Food is Love, So is Healthy Weight Management
As an R+ (positive reinforcement) trainer, I use food as the primary reinforcer for the behavior I’m teaching my food-motivated canine clients. Food is often the most powerful tool we have to communicate that we like a particular behavior. Some dogs, while rare, prefer other reinforcers like playing fetch. When I work with my clients I always talk about healthy weight management because we are using food as a reward for their dog’s learning.
Depending on the behavior and the dog, we may be feeding the dog quite a bit of calories when training. My general guideline is to reduce the quantity of the dog’s meal by half, whether it’s one meal a day or two or more. My clients often measure out the cup or weight of the food, which becomes a rough estimate of calories. Sometimes it’s more important to actually count the calories if my client’s pup looks a little or very overweight. By “looks,” I do mean I am visually gauging the dog’s weight.
Chart is from a great article on how to determine your dog’s healthy body weight. Click the image to learn more.
If my client’s pup looks under or overweight, I also always recommend they talk to their veterinarians about what their pup’s healthy weight should be. That gives them a target to work towards when adjusting their pup’s calorie intake. Then we can make adjustments to the type and quantity of treats we’re using for training.
You can always save half for your own meals!
Not all treats are created equal in terms of calories or nutritional value. I prefer using the highest value treat possible for each dog while also balancing health. My go-to training treat is roasted turkey breast from Costco. Why? Turkey is:
less common as a potential food allergen
a healthier substitute for chicken, which is a common food allergen, with less fat and same protein content
tasty and low calorie - about 1/4 cup of turkey is equal to 67 calories
high value. It usually gets the dog’s attention immediately.
Additionally, the Costco turkey is already roasted and does not have any preservatives other than salt and no seasonings like garlic or onion, which we want to avoid for dogs. It is easy and economical - a 5lb package of already roasted turkey breast from Costco is about $5/lb - so $25 for a lot of food for you and your pup! I end up cutting the entire breast into tiny pieces and pre-packaging a quarter cup’s worth into ziplock bags. I immediately freeze all the bags so the turkey lasts me months. The day before, I pull a bag out for each client’s dog I’ll be training and let it thaw overnight in the fridge. It is not listed on the general Costco website but if you use InstaCart, you can find it as a same day deliverable item. Or you can go in person to buy it.
Also some foods to avoid feeding our pups…
Whatever treat my clients use, I tell them the size of the treat should be no bigger than the tip of their pinky. The smaller, the better. We’re not trying to feed an entire meal to the dog in one training session. We’re using the treats to give them a mini-payment for learning a new skill. A quick taste of something good to let them know they’re on the right track and making progress. A little something to keep them interested in continuing to engage in training and learn. If the treats are bigger, the dog may fill up faster - especially smaller doggos - and/or get tired of that particular treat. Every dog is their own individual. Some puppers love variety, others can work for the same treat all day long.
If you’re interested in learning more about pet nutrition, I highly recommend going into Big Woof Pet Supplies and Grooming in Lafayette. Dianne Krenzer, the Operations Manager, is a Certified Pet Nutritionist and always happy to talk about how to best boost your dog’s bowl with meals and treats in ways that are practical for your life and budget. She’s an amazing resource! Please let her know I referred you! Another resource I’ve blogged about is The Forever Dog.
But back to healthy weight management. In addition to using positive reinforcement methods to train my clients and their pooches, I want their pups to be healthy so they can learn and live their best lives with their humans. A healthier dog learns more quickly and readily because their brains have the fuel needed to train and retain the learning. A healthier dog is also likely to be more physically able to do what we request of them. On the other hand, malnourished, whether underweight or overweight, dogs aren’t as likely to be mentally alert or physically strong. Overweight pets have a much higher probability of diabetes and arthritis as they age, which can lead to lower quality of life and perhaps reduce their lifespan…. So let’s keep our pets learning and vibrant for a long time!
