Friday, January 7, 2011

Treats

Dog Blog Post #195: My original plan was a brief post, showing what I've been doing for treats now that Zachary is hard-core dieting. And so here's a picture I took over the holidays to illustrate that very point. (Usual disclaimer: These are the treats I actually use, and I'm not getting anything from anyone for showing them.)

The problem is, the treats are fairly large - see square on upper left of napkin.

Ok... fine. Click on image to make it big enough to see, and then see square in upper left of napkin. I'm not sure how many calories are in it, but I'm sure it's way to many to use for clicker training, even if Zachary were skinny. Which he most definitely is not!

And so I cut the square into thirds, and those thirds in half, and those halves in half, until I get 12 little bitty treats. Oddly enough, he doesn't seem to notice the miniscule size at all!

And that's it. That's all I was going to say.

Except tonight, as I was cutting up treats yet again, I happen to see the "cookie jar" sitting on the counter (behind the kitchen table) and I started to wonder just how many cookie containers I had.

And so I started counting:

1. The "Come Inside" cookies, on the kitchen counter

2. The "We're Leaving" cookies, by the front door.

3. The "Sofa Cookies", where I take many of those "dark background" shots

4. The "Night-night Cookies", by the bed
5. Training Treats + Puppy Cookies, back in the kitchen
6. Mother Hubbard's Cupboard...
7. Vanilla Yogurt KONG, in the freezer

8. Kibble Containers, in the garage

... and my son said, "And you wonder why Zachary is fat?!"

(Obligatory Dog Photo, and a hint at what else needs teaching...)

3 comments:

houndstooth said...

Well, I feel like a total slacker now! We have one treat jar and one storage jar for Greenies. Our dogs get one treat at night before bed after turnout, and training treats if we're working. I cannot let them see this post!

Sage said...

That started me thinking about our treat containers and it seems they are pretty unorganized......

kathi said...

I face a similar problem with a dog that puts on weight way too easily. I also break up WellBites into teeny tiny pieces, and I took pictures too :) http://rottweilers.brilliant-disguise.net/2010/08/04/rewards-favorite-commercial-dog-training-treats/ They are 12 calories apiece, by the way!