Cutting down food/increasing treats

[sophieleah]

I have a 2 year old jrt x bichon.

I've always fed him one tin of dog food a day (i've been advised that i should mix dry food in with it, but he simply licks around the biscuits so i don't bother anymore.) he's always been 5kg which the vet says is a great weight.

However, we've just started pretty intense obedience training. He is very treat orientated, doesn't get much enjoyment from using toys as a reward. So needless to say, he is eating a LOT of treats per day.

Would it be a good idea to cut his food down to half a tin whilst he is having all these treats to ensure he's not being overfed?

Or is that too little for a dog to be eating at a mealtime?

Thanks

 

[Biker John]

A lot depends on what treats you are using, I use training stars from Fish4Dogs, they are only small and low calorie so the dog can have quite a few. Also don't forget that the dog using its brain which it does during training is actually increasing its calorie use.

 

[sophieleah]

Thanks for your reply. I have absolutely no idea how many calories are in the treats I'm using.

For today's sessions I've been cutting them into thirds, so they are minute.

I may look into some low calorie dog treats though, definitely don't want the little man getting fat!

 

[Biker John]

The only real way of knowing if he's getting the right amount, to much or to little is to keep a close eye on him. And a small treat works just as well as a large one.

 

[lurcherman]

If it isn't broken, you know the rest.