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The Trouble With Training Treats: Positive Pet Training Week TreatToob Review

5/4/2015

17 Comments

 
Typist: Bethany
My dogs are weird. But in all fairness, I am too. Between the dogs being picky about training treats and my disgust at having my hands covered in dog food, it is ridiculously difficult for both positive reinforcement trainer and trainee to treat and be treated effectively. I also have some sort of issue with every one of the dozen or so training treat pouches I have tried. Too many pouches are bulky, uncomfortable, spill when the dogs and I are active or are too difficult to quickly get treats from. Then there's my weird dogs turning their nose up at a treat they may have considered a high value or jackpot reward just days before. So the training treat struggle of my odd issues coupled with crazy dogs goes. My search for training treats that work for all of us seems never ending.

Harlequin blue merle rough collie Huxley licks pureed pumpkin from a TreatToob during a positive reinforcement training session
Huxley being rewarded with a lick of a TreatToob
Last year I thought I had finally found a portable, easy to distribute treat that all three dogs liked and that I could feed without a need to wash my hands seconds later but the treat began to grow mold. Allowing the dogs to lick from a small jar of baby food was another training treat it seemed all three dogs and I could agree on until recently when the organic baby food company we purchased from stopped making our favorite dog friendly flavors. Should the most difficult thing about training my dogs really be finding appropriate treats? Last month, I purchased and tried TreatToob™ which resulted in squirting pumpkin puree all over the dogs and the ground at a Seattle area park. Unwilling to give up on my purchase, I left the TreatToob on the counter in hopes of changing the cap to not need as much pressure to dispense food. Overnight, TreatToob fell victim to orally fixated Amelia. That cat loves to chew on anything rubber or silicone. Fortunately, this months Positive Reinforcement Pet Training review post was looming so I ordered another TreatToob in hopes of finding a way to make the treat dispenser work for us.
Paww TreatToob package front
Paww TreatToob package back
Paww TreatToob filled with pumpkin puree
TreatToob filled with a Cascadian Nomads canines favorite.
The second TreatToob I tried worked wonderfully. With gentle pressure, the pumpkin puree came out slowly and evenly. Maybe it was my determination to find a way to like TreatToob or that I had worked a little on getting the dogs over the fear of the treat dispenser that started when pumpkin squirted all over them but my guess is that the makers of TreatToob, Paww, has less than reliable quality control. Whatever the reason our second TreatToob seems to work so much better, the dogs and I are both very pleased. Pumpkin has been a treat that all three dogs have consistently liked to the ability to bring it anywhere as a reward will make a huge positive reinforcement training difference for us all. I carry a clicker everywhere but without the ability to always tote treats, I rarely click outside of formal training sessions. Both trainer and trainee will have more fun enjoying spontaneous training while we're out and about.
If I can manage to keep the cat from chewing a mass of holes into the food grade silicone of my new TreatToob, it is my hope that the dogs and I will have our treat training troubles solved for many years to come. I look forward to easily changing what treat the TreatToob contains according to the passing food whims of Wilhelm, Brychwyn and Huxley. Enjoying a long training session without a hand coated in training treat residue is going to do wonders for my bonding time with the dogs. And best of all, the dogs and I can each continue to be our weird, quirky selves while having training treats wherever we roam.
Black and tan dapple miniature long haired dachshund Wilhelm licks pureed pumpkin from a TreatToob during a positive reinforcement training session
Blue merle cardigan welsh corgi Brychwyn licks pureed pumpkin from a TreatToob during a positive reinforcement training session
Cascadian Nomads was not asked to or paid to promote any businesses or organizations mentioned and linked in this post. We paid for all mentioned and linked products ourselves and we are in no way compensated for clicking on the posts links we've provided. We're just sharing information or stuff we like!
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Welcome to Positive Reinforcement Pet Training Week which begins on the first Monday of each month and runs all week long. The May theme is reviews and on the list below bloggers share posts with reviews of dog, cat or other animal training books, DVDs, tools, etc. Any positive reinforcement training themed posts are invited to join this and every month. Positive Pet Training Week in June is the 1st through the 7th and the theme will be training multiple pets. The weeks hosts, Cascadian Nomads, Rubicon Days & Tenacious Little Terrier, look forward to having anyone in the positive pet training community, bloggers, readers and followers, join us every month sharing stories and comments about the joy of positive training with pets of all kinds.
17 Comments
Emma link
5/3/2015 08:36:43 pm

LOL! Bert would kill one of those tubes in no time too! CATS! We have tried something similar, but it didn't seem to work for very long with us. With her hands full of leashes, we generally only get treats if we are at home, but it would be a nice idea to be able to put your own stuff in the tube. Maybe we would like it better that way if the cat didn't get it first.

