Treat them right...

My body is a temple….at least that is what I try to remind myself when I’m reaching for yet another Jammie dodger! Our dogs on the other hand are not so restrained and will generally eat whatever we put in front of them. So, it’s up to us to source the best quality, most nutritious snacks we can!

Loki only weights 7.5kg and is a Poodle Jack Russell cross, both breeds are well known for being notoriously fussy with food! When I say I’ve tried most of the treats on the market I’m not exaggerating, so I thought I’d share my findings here to save you guys the trouble and the money searching for the best of the best!

Training treats were probably the hardest thing for me to get right. I remember taking Loki to puppy classes where you are encouraged to reward at such a high rate that within 10 minutes he’s absolutely stuffed to bursting! You might be lucky and have a dog that’s happy with chopped up carrot, fresh chicken, peas or sweet potato alas Loki is not one of those dogs!

Soft treats are one of the best options for training because they can be broken into small pieces so you get more for your money and your dog will never know 😉 There are so many options out there whether its crunchy, biscuit, pate, soft baked, all natural or just veg we’re going to have a look at my top picks!

What am I looking for in a dog treat…?

• High meat content with no “meat meal”
• No added salt or sugar (salt is often used as a preservative, as with humans too much salt or sugar isn’t good for our pets)
• Minimal ingredients
• No added fillers

Did you know that just like human grade food pet food (including treats) ingredients must be listed in order of weight! So, whatever those first ingredients are that is what will be making up the bulk of your dog’s food/treats.

SOFT TREATS

• Nature Diet – Feel Good. Wheat free, High meat content, limited ingredients, Soft bites, easily breakable. Available in Salmon & Turkey, Chicken, Chicken & Lamb,
• Natures Menu Original – 95% meat, all natural, soft bites. Available in Chicken, Beef, Lamb & Chicken.
• Pet Munchies – tiny treats perfect for training, real meat, low in fat, huge variety of flavours and pack sizes.
• Natures Menu – Superfood bars. Something a bit different from just meat these have added extras like sweet potato, spinach, pumpkin & carrot. Highly regarded by Loki!
• JR Pet Products – Pate. My absolute go to treat for training. 100% meat nothing else, this is a super high value reward. Available in Duck, Chicken, Salmon, Lamb & Beef in various sizes. These are also great to cut up and freeze ready for training sessions

HARD TREATS

• Anco trainers – 100% meat crunchy treat absolutely nothing added, bitesize pieces with no added nasties!
• JR Pet Products- Pure range. Another 100% meat product super little crunchy bites in a huge range of single source proteins.
• Soopa – Healthy bites. For those veg lovers among us these little morsels are naturally low in fat and easy to digest. Available in Apple & Kale, Carrot & Pumpkin, Cranberry & Sweet Potato.
• Feelwells – Meat & Fish crunchies. High meat content, no added sugar or salt. The perfect little crunchy bites!

Now let’s get onto the tough stuff, I’m talking proper chews the kind that’ll keep those pups busy for a good 10 minutes at least not just 10 seconds!

I’m sure you’ve all by now heard how bad raw hide is for our dogs. If treated this stuff is full of chemicals, bleached, dyed and glued and mostly indigestible! Fear not there are so many other great alternatives.

I’ll kick this one off with a like for like from Earth-Animal. We were kindly gifted a chew at Crufts last year and I really rated this chew. They contain all-natural ingredients like” Salmon, Brown Rice Flour, Agar-Agar, Organic Eggs, Olive Oil, Banana Powder, Bromelain (Pineapple).” Available in a range of flavours and sizes to suit all dogs.

• Earth Animal – No Hide chew. All natural ingredients, long lasting
• Yakers – Dog chew. 99.9% Yak & Cows milk these super hard chews are great for dental health.
• Pluto bones – Now these little beauties are cheap but Loki goes nuts for them and although not as long lasting as Yak chews there still fair pretty well. Made from milk protein and in various flavours these chews will not splinter while your pup is chewing away.
• GoodWood – Coffee chews. Completely natural wooden stick using coffee wood which has a close grain so it’s a safe alternative for those that love sticks. It doesn’t splinter and is calorie free!!

If that has not totally blown your mind how about venturing into something a little more primal! Rabbit ears, tails, legs, skin…. Yes yes I completely agree that dog treats that as my mum would say “ Still very much look like the animal they came from” are a scary prospect but I promise you your dog will love you for it!

Animal fur is a natural wormer so that’s got to be a huge bonus. They are guaranteed grain & gluten free, high in protein and so nutritious. JR Pet Products are my go to for delectable body parts and they have such a massive range and even have products that are low in odour or low fat.

All products listed are tried, tested and approved by my furry friend Loki with many available in the Barkley Grange shop.

Let us know if you try any of the products recommended and tell us what your pups thought!

Until next time…