8 weeks old. how many treats?!

[doglet]

we collect bella tomorrow. yikes! 

i'm now into the last chapter of the positive dog training bible and i've spent even longer soaking up info from here too (we want to get it right!).

however one of the things i am aware of, particulary in the book, is the volume of treats that the book recommends. i understand that this should be varied with non-food rewards as well, but it says explicitly (for example when crate training) to use handfuls and handfuls of treats.

elsewhere i've read about the delicacy of a puppies stomach. so what are we to do? we will be making a gradual (2wk?) transition from the breeders food choice to burns or autarky, but if we are to start training from the off including getting her comfortable in her crate then we need to treat too. we were planning on apple. carrot and hotdog. but how much will be too much at this young age? should we avoid large amounts of treating and perhaps use her meal allowance to jackpot treat where needed?

thanks all...

[Vivienne]

The treats we used were little dog biscuits shaped bones which were a complete puppy food from Pets at Home so they were really additional food rather than anything else. You are right most treats have colourants and salt so make the pup sick, so try and use little puppy food as a treat.
Whisteler was really fussy eater anyway and the recommended amount to eat a day he was no one near. I only crate trained by making sure whenever he went to sleep I crated him. I knew it was working when I started the hoover and he fled straight into the crate. Otherwise he learnt sit and down because he wanted to please and get a cuddle.
Viv

[Joules]

If you are going to change her food, I would wait a few weeks to give her a chance to settle in - change of home and all that involves is enough change for a new puppy for a while and as you say, they can have very sensitive tums     When Coco was very little there was no end to the things that would give her a runny tummy.   

Re treats:  if you are using kibble it is a great idea to use part of her food allowance as training treats.  Otherwise, Coachies are good and not full of additives as are the Nature's menu treats (I cut them in half) - otherwise, small bits of cooked chicken or ham and, as you say carrot and apple (if she likes them - Coco doesn't  )  Also, you can easily also make your own healthy treats - see this thread for some ideas:
http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=30234.0

I crisp up the livercake and tuna bread in the oven and then they keep longer and I also put small bags of them in the freezer so I always have a supply.

Hope this helps.  Bet you are excited - get plenty of sleep tonight and have fun with Bella and remember, we need lots of photos

[cazza]

I used her food as treat to start with just kept a bit back

If you are going to be changing her food from what the breeder has pup on I would use small bits of Burns or Autarky as treats which will slowly start to change her over

Good luck with your new pup