January is Train Your Dog Month!
Using treats is a great way to motivate your dog and reward them for displaying behaviors that are desirable. There are many different types of treats available and here I’m going to share some of our favourite, high value training treats. As a reminder, always introduce new food or treats slowly to avoid an upset tummy!
Purebites Freeze Dried Beef Liver
Nom nom! Beef Liver. This stuff is stinky and delicious. The nice thing is it comes in mostly rectangular pieces so it makes it easy to break or cut into smaller bits. Training sessions can involve dozens of treats and this stuff is very rich so breaking it into small pieces is best. Beware: the first time we used this we gave a little too much in one training session and it caused some diarrhea later. Nothing a day or 2 of probiotics wouldn’t fix but take it easy on the liver treats at first.
Buy Purebites Freeze Dried Beef Liver Here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000Z3MBMC/ref=emc_b_5_i
Purebites Freeze Dried Chicken Breast
My puppy goes nuts for this stuff. We first tried a different brand but found this one broke up easier into tiny pieces and when training a puppy, you go through a lot of treats! This stuff isn’t cheap but it’s high quality, only 1 ingredient and high value as a treat. The only downside is at the end of the bag you’re left with a bunch of shredded chicken bits that I end up pouring over his meal. He doesn’t complain, I just wish since you buy it by weight, that more of it was useable. Other than that, this stuff is great!
Buy Purebites Freeze Dried Chicken Here:
BilJac Frozen Dog Food.
Interestingly enough you can find this stuff in 5lb bags in your Walmart grocery freezer. Usually next to doggy ice cream and popsicles. A client at the vet clinic I work at told me about this stuff. It smells like stale bread, looks very unappealing to the human eye, but it is like crack for dogs! It comes in little pieces that remind me of fat spaghetti so after thawing it, I roll it into balls to make it easier to give as a reward. Tedious, definitely! But it stops the crumbs getting under your fingernails and you won’t drop it all over the floor when trying to reward your dog.
Wellness Core Beef & Venison Jerky Bites
I like to mix up the texture, shape and size of the treats I use to try and keep things interesting. Sometimes one treat works better than another depending on the level of distraction, or the difficulty of what we are training on. These are a pretty good option for making into tiny pieces and come in some really yummy flavors. We like the Beef & Venison, Turkey and Chicken flavor. They’re on Amazon but also can be found in Petco or Petsmart. They’re a little chewier than the freeze-dried meat treats mentioned above but they work well and my dog for sure seems to really like them.
Buy Wellness Core Jerky Bites Here: https://www.amazon.com/Wellness-Natural-Pet-Food-Rewards/dp/B07GTDWQTN/ref=sr_1_4?fpw=pantry&keywords=wellness+pure+rewards+beef&qid=1578280157&s=pantry&sr=1-4
Tuna Fudge
That’s right I said it. Tuna and Fudge in the same sentence. Pretty gross sounding I know but an insta-friend who has Boxers told me about this stuff and it’s the stinkiest and most delicious fishy treat my pup has ever tried. We’re going to try making chicken fudge this week, and maybe even salmon fudge one day but my favorite thing about this stuff is it’s cheap! I spend a ridiculous amount of money on dog treats, food and chewy things every month, heck we even have a Bark Box subscription so home-made treats are the bee’s knees! We switched the mixture up a little from a popular recipe found online and this is how we make it.
Check out the recipe below!
If you try any of these treats with your pet ,let us know how they like them! If you have your own home made pet treat recipe, send it to us for a chance to be featured in upcoming blogs!