# Can somebody suggest healthy treats



## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

It really depends on what your dog needs...some need grain-free, some low-calorie, some really stinky (to get their attention), etc.

I liked Zuke's mini treats for training around the house. They're tiny enough that Ranger doesn't get stuffed and lose his food motivation after just a few rewards. I saw some all veggie, low cal treats at the pet store the other day but can't remember the name. I ended up walking away with a bag of these: Grain Free My Mighty Wolf Dog Treats and a bag of these: Cloud Star Soft and Chewy Buddy Biscuits in bacon and cheese flavour.

Ranger is normally NOT food motivated, especially in high distraction areas (at agility class I had to use hot dog pieces and even then he didn't care half the time), but he is going NUTS for the soft buddy biscuits! I'll admit I've gotten a kick out of them ever since I bought the mini hard ones; the little gingerbread cut outs are hilarious and never stop making me laugh! I went through a phase where I kept finding these little guys in random spots all over the house and in pockets of jeans/jackets and whenever I pulled one out, I couldn't help laughing. 

I mean, tell me seeing this guy fall out of your pocket wouldn't cheer you up:









But that's all I have for cookie recommendations. Think about what you define "healthy" as and what you're looking for, and you should be able to narrow it done some. I have to keep Ranger's cookies grain-free so healthy to me is no grains. I'm not worried about Ranger's weight so I'm not too concerned about only feeding low calorie treats.


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## Eleanor's Mom (Nov 6, 2009)

I also use the Zuke mini bites and several different varieties of the Star Cloud treats (both hard and soft) I also like Mother Hubbard dog biscuits. I buy the little ones and then break them in half. Eleanor also likes dried beef liver and dried cod. The zukes and the liver tend to be the "high value treats" and the others tend to be when we work on reinforcement around the house.


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## Jamm (Mar 28, 2010)

Zukes are really good, I also like the Northerns. Northerns come in a whole bunch of different flavours and are wheat and grain free. For a low cal treat i like the Benny bullies and charlie bears. There is also old mother Hubbard which are really healthy. My store also got a new treat in called fruitables, pumpkin and apple, pumpkin and cranberry, and pumpkin and some other fruit. I haven't tried them but they are all natural!


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## msdogs1976 (Dec 21, 2007)

I just use his kibble when training.


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

Kibble
Wellness Just for Puppy
Ziwi Peak
Zuke's
Sojo
Primal
Natural Balance
Cloud Star


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

How about just carrots and other veggies?


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## BajaOklahoma (Sep 27, 2009)

I started out with hotdog bits, but Banker was going through so many.

My vet suggested dry cat food. The pieces are small, high in protein and easy to transport.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

I use Charley bears, hot dogs and string cheese.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I will cook up chicken, liver, steak etc with garlic. I sometimes will use string cheese. 

If I'm at home or outside, I'll sometimes use broccoli or cauliflower or even string beans that has been steamed where if doesn't matter if it leaves a mess LOL

And the ultimate treat? MaMa's meatballs. I don't know what is in them but dogs love them! This is reserved for shows and when I am expecting to need really high value treats. My local IGA carries this brand.


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## nicoleh (Jan 4, 2011)

Thanks everyone, I think I will try zuke's and I also bought some of the old mother hubbard puppy biscuits. He is very food motivated so that helps. I also think I will try those Buddy biscuits. I have never tried just veggies but I will see if he likes carrots too.


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## tbliss (Mar 26, 2009)

Every so often we slice up a few sweet potatoes very thinly and dehydrate sweet potato chips. It seems like those are our dog's favorite.


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

Riley is super food motivated too, so I try to stick with the Old Mother Hubbard treats. They're usually enough to motivate him. I get the "Just Vegg'n" ones because they're low-fat, in the mini size, and still end up breaking those in half. He gets a lot of treats if we encounter other dogs on our walks, so if I didn't watch the fat and calories he'd pork out really quick.

I broke out some all-beef hot dogs when introducing his Halti. I like to keep those on-hand just in case I would have to work a trade for something, too.
And once in a great while, I'll break out the freeze-dried liver. (You don't want to overdo it with that. Trust me.)

I recently picked up some of the Honest Kitchen treats. He loves them, but they're a little too big, I think, for training. And they don't break up easily. He only gets one of those every now and then, "just because."


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

1) Most store bought treats are very expensive and have lots of 'extra' ingredients that either aren't healthy or are there just to make the humans feel better.
2) Vegetables/fruits (NO grapes or raisins!) can be okay to use at home, but very rarely are they appropriate for in a group class. This often falls into the category of "things that make the owners feel good."
3) Plain cooked meat/cheese is a relatively inexpensive and fairly healthy option.
4) If you are doing massive amounts of training, you can use a different type of dog food (fish!) or canned food. Because canned food is mostly water, you're not adding a ton of calories, but what you're giving is nutritionally balanced. Unlike the 1/2 a block of cheese my dog got at training last week....


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## Ayame1211 (Jun 16, 2010)

My favorite treat right now are these awesome one ingredient treats I got from a pet store in town. They're called "Benny Bullys Liver Chops" ( Benny Bullys Pet Treats) and Nala really seems to like them. They smell terrible, but she loves that  they are low in calories too, so I think its a great choice for training.


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## caligal (Jul 28, 2010)

I think when your training soft treats work best. I find that when I use harder ones he kind of chokes a little on them. We use Newman's Own Training treats and Bil Jacs Gooberlicious peanut butter treats. Both have a sweetener, I think molasses? But hey, they are treats. I do use bananas chunks, and pineapple too!


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## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

tbliss said:


> Every so often we slice up a few sweet potatoes very thinly and dehydrate sweet potato chips. It seems like those are our dog's favorite.


That's exactly what I was going to suggest  Daisy's always loved sweet potatoes. Now that she's recovering from a bout of pancreatitis, it's one of the few treats she can still have.


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## 2Retrievers222 (Sep 5, 2007)

Turkey/Chicken Hearts raw or dehydrated


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