them regularly.

BTW, treats can easily be real food (bits of cooked beef or chicken) mixed in there to keep interest high. If it's real food, then there's no need to worry about "extra treats."

I never use rewards that I can't count as food. LB carries many training-size treats that are mainly meat, and bits of cooked people leftovers (cooked smells good and doesn't make for a PITA to handle) mixed in are great contributors to that slot machine mentality -- a good thing.

Thanks Connie!

Really I just mean basic obedience. Some stuff they already know; just making them do something for their meals.

We're about due for an annual exam at the vet, so I'll know how much the one dog has gained. the "hourglass" is definitely softened. He's so fluffy and I wasn't paying close enough attention.

I'm using the zuke's mini-naturals in addition to the Millennium, and they get scraps when I have them (especially from grilled meat). Mostly I just wanted to make sure feeding a whole meal wasn't going to be too much because they seem to get so excited.

Example- I am trying to teach the 'place' to one dog as between my feet lying down. He gets so excited that on the living room wood floors he comes at a run and slides a good foot or two diving into the down, lol. He definitely seems to be having a good time

Thanks again!

Before the exam Veeda was only fed in training for at least two weeks. I fed her her normal amount of food partly on the track and partly in obedience. We did the jumping in the first parts of the training so she was not full and the tracking was usually after the obedience (or in the morning way before OB). Her normal fod in delicious enough to be motivating and we used something better for that extra umh when needed. I can´t see how that could be bad for her...

If you are using small amounts of kibble in training I see no worry.
I think my dog gets lots of exercise in the evening and I make sure I feed her extra calories if she does extra work/exercise.
I used to feed Solid Gold and she got way... skinny. So, I don't think it had enough of the right thing in it, maybe persay for her general lifestyle.
Hope that makes sense.
She worked really hard this summer, she looked like a muscular, no fat, no stomach dog. And she does eat. Believe me. Just wish I could have slimmed down like that.lol

Jaana,
Will you please cut down the size of your sig picture?

It really stretches out the screen.
Randy

 Quote: randy allen

Jaana,
Will you please cut down the size of your sig picture?

It really stretches out the screen.
Randy

I sent her a PM about it on 11/20 but it hasn't been read yet.

I agree..... the threads with those wide sig pics are a real pain to read, scrolling scrolling scrolling.