Don’t waste your money on grocery store dog treats.
In addition to being ridiculously expensive, those treats often contain artificial ingredients, colors, and flavors. They also usually contain by-products (a nice way of saying chicken beaks, cow entrails, and other gross stuff).
Smart trainers use treats their dog loves and that are good for them.
I like to use real, human-grade food when I train my dogs. I know what’s in it, it’s pretty inexpensive, and hey, I can eat it, too!
Cheese and meat lend themselves to terrific dog treats.
Easy to cut into bite-sized pieces, human grade, and really delish. Oh, and easy to find and buy!
Get a value pack of cheese and some pepperoni (or summer sausage) from your local grocer. In a pinch, you can even use luncheon meat, although it’s a little harder to handle because it’s thinly sliced.
Cut into 1/4″ strips.
Then lay flat and cut into 1/4″ slices. Turn 90° and slice again.
This is what you get.
Next, do the same with the cheese.
And you’ve now got some really powerful dog training treats! And hey, if you need a snack, dig in!
I put all the treats in a Ziploc container with a lid, store all the treats in the fridge ’til I need them. We’re always ready to train, even at the last minute!
Your turn: What treats does your dog go ga-ga for? Leave a comment below!
Cooper and Izzy-just about anything…Labs you know. Cooper not too keen on veggies…but Izzy…whew!
you don’t worry about the sodium content in something like the summer sausage? When I train I go thru a LOT of treats!
Why not do the same thing with the Redbarn log? I also found a tripe log at one of my local pet stores and my dog LOVES that. http://www.amazon.com/Tripe-Dog-Treat-Roll-Magic/dp/B009DOB44A
I also dehydrate my own store bought steak and chicken into jerkey. Another big favorite, but a little more time consuming than your suggestions 🙂
I use turkey hot dogs for basic training treats. And liverwurst for a high value treat. If only I could keep liver wurst from making a mess of my treat bag. 🙁
Buying human grade food is usually much cheaper. I’ve even bought human smoked salmon for nosework because it was cheaper than the dog version.
Fill the Liverwurst in a squeeze tube 🙂
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images.mec.ca/fluid/customers/c822/1699-016/generated/1699-016_NOC02_view1_1000x1000.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mec.ca/product/1699-016/coghlans-squeeze-tube-with-nylon-clip/&h=1000&w=1000&sz=17&tbnid=KdgBWvnB40ozCM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=90&zoom=1&usg=__bVlkoE7ZC_XcYfMPKJDotbvaf1c=&docid=kehdh07yX0nc1M&sa=X&ei=0iuiUsnXIMaqtAbPnoC4Bg&ved=0CC4Q9QEwAQ
no more mesing up the treatbag 🙂
I sometimes use turkey hot dogs, and they work great!! I figure they are at least somewhat healthier than regular hot dogs.
Kay Laurence always talks about using lunch meat…. but I agree with you, I think it’s a bit too thin to handle well.
Do you have any suggestions for treat pouches or containers when using very small pieces of treats?
With my rats, I often have tiny treats, but due to the nature of the training, I can just keep the treats in my hand.
I have a small breed puppy that I am training for a client currently, though, and I am using the mini Zuke’s treats, which I usually break up into 3-4 pieces each. They get lost if I try to put them in my treat pouch, so I usually just keep them in my hand. But, this is cumbersome if we are moving around.
cheers,
Mary
Oh man, if you can use veggies, GO FOR IT! Schooner (the Dane) is so picky… But the Labradors, yes, veggies are definitely an option! 🙂
Thanks for stopping in Deb! I think dehydrating your own treats is a fantastic idea! I don’t have a dehydrator, though. And you’re right, it does take a little more planning and some time. This post was written for those who *want* to take food on walks, but often don’t have any “dog treats” on hand. I almost always have something like this in my fridge and wanted to show people that if they dig in their fridge, they may indeed find something yummy for their dog!
As for the sodium content — I don’t worry too much as these treats don’t make up the bulk of my dogs’ diet. They get a good high quality kibble (or raw) for the main diet.
For Schooner, the service dog in training, I’ve found that these two treats specifically are what work for him. He’ll turn his nose up at chicken (my go-to dog treat), but loves colby cheese and summer sausage. The bonus is that I can snack on it, too! 🙂
Pamela, thanks for stopping by! Yes, that’s another reason I like human quality treats — the cost! So much less expensive than dog treats! I will have to remember the human quality smoked salmon — great idea! I love Martina’s suggestion below for your liverwurst! 🙂
Love it, Martina! Thanks for the link! It’s a great way to dispense those messier treats.
Thanks for stopping in, Mary! I like to use plastic containers with a lid. If you’re not moving around too much when you’re training your rats, use one of those little GladWare containers with a lid — they close securely when you’re done with training, they go into the fridge easily if you’re using perishable food, and they clean up easily. They fit into a jacket pocket nicely, too, if you use the smaller sizes.
Yes, I find that even the Zuke’s training treats can be broken into smaller pieces! I definitely think the turkey dogs would be a step up from the regular hot dogs, for sure. Good idea.