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Preparing cheese bits as a tiny dog reward: freeze, dry, fresh?

1367 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  Rosealima
Clicker training here and want a tiny bit of cheese to use as high-value reward.
Only want 100% ched cheese, chopped into tiny bits, so no recipes, please.
How to best prepare/transport this?
Can I dry them on the counter or something? My past experience was oven-dried hot-dogs, but not for this dog. Cheese only. Seems messy though...any suggestions?
Thank you!
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I use string cheese and pinch off tiny bits as treats. Not as greasy, doesn't crumble and easier to slice than some cheeses if you need flat pieces that are easier to see in grass or something. I get it in huge packs cheap at Costco and been doing this for a very long time. So easy and all the dogs have loved it.

I think I've air dried cheese before but see above, been a while. How about cheese crisps? Look up recipes for low carb cheese crisps and just do cheese?
I've used tiny cheese cubes before and I just keep them in the fridge until I need to use them. Then when I'm done I put the extra back in the fridge.

I would think freezing wouldn't work very well since it'll thaw quickly, then get mushy.
Do you have a box grater? If so, here's what I found is best for handling cheese. Note that I'm using it for a 10 lb dog, and using a Microplane Box grater which has slightly wider holes than most other graters that I've owned.

grate cheese on the normal grating hole (the one that is 1/4 to 1/2" wide, depending on your grater). Spread the cheese out in a thin layer on a plate or cutting board and put it in the fridge for 1-2 hours until it feels dry to the touch but is still flexible. Still easy to break up, doesn't crumble, not greasy, and doesn't get mushed together, and is totally handleable after several hours at room temperature.
Thanks to all & the above resonated the most. Our group is sans microwave, so those options are not possible for our team.
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