Puppy Treat Recommendations

ATLChris · 09-19-2009, 11:54 PM

I am looking for some decent treat recommendations. I am currently using these Science Diet biscuits, that I just picked randomly at my first Pet Store run when I got my puppy. Should I get soft or hard treats? Or should I use something natural like Carrots?

I don't want anything I need to prepare, but am open to all other options.

Northern_Inuit_Luv · 09-20-2009, 12:09 AM

the most important thing is finding something your puppy just looooves. training places usually say use soft treats because your puppy wont have access to water for that hour, but either are fine at home.

We use lots of stuff to keep them guessing what kind of treat will come next, we use regular hard cookies (bite size or broken into nibble sizes), string cheese, moist liver treats, Zukes training treats (they go ga-ga for the salmon), and we also like to by the rolls of natural dog food that you can find in the fridge or freezer at the store and cut that up into training sized treats, freeze it and take out the amount we need (healthy and yummy smelling). Also, we use every meal as a training treat...especially if its small bites that we can make them work for every piece, nothing motivates a dog like an empty tummy

Michiyo-Fir · 09-20-2009, 01:31 AM

Wellness Wellbites and Wellness PureRewards have worked the best for me. My dog is picky and won't eat any kind of biscuits but these treats are meat mainly and she loves them!

wimsey · 09-20-2009, 01:41 AM

My pups like freeze dried liver and chicken, cut up hot dogs, bits of kibble, ziwi peak treats, and small pieces of cheese.

luvntzus · 09-20-2009, 02:38 AM

I would not feed Science Diet. Most of the ingredients are really unhealthy. There's an article below that has a lot of info on ingredients to avoid.

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index....badingredients

I like Old Mother Hubbard biscuits. I think they're the best for availability, price and ingredients. They have a lot of differenct varieties, including one for puppies.

http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/prod..._biscuits.html

rosemaryninja · 09-20-2009, 11:10 AM

My favourite commercial dog treats are Grizzly NuTreats, Natural Balance rolls, Wellness WellBites (these are kind of expensive so I rarely buy them), ZiwiPeak Good-Dog jerky treats... they are soft and easy to tear into smaller pieces (well, the Grizzly ones aren't, but they're small enough not to have to break up) and they're very, very stinky (which my dogs go crazy for).

Besides commercial dog treats, I also use bananas, carrots, apples, pears, orange slices, raw meat, leftover roast chicken, beef jerky, unsugared cereal, low-fat plain yogurt, cheese, peanut butter...

AllieMackie · 09-22-2009, 11:50 AM

Soft treats are good in the sense that they are eaten quickly and usually smell strong (good for luring), but soft treats are filled with preservatives and things to keep them soft.

Finn adores freeze-dried liver. We usually get the PureBites brand. The only ingredient is the liver itself, so it's good for your dog, and they come in bigger pieces that are easily broken up into many small pieces. A bag of treats goes a long way for us, and because they're freeze-dried, they moisten ass soon as they enter the dog's mouth and thus are eaten just as quickly as preservative-heavy soft treats.

I know that PureBites also has freeze-dried chicken and cheese, but I prefer the liver because it still has that strong smell that works well for luring and baiting.

Hope that helps!

Lynnj · 09-23-2009, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michiyo-Fir

Wellness Wellbites and Wellness PureRewards have worked the best for me. My dog is picky and won't eat any kind of biscuits but these treats are meat mainly and she loves them!

Ditto!

I have two very picky eaters. It is hard to find a treat they both like but they love the wellness wellbites.
They are on wellness dry kibble as well and do great on it.

Olympia · 09-23-2009, 08:10 AM

Ours love the yummy chummies, they are a semi soft treat that are salmon flavored, there are a couple other flavors as well!

http://www.yummychummies.com/

They also love the old mother hubbard puppy treats!

http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/prod..._biscuits.html

mightymal · 09-23-2009, 09:34 AM

In terms of hard treats, I use Old Mother Hubbard. Variety, palatability, good ingredients, and price make it an easy choice for me.

Soft treats for training - Zukes are great! Bite size bits that are easy to dole out for good behavior. My dogs also go nuts for BilJac liver treats, and of course, you can't go wrong with any of the Wellness treats.

tnis0612 · 10-21-2009, 07:43 AM

I used to use liver treats but I realized that my puppy is so incredibly food motivated I just use pieces of his kibble. If your dog is the same way that is certainly a simple option! Finn (I see another Finn up there!) loves liver treats though...although he loves ice cubes so i'm not too sure how picky he is!

