Breaking frog legs into bits for a training session

Frog legs for dog training work best broken up: the listing says to break a piece and hand out the bits as rewards. We score frog legs 3 of 5 for training value, the middle of our scale, and list them for medium and large adult dogs. Keep the bits small and count them toward the day's treats.

How do you turn one frog leg into several rewards?

You break it. The listing gives two uses for a piece, and the first is a reward, made by snapping the leg and handing the bits out one by one. Each piece is a medium sized leg, so one leg can become more than one reward. How many depends on the leg, because shape and texture vary from piece to piece and nothing in the bag is molded to a standard size.

Here is a simple way to set up.

1. Take one leg out of the bag, and nothing more than you plan to use.
2. Reseal the bag right away, as the label asks.
3. Break the leg into bits that suit the dog in front of you.
4. Keep the bits in a small container within reach.

That is the whole method. We give no number of bits per leg, because the legs are not uniform and a number would be a guess. Look at the leg, break it where it wants to break, and size the bits for your dog.

What does our scorecard say about frog legs?

Two numbers. Crunch scores 4 of 5 and training value scores 3 of 5. The listing describes 3 of 5 as the middle of our scale and says frog legs can be a training treat. Neither number is a lab result. Both are our own scoring, and we are telling you where they sit and nothing more.

A middle score is a plain statement of fact. It does not say frog legs are the best reward on the shelf, and it does not say they are the worst. It says the listing puts them in the center, and the rest depends on your dog and on what else is in your pouch.

The 4 of 5 for crunch says nothing about how a particular leg will behave when you snap it, which is why the first answer in the Questions below makes no promise about crumbs.

How many bits belong in a session?

We cannot print a count, and the listing does not either. What we can point to is the budget. VCA suggests that treats stay near 10 percent of a dog's daily calories, and the same page says to bring in a new food one at a time. A frog leg may well be a new food for your dog, so the budget and the introduction are the two limits that matter.

Our label adds that frog legs are a treat or a meal topper, not a complete diet. So the bits you hand out in a session come out of the day's treat share, and the regular meals carry the rest. A dog that eats to a veterinarian's plan should have the vet weigh in before a new protein goes into the pouch.

This is also why the bits should be small: every bit counts toward that total, whatever its size. We stop short of a number because the number belongs to your dog and your vet.

How do you carry frog legs to a class or a walk?

In a small container, with the bag left at home. This is where the numbered list above earns its keep: you take out the share you plan to use, reseal the bag, and carry only the bits. The listing says the frog legs are light, which helps when you are carrying them.

The label says to keep the resealed bag somewhere cool and dry, and the listing calls the frog legs shelf stable. We suggest using an open bag within 30 days, and we have no separate figure for bits in a pouch. Treat the bits like the bag: keep them dry and cool. A glovebox in August is no one's idea of cool, and that is as far as our car talk goes.

When is a frog leg the wrong reward?

When the listing does not cover the dog. Frog legs are listed for medium and large adult dogs, which leaves small dogs and puppies outside the label. We do not read around that line, and neither should a training plan.

It is also the wrong reward when the budget is already spent, or when your dog's plan from your veterinarian does not include a new protein. In those cases another bag does the job. Our scallops training page covers scallops, which are listed for adult dogs of all sizes and score the same 3 of 5 for training value. The scores tie, so we do not call one better. They differ in size and in who they are listed for.

The guides hub has the rest of our short pages, and the frog legs page has the product and its label.