Before we talk about the best dog treats, what’s your favorite food?* Perhaps:
Is your mouth watering yet?
Now, you probably give yourself these scrumptious morsels from time to time and maybe even just because you feel like it, but what if you only received these delectable foods as a reward for quietly sitting in a particular chair in your living room? You’d be sitting in that chair every chance you could get ?.
The same goes for your dog.
*With the exception of (seedless) watermelon and bananas, these are human foods and should not be given to your dog.
High-Value Treats = Better, Consistent Results
The Problem
A lot of available dog treats are:
Unhealthy
You shouldn't eat french fries and chocolate all day every day, right? Neither should your dog.
Big & Boring
So many treats are either too large, too crunchy, too bland or all of the above. This won't motivate your dog.
Good, Not Great
Your dog might like a treat enough to eat it but use their favorite (aka high-value) for training.
These kind of treats won’t help you get the best results, if any at all, from your dog.
The Best Dog Treats Are:
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Small
Each treat only needs to be pea-sized, even for large dogs. This allows your dog to quickly eat each treat and allows them to earn more treats but not consume a lot of excess calories.
Unsure of how big this is? It’s about the size of your pinky nail. For small dogs, you can make each treat even smaller.
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Soft
Easy to chew and swallow.
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Stinky
Your dog can smell 5 times more than you!
So though you don’t need to use liverwurst, do use foods that will get your dog’s attention like steak, chicken, cheese, etc.
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Healthy
You might not be lucky enough to have a dog that loves carrots*, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t avoid dyes and unnecessary added sugars/syrups.
Read the nutrition facts and labels!
*If your dog likes carrots, make training easier by cooking them so they’re soft.
Find out what healthy, small, soft, & stinky treats your dog LOOOOVES so they can earn them while training.
Tip: Use a variety of treats. Anyone would get tired of the same thing, even if it's tasty if that's all they got over and over again.
Dog Food Help
Interested in learning about your dog's food and receiving recall notifications?