Tasty Tuesday ~ Treats on a Budget!

Through the course of dog ownership I'm very willing to admit I've done some terrible things. Most in ignorance, I admit and often to do with what I put inside my dogs' bodies.

Through awesome websites like Dogforum.com and through Google I discovered the problems with by-products, corn and certain grains. When I got Quenya a little over two years ago I had to re-think my doggy diet plans dramatically due to her rapid onset of allergy symptoms.

So, I then switched to Pet Botanics Mini Training Rewards and WOW, they were GREAT. Only 1 1/2 calories per treat, and meat was the first ingredient! Then...I found out that Pet Botanics sources from CHINA. I died a little on the inside.

Fortunately, a local discounted merchandise stores sells wonderful name-brand treats at even more wonderfully discounted prices. I have three dogs and I train all of them regularly. Two of my dogs have trouble keeping weight on and honestly benefit from the "supplement" of a generous amount of treats during training (Victoria not so much, so we have to be careful with her). I regularly seek out places to buy discounted treats. We buy mid-level dog food from a local farm supply (usually we alternate between Diamond Naturals and 4Health) and expensive chews from our local earth pet stores. Even working 5 days a week I rarely have a massive cash influx that allows me to buy treats online in bulk as some dog owners do. Catching a break with treats, which we use so frequently, is a huge relief. Usually I try to grab Zukes or Nutrisource treats, and then a freeze-dried or dehydrated super meaty larger treat to use as a jackpot reward. Most recently the store started carrying Nutrisca* Freeze Dried Raw bites in Beef and Chicken. My dogs go CRAZY over these things!

Ingredients: Beef w/Ground Bone, Beef Heart, Beef Liver, Beef Kidney, Apples, Chickpeas, Peas, Flaxseed, Chicory Root Extract, Cranberries, Salmon Oil, Dried Kelp, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Tocopherols, Vitamin D3 Supplement.

  The package advertises it's contents as having added vitamins and minerals, antioxidants to support immunity, natural enzymes to support digestion, natural fiber and prebiotics. Of course, made in the USA (and according to their website, if any of their package ingredients are sourced outside the USA they leave a statement on the package).

They make an amazing jackpot treat for the dogs. They come in large cubes so just one is enough to create that high level reward that otherwise would take several training treats. I've definitely noticed a sharper interest in training since I introduced them.

Another way I treat-on-a-budget is by using either free samples or the cheaper sample bags of high-quality kibble with proteins different from the proteins I'm currently feeding my dogs in their meal-kibble. We have three local earth pets stores and between them they are always offering samples for a trivial price, or often free. Because of my picky kibble-eaters I have a very strict meal schedule to ensure they eat their complete requirement for kibble each day. It helps them see eating as a "task" they have to complete in order to continue on to the rest of the day's activities. So I needed something easy, healthy, and cheap to be my lowest value treats. Sample kibble has been our staple in this area for several years. We often use the Orijin trial bags if there are no free samples.

One of our current sample kibbles

 So there you have it, how our household treats on a budget!


*I don't get anything from Dogswell on a regular basis due to their refusal to boycott Chinese manufacturing of dog food, but I'm reasonably comfortable with the contents of this package, and my dogs are absolutely bonkers for them.