Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum
Kibble vs Treats
Hi.
I'm getting my first puppy (ever) in a week. (And it's a mini Chocolate Aussie Doodle.) So I've been preparing for her arrival by reading about training, housebreaking, etc. I want to be thoroughly prepared and organized by the time she comes home.
One of the books recommended to me was "Before & After Getting Your Puppy" by Dr. Ian Dunbar. In it, he recommends using the puppy's daily ration of kibble as training-treats (instead of feeding her rations as "meals" and using other stuff for treats).
As I've read, one of the keys to housebreaking is anticipating a puppy's need to eliminate roughly 15-30 minutes after eating her meal ... so if her daily ration of kibble is either fed one piece at a time during training sessions and/or stuffed into Kongs for chewing-training, how can I time her need to eliminate? Naturally, I can watch her behavior and after getting to know her a little I'll be able to sense when she's ready ... but will this method cause the timing of her need to eliminate to be completely unpredictable?
Has anyone else tried Dr. Dunbar's kibble-as-treats training method?
Thanks in advance for any thoughts.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Karen & Jackdoodle on -
At what age was Rosco fully housebroken? My last puppy was 100% before she was 3 months old.
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Permalink Reply by Nancy, Ned, and Clancy on -
Kong as a bowl! That sounds like a good way to feed a chow hound type dood.
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Permalink Reply by Shannon and Finn on -
Funny, I was reading a blog earlier where the person used this method of feeding her service pup. She primarily fed raw so digestion was slower and only occasionally fed a traditional bowl meal. Seems interesting although don't know that I would be so organized on the feeding. Depends on your goal I suppose
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Permalink Reply by Karen & Jackdoodle on
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Digestion is supposedly faster with raw feeding than with kibble.
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Permalink Reply by Jane, Guinness and Murphy on -
I would hold back some of the kibble to use as rewards, but I would definitely get him used to eating from a bowl at specific times. I do think this gets the puppy on a feeding routine which helps with housebreaking. As for the first day home, there are a few things I always did. First before we brought the puppy home we "puppy proofed the house" so that there was nothing around that could be dangerous. I'd get s few puppy chew toys and get the crate set up. Don't forget an ID tag with your contact info. When I first bring a puppy home, we go right to their potty spot first...before going inside. When we go in, I let him explore a little but kept things calm and low-key that first day. I waited a couple hours until they were comfortable before feeding. Good luck...this is such an exciting time. There are lots of great puppy books and videos out there, but also listen to your "gut". You'll get to know your puppy and what's best for him.
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Permalink Reply by Karen & Jackdoodle on
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Also, first day home, no visitors if possible.
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Permalink Reply by Diane on -
Congratulations on your newest arrival.
Interesting to use treats to potty train bribe. Sounds like reading through the comments that there is controversy around Dr. Dunbar's training methods. There is probably that around just about every training method. Personally I don't believe in using treats for training and luckily neither does Hurley's trainer. Hurley does get treats just about daily now but not as part of any training and his treats are pieces of apples, broccoli, avocado, etc. I don't buy the processed or pre-made treats.
We used a bell on the door he is to go out to do his business. We took him to it every 1/2 hour, then to hour, etc. showed him how to ring it saying 'potty' in an excited voice and then took him out to go. Hurley's in house accidents, which were few, were when we were not paying any attention to his warning signs that he needed to go out. He quickly learned the bell ringing and to this day he uses it. That is what worked for us.
He slept though the night pretty much from the start but we made sure to take him out just before we went to bed and about 6 hours later gradually extending that time to when he would tell us he needed to go out. He was sleeping up to 8 hours at night by the time he was 4 months old, or younger, and sometimes 9-10 hours before needing to go out.
Keep us up on how your little one is doing. She will be a loving companion.
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Permalink Reply by J&J on -
Admiral is our 19wk old goldendoodle! We used portions of Admiral's kibble as training "treats" mainly because he really liked it and we wanted him to have more food than treats so he wouldn't be a fatty. Also we used the kong (and upgraded to a soccer ball toy that dispenses food) which we use occasionally with the food that he might not finish from his bowl. The kong concept was actually recommended by our vet when we realized Admiral was eating too fast. It slows him down, works his brain, and is fun for him. As for house breaking him, regardless of what we did, we took him out every hour for the first month or so because even though we took him out after every meal, he usually didn't have to go right away. We found that a meal followed by some supervised self-playtime and THEN a potty break worked best. Also, you'll find that after every nap time (because puppies nap a lot!!!) your pup will most likely have to go potty. :) good luck!!! I love puppy time :)
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