I've been giving all wheat-free treats with minimal ingredients - freeze dried liver, jerky (bison, salmon, turkey), sometimes apple pieces.

I give about 2 cups a day TOTAL for positive reinforcement during training.... (and kibble is reduced ) trying to minimize the treats but there's a lot to learn!

My question is will this cause a nutritional imbalance and can you suggest a treat that will provide more balance? Not sure the dog will go for regular kibble but I will try............

As long as a commercial diet makes up at least 80 % of the dogs diet there should be no deficiencies from feeding the extras ...in fact many holistic ideas about nutrition believe in variety of healthy treats... 2 cups of treats sounds like a lot..but because they are meat they are better than Milk bones.. The only thing missing is the Vitamins and minerals that balance out a diet....

EVO treats are my favorite, but Satch gets only four or five a day.. They are tiny.

Yeah, I know 2 cups sounds like an awful lot... I have a small baggie with me on walks and didn't realize how much it was all amounting to... until I added it up.......

Mind you, they treat even more than I do at his obedience classes...

I'm going to aim for extras totalling 20% MAX like you suggest... :o:

Thanks

As long as a commercial diet makes up at least 80 % of the dogs diet there should be no deficiencies from feeding the extras

Thanks uplander for that info. I've often wondered about the %, because I sometimes add a portion of canned food (without the added vitamins) and have wondered if I'm shortchanging the dogs on what they need.

I use their kibble for training. My two are just as motivated. I save treats for special occasions.

You also dont want to over treat during training, IMHO its much better the pup work for your approval not food (which anyone can give him). Food is a great motivator and is useful as part of your training program but i suggest not 100%.