Reply
Lara Elizabeth link
5/4/2015 02:30:31 am

I considered reviewing the Treat Toob, too! I have had some trouble with the natural peanut butter being too thick and popping the whole top off, but overall I think it's a great tool. I use it for clipping Ruby's nails, and she knows what it means when I say it's time for "Peanut Butter Paws."

Reply
Connie Marie
5/4/2015 02:49:07 am

I too have a cat, my Boo Boo, he chews silicone, bread bags, treat bags, straws. I only wish my 3 cats liked pumpkin! My Mom is a very successful dog trainer, she uses puppy biscuits, they are less than an inch long, as her treat rewards. She can only find them at Tractor Supply Company, they have a website, but I don't know if there are any stores outside Iowa. She carries them in her pockets, when I had my last Aussie, he loved them. No mess too! He was a Red Merle with a blue and brown eye. When I lost him to liver failure, I couldn't seem to get another dog. Can't have them in my apt anyway. I had already gotten involved with cats, my Felix, gives me kisses and fetches, brings it back and drops his ball in my hand! He's kinda of a dog like personality, a rescue, my saving grace, so to speak. His picture is my Google + photo. Boo Boo is there too.
Thanks for listening.

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weliveinaflat link
5/4/2015 03:44:24 am

Interesting product! I would not have bought the same product a second time if it didn't work for me the first, but glad it worked for you the second time round. You definitely described all the problems I have with treating for positive reinforcement. I know too well the spilt treats from the treat bag, etc, etc. I'm also constantly wondering if Donna is getting a balanced diet if I cut down on her food to balance out the treats she gets. That is until I read through more than 3/4 of the book Dog Food Logic, then it hit me why the author kept talking about Food Treats. Of course, she meant to use the dog's regular food as treats. Doesn't mean the issue is solved. I still need to find a high value food for outdoors training, if I don't want to lug her canned food around. Until then it's the boiled meat cut into bits.

Reply
Daisy The French Bulldog link
5/4/2015 03:56:48 am

What a neat product! The dogs in my pack inhale anything - edible or not - but this looks like a good treat to "change things up".

Reply
Alaskan Klee Kai link
5/8/2015 06:33:50 pm

This is such an interesting product! Definitely a great way to change things up...besides pumpkin, what else can you try?

Reply
Bethany
5/9/2015 02:40:44 pm

It sounds like a lot of people put peanut butter in their TreatToob but my dogs don't like peanut butter (as I stated in the post, they are weird.) I am definitely going to try some pureed canned food and maybe some kind of patee.

Oz the Terrier link
5/4/2015 05:36:48 am

I have never heard of this TreatToob before. It does sound like it would be extremely helpful (if made consistently) in dispensing treats without getting treat smell all over your hands! We may have to look into this. Thank you for letting us know about it.
Oz

Reply
Tenacious Little Terrier link
5/4/2015 06:10:56 am

I've been looking at those. Glad you liked it. Mr. N gets treat fatigue and I have to rotate because he decides he doesn't like something.

Reply
KB link
5/4/2015 10:41:12 am

What a cool device. I have similar woes with treats and with treat pouches (don't get me started on the pouches!). But that tube looks cool. I might give that a try.

Reply
Jen Gabbard link
5/4/2015 10:26:11 pm

That tube is genius because like you I'm always fumbling around with treats - especially if I'm trying to use a clicker. There just aren't enough hands and while a pouch is wonderful it doesn't add to my dexterity - I'm just a fumbler. And knowing how much Laika loves pumpkin I know this would work well for us but I never thought of using a tube to make it super easy to carry around. The best things in life are the convenient things that make life easier, or in my mind make dog training easier.

Reply
Jan K link
5/5/2015 01:03:02 am

I've never tried anything like that, but I can sure see Luke and even the girls especially loving it with pumpkin. We might give it a try!

Reply
Kari link
5/5/2015 07:33:03 am

I needed this review! For all my bragging about my string cheese technique, I've started to worry that a dairy sensitivity is making Leo's eyes goopier. I've considered a treat toob, but I think there will be a learning curve.

Reply
Sarah Ferguson link
5/6/2015 04:39:25 am

I've never seen anything like this, but it looks great (I'm not a fan of having the treats in my hands, either). And I am sure Choppy would love it (in part because she likes anything that results in her getting something to eat).

Reply
DZ Dog link
5/6/2015 06:23:00 am

Thank you for posting this! I've always wondered!

Reply
Alaskan Klee Kai link
5/8/2015 06:40:08 pm

Whoops, sorry! I got too excited about the blog hop without reading fully the rules first! I submitted without writing a post. It will be a work in progress, but you can remove me if you can! Sorry about this!

Reply
Bethany
5/9/2015 02:37:52 pm

I did remove your link but you have until midnight Sunday (PT) to add a post. We'd love to have you in the hop if not this month then maybe on June 1st. My dad has four Alaskan Klee Kais! They are SUCH smart dogs and have caused him to get very into training. Three of them now have agility titles and the fourth will begin competing this summer.

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