Alternative rewards for clicker training

Hi, My dog has been diagnosed with EPI in the last six months. For those that don't know it's a pancreatic enzyme deficiency which is controlled by introducing the enzyme in powder form over the dogs food. Since starting this treament my dog has re-gained his original weight, coat and disposition. My problem now is that every scrap of food I give to him has to have this powder on it or his body cannot digest it and we end up with stomach problems. Consequently I haven't fed him any treats since diagnosis because it just upsets his stomach. He loves clicker training and is very food driven but what do I do now that food has become a complicated issue?

Comments

Aidan's picture

EPI

Hi, that's unfortunate :-(

I like tug:
http://www.clickertraining.com/node/727

The Two Ball Game is also good, use the same principles from the above article but with a thrown ball or piece of hose.

Of course, using his normal daily meals in training is perfectly acceptable and in my opinion, the preferred option. You can either divide the food into portions to be used for training throughout the day, and sprinkle an appropriate amount of enzyme over the food before use (a little added liquid or a wetter food will help), or you can administer an appropriate quantity of enzymes before or after you begin training.

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com