# Best and Worst Treats For Dogs (And why)



## TwistedLlama7 (Apr 2, 2013)

Recently Rosco and I took a trip to Petco, Petsmart and severeal other small businesses to see what kind of treats they offered. Once we got there I realized that I had no idea what I was doing. 

I decided to go home and do some research before I bought anything. That didn't go so well. I came across so many different companies and people saying that they had the best thing for your dog. They don't know MY dog though. 

So I was wondering what treats you guys think are the best and worse for your dogs, and what your experiences with them are. ie: what treats they liked, didn't like, made them sick, helped their coats etc.


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## reynosa_k9's (Dec 14, 2007)

I never buy store made treats for mine. I usually give chicken feet, sometimes hearts or gizzards. I like the chicken feet since it's a natural source of glucosamine which is especially beneficial for mine since they are breeds that have a high rate of hip dysplasia. Anyway, ALL mine have always loooooved the chicken feet. You should see how quickly all 10 of them will line up and sit nicely, waiting..... lol

I will also make homemade treats as well. Just yesterday I gave everyone some frozen yogurt/banana/peanut butter cups I made.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

I don't do storebought treats anymore, either. The dogs won't eat them. I have most of a bag of Zuke's Mini Naturals the dogs won't TOUCH, though a lot of people say their dogs are crazy about them. Mine are crazy about oven baked (low and slow) beef and chicken liver. It's super cheap, lasts forever, and the dogs go crazy for it. So that's what I use.


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## GrinningDog (Mar 26, 2010)

My opinion is that they're treats. I give them so sparingly that I'm not terribly concerned if they're healthy. Gypsy gets quality treats and crappy treats, depending on what's on sale. Anything semisoft, stinky, and easily cut into tiny pieces is good for our purposes. Gypsy loves beef and liver flavors.


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## Juniper's mom (Jun 13, 2009)

Avoid the jerky treats -- they are all made in China, which is still full of problem and despite bags that say "free range chicken," blah blah blah. Learned this the hard way at my local food coop, which is full of organic hippie food and yet still sells this garbage. You can easily make your own jerky from leftover chicken and turkey by throwing small chunks in the oven at 200 degrees.


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## aiw (Jun 16, 2012)

I go a slightly different route. I use his kibble.

I portion out his usual meal and we do training for him to earn it. It deals with the health factor (and the fattening issue with most treats) and often makes the dog less picky - a hungry dog will work for dinner even if its not his super-favorite bacon bits hand portioned by certified behaviourists (with a price tag to match). My favorite part of all is that it saves me money. When I really do want to give him a treat Pete gets a good chew or a raw bone which are not only cheap and amazing for his teeth, but he loves beyond all things.


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## Tylerthegiant (Apr 5, 2013)

I give treats for training purposes only, so I use whatever is appropriate for the work I'm doing and I mix it up. If I'm working in a distracting area or something I'll use something I know they'll go nuts for even if it's not he healthiest thing in the world.

I use:

liver, 
chicken, 
ham, 
blue cheese, 
string cheese, 
American cheese, 
honey nut cheerios, 
Pet Botanics Lamb and Rice store bought food in tubes which I cut up, 
sometimes I use their kibble, 
hot dogs, 
on occasion with Lucas I have even used finger nail sized crunched up potatoes chips (he goes nuts for them and blue cheese), 
Lick a stick (store bought any flavor), 
Blue Buffalo bits, 
Stewart Pro treat freeze dried meat (cut into smaller peices),
Bil Jac training treats, 
Nature's recipe training treats, and that's pretty much it I think. 

The boxers would eat bits of cardboard, they train for the attention and are very food motivated. The danes are more particular and more "make this worth my while lady and I just might do it."


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## WonderBreadDots (Jun 26, 2012)

I make my own. I had a bumper crop of pumpkin last year.


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

For training at home, we use kibble, but I like to throw a few yummy treats in the bag when we go for walks, as a super reward for when we come across other dogs. I try mainly to use treats made in Canada or the USA, with ingredients sourced from those countries (or Australia/New Zealand/Europe). Orijen is really popular in our house right now, and Zukes Mini Naturals and PureLuv freeze-dried liver are staples at MIL's house. And we bring back a couple packages of Trader Joe's Beef Jerky Sticks (for dogs) when we go down to NV.


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## ChaosIsAWeim (Feb 12, 2011)

Treat brands I have used

Wellness Well Bites
Wellness Pure Rewards
Pet Botanics Healthy Omega Salmon 
Nature's Recipe Training Treats
Blue Bites Salmon
Bil Jac
Charlee Bears 
Zuke's
Pro Plan Training Treats (got sample bags of them, dogs liked em, and in a pinch would get them again)
Fruitables 
Milo's Kitchen Beef Jerky (but don't really trust that company anymore)
Solid Gold Jerky

and there are probably some I am forgetting. 

But I mainly use cooked liver and chicken.


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## Flaming (Feb 2, 2013)

we use
any freeze died meats sourced in reputable countries (not china) I only buy the 1 ingredient ones 
other flavours and or brands of dog kibble
the semi-moist dog food that comes in sausages and chopped real small.
dog friendly left overs like plain chicken or other cooked meats.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Aside from the actually dangerous treats, there isn't so much a best and worst list to me since treats are treats. Like ice cream or candy for people- okay in moderation, don't turn them into meals. Dangerous treats IMO are of course any actually poisonous foods, things from China or anywhere with really bad quality control, things likely to cause a choking hazard (rawhide) or anything that a given dog cannot tolerate (like Chester can't eat pork)

If I am going to be training and giving lots of treats, I use kibble or make a kibble trail mix with some cheese and lunch meat to up the value of the kibble without adding too many calories or fat (avoiding upset tummies).

I use people food for treats mainly- meat, sardines, cheese, peanut butter, pumpkin, homebaked treats (I will feed grains), healthy veggies, broth "popsicles" and similar.

If I buy treats, I seek out made in the USA or made in Canada treats (not just packaged in the US, actually made here) and avoid fillers, artificial colors, HFCS and such. There are a few local companies that bake small-batch with human grade ingredients and those make really great packaged treat options.


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## Fred'sperson (Sep 4, 2013)

I never give my dogs rawhide of any kind. It expands in their stomach and often makes my dogs throw up.


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