Labsnothers · 10-21-2009, 09:58 AM

One of the best things to use for treats is just some of the puppy's kibble. I have also heard of great results using Cheerios.

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvntzus

I would not feed Science Diet. Most of the ingredients are really unhealthy. There's an article below that has a lot of info on ingredients to avoid.

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index....badingredients

I like Old Mother Hubbard biscuits. I think they're the best for availability, price and ingredients. They have a lot of differenct varieties, including one for puppies.

http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/prod..._biscuits.html

Why does this have to come up in every thread? There is nothing wrong with Science Diet or other common brands.

You premium, homemade, and raw zealots need to give it a rest. Oh, I have seen the ingredient lists.

bully · 10-21-2009, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Labsnothers

One of the best things to use for treats is just some of the puppy's kibble. I have also heard of great results using Cheerios.

Why does this have to come up in every thread? There is nothing wrong with Science Diet or other common brands.

You premium, homemade, and raw zealots need to give it a rest. Oh, I have seen the ingredient lists.

And you have concluded that better food makes no difference to a dogs health - yes we got it - Loud and Clear!!!!! Now move along so we can start "helping" others.

Kathyy · 10-21-2009, 01:05 PM

One of the easiest treats is string cheese. Comes in a handy wrapper and is easily pinched off into small not as greasy as other cheese bits.

Most any human food is far cheaper than dog treats. Deli or leftover meats are perfect. Very tasty and tiny bits can be used. Max isn't a fan of hot dogs, he is special - most dogs adore them.

Agree with Labsnothers, using the kibble is a great way to train your puppy without overfeeding it. I used to clicker train my dogs and about 1/2 their daily meals would be fed as treats for a click. I wouldn't use a grain based treat though. Kibble already has plenty of grain in it.

If you use liver or lung be careful to ration it out as it is rich and can cause the runs. 1/4 ounce of dried is 1 ounce of fresh and that is about the limit for my dogs per day.

Natural Balance roll is expensive but my dogs sure love it. The lamb stays moister than the turkey flavor.

Ayanla · 10-21-2009, 02:45 PM

For training we use Natural Balance roll, their kibble, or cheerios. But my two love anything from my hand, so really I could use anything. I don't mind using a grain based treat since their primary diet is grainless.

For a "bone" style treat we use Natural Balance bones for small breeds. My two are partial to the LID version, but they like all of them.

Labsnothers · 10-21-2009, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bully

And you have concluded that better food makes no difference to a dogs health - yes we got it - Loud and Clear!!!!! Now move along so we can start "helping" others.

You really seem to have a problem with any view different from your own.

Nargle · 10-21-2009, 09:10 PM

Basil eats EVO Small bites, and he LOVES it. Sometimes I just pour 1/3 cup (one meal) into a plastic baggy and have him work for every bite XD

I know it kind of defeats the purpose of people who are still potty training, but Basil's pretty well potty trained already. And I think using his meals as training tools instead of feeding them and then adding treats into the mix makes training a lot easier, lol! A hungry dog is a biddable dog!

I also carry around a baggy full of kibble whenever we go out in public, because I'm still working on training him to focus on me. Whenever we're at Petsmart and it's really busy, I'll have him watch me and just pop kibble into his mouth every few seconds/minutes. He definitely is interested in me when I've got his dinner dangling above his head XD

bully · 10-22-2009, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Labsnothers

You really seem to have a problem with any view different from your own.

No just the ridiculous ones that are constantly repeated over and over and over on every single thread.

We understand your views:

-Ingredients don't matter
-Canine digestive system biology 101 don't matter
-The difference between what's considered good calories and bad calories don't matter
-The history of "cheap food" don't matter
-The common sense that meat just might be better than corn-by-product-meal-preservative don't matter

BUT apparently you know 100's of dogs "thriving" on what 98% of us here would consider the worse possibly diet to feed a dog - good for you - keep up the great work here on the food forum!!!

Labsnothers · 10-22-2009, 09:19 AM

I am not responsible for your bad judgment.

bully · 10-22-2009, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Labsnothers

I am not responsible for your bad judgment.

Thanks. I feel better now.