Some dogs I can use their kibble as a treat, especially when we're working on something and I want them hungry, and training is going to go on for a while (with breaks).
Or, sometimes I can use soft liver treats from the pet store, hot dogs, cheese (my dane won't eat cheese though), chicken, ham, etc.
My dane also gets WAY TOO EXCITED when I give him really delicious treats, like the liver, chicken or hot dog. I have to tone it down with less delicious treats so he can focus on what we're doing rather than obsessing over the treat he's going to get. You have to tailor it to the dog. My BMs were all allergic to chicken so I avoided it, but it is probably fine for occasional training sessions. When we're training in a group for puppy class or obedience classes I try to use something small and relatively solid (Jersey Girl I like the idea of microwaving the hot dog to make it a bit more chewey! Thanks for the tip) so there is nothing that drops on the training floor for other dogs to get distracted by.
We treat our dogs when they come inside from being out on our rather large fenced property, which means they ALWAYS come when called, lol, and the treat we give for that is plain old-fashioned Milk Bones. They LOVE them, go figure.
