Healthy Treats For Raw Feeders

[corvus]

My dogs are currently eating A LOT every day in treats. I use 4Legs rolls cut up small. It's good because it holds its shape well. However, given they are getting so much of their daily intake in treats, I would prefer to be doling out something more like their usual diet. Their mince mix is way too messy, though, and bones are really not appropriate for treats.

BARF patties are again too messy, but I'm wondering about some of the other rolls. What about Scottys, which is cooked? Has anyone found anything that fits the bill? What if I cooked some of the raw patties or rolls in teensy little meatballs or something? Dehydrated them in the microwave? Any ideas?

[sheena]

My dogs are currently eating A LOT every day in treats. I use 4Legs rolls cut up small. It's good because it holds its shape well. However, given they are getting so much of their daily intake in treats, I would prefer to be doling out something more like their usual diet. Their mince mix is way too messy, though, and bones are really not appropriate for treats.

BARF patties are again too messy, but I'm wondering about some of the other rolls. What about Scottys, which is cooked? Has anyone found anything that fits the bill? What if I cooked some of the raw patties or rolls in teensy little meatballs or something? Dehydrated them in the microwave? Any ideas?

I roughly pan fry the mince...trying not to break it up too much in the process, so that it ends up like rissoles, which I break up in front of her, when delivering the treat. The anticipation is as good as the treat, in her opinion. You can also mix something into the mince, like garlic or parmeson cheese.

[aussielover]

My dogs are currently eating A LOT every day in treats. I use 4Legs rolls cut up small. It's good because it holds its shape well. However, given they are getting so much of their daily intake in treats, I would prefer to be doling out something more like their usual diet. Their mince mix is way too messy, though, and bones are really not appropriate for treats.

BARF patties are again too messy, but I'm wondering about some of the other rolls. What about Scottys, which is cooked? Has anyone found anything that fits the bill? What if I cooked some of the raw patties or rolls in teensy little meatballs or something? Dehydrated them in the microwave? Any ideas?

how fussy are they?

would using fruit or veges work?

i use apple, carrot and more recently (on advice from mason2009), pear.

i find these are not as messy as meaty stuff, but i have a food-guzzling lab, whose food doesn't remain in her mouth long enough for any tasting to occur

i use liver treats (vets best brand) for higher value treats, i'm not sure if that would fit into the raw diet though?

i also use left over meat like chicken, roast etc when it is available, but i find it a bit icky to hold in my hand lol

[corvus]

They are not fussy and hang out for their vegie off-cuts when I'm making lunch, but there's not a lot of nutritional value in it for them. It seems not ideal to me to cut back their nutritious meals so I can give them less nutritious treats. At any rate, they get some pretty tasty treats. I doubt they will think much of fruit and vegies as a standard treat. I use boiled heart for recall treats, but it's time consuming preparing it. I'm not sure that I want to give them that much rich stuff like heart or liver every day...

[JulesP]

I used chunks of beef once. The little bastards were not at all grateful! I'm a vego so it was a big deal for me to have to hold the meat I came to the conclusion that a good training treat was something they don't normally get.

Anything cooked is of course straying from barf/raw but if you don't want to use the commercial stuff then just cook up some meatballs. Have you tried the Happy Paws treats?

[Staff'n'Toller]

Tucker Time is what I use at puppy school. But it's nutritional value is probably the same as 4 legs.

[poodlefan]

Cheese? It's not raw but its certainly better than a lot of processed treats.

I tend to use dried liver, chicken or even tuna when I can get it.

[J...]

I buy close to date or on special meat, cut it into steaks if needed, boil it and then cut up into small pieces with the scissors. I can get round steak locally in 1.5 kg bulk packs for $7.99 a kg.

It is a bit time consuming but if you do a decent sized batch you can put them into snap lock bags and into the freezer.

[huski]

I buy gravy beef or steak off cuts (no fat or if there is I chop it off). I cut it into tiny pieces raw and then boil it for 1-2 minutes. Lean, and not full of processed crap like dog food rolls or processed treats.

[corvus]

I buy close to date or on special meat, cut it into steaks if needed, boil it and then cut up into small pieces with the scissors. I can get round steak locally in 1.5 kg bulk packs for $7.99 a kg.

It is a bit time consuming but if you do a decent sized batch you can put them into snap lock bags and into the freezer.

Hmm, that's a good idea. I'm finding cutting up the 4Legs rolls annoyingly time consuming. Someone needs to invent a gadget that dices whatever you whack in it into little 5mm cubes.

I am happy to use a bit of cheese, PF, but I'm also happy to use a bit of dog food roll. I'm just concerned about the large amount. I'm going through about 100g of treats for each dog a day at the moment. That's, like, nearly half of what Erik eats every day.

[JulesP]

Puppy 4Legs is a great size for treats.

[bedazzledx2]

Whats the matter with you....get your hands into that raw BARF!!!! :) :rolleyes: Actually the raw mince is easier!!! My puppy got a few meals of BARF by way of hand feeding as I wanted to ensure soft mouth and taking food gently and respectfully of my fingers!!! I tend to use it in small containers as jackpots now though. My dogs are fed raw but I will use cheese and 4 legs as training treats along with their raw.

My dogs are currently eating A LOT every day in treats. I use 4Legs rolls cut up small. It's good because it holds its shape well. However, given they are getting so much of their daily intake in treats, I would prefer to be doling out something more like their usual diet. Their mince mix is way too messy, though, and bones are really not appropriate for treats.

BARF patties are again too messy, but I'm wondering about some of the other rolls. What about Scottys, which is cooked? Has anyone found anything that fits the bill? What if I cooked some of the raw patties or rolls in teensy little meatballs or something? Dehydrated them in the microwave? Any ideas?

[poodlefan]

Whats the matter with you....get your hands into that raw BARF!!!! :) :rolleyes: Actually the raw mince is easier!!! My puppy got a few meals of BARF by way of hand feeding as I wanted to ensure soft mouth and taking food gently and respectfully of my fingers!!! I tend to use it in small containers as jackpots now though. My dogs are fed raw but I will use cheese and 4 legs as training treats along with their raw.

My dogs are currently eating A LOT every day in treats. I use 4Legs rolls cut up small. It's good because it holds its shape well. However, given they are getting so much of their daily intake in treats, I would prefer to be doling out something more like their usual diet. Their mince mix is way too messy, though, and bones are really not appropriate for treats.

BARF patties are again too messy, but I'm wondering about some of the other rolls. What about Scottys, which is cooked? Has anyone found anything that fits the bill? What if I cooked some of the raw patties or rolls in teensy little meatballs or something? Dehydrated them in the microwave? Any ideas?

It's not my hands that worry me, its my pockets. Some of it doesnt' wash really well either. :D

[Tilly]

I make up little meatballs using a mix of minces (pork, beef, chicken, turkey etc), sardines (without all the liquid) and a raw egg or two (depending on the quantity) - some times I add grated/pulped veges. I then roll the mixture into little balls and freeze them until completely solid. Because of the small size they defrost quickly so I pop them straight into the treatbag from the freezer.

The other is thin strips/pieces of chicken slowly roasted in the oven with a light spray of olive oil ... roast slowly and then freeze until required (I find my boys prefer it cooked rather then raw)

Edited March 3, 2011 by Tilly

[corvus]

Whats the matter with you....get your hands into that raw BARF!!!! :) :rolleyes:

Well, it can't be as bad as some things I've done. Like de-baiting quoll traps. The chicken wings would look innocuous enough on the outside, but as soon as you disturbed them, swarms of fat maggots would start squirming out of them and the smell would finally hit you. There was always someone on the team that would go a bit green and have to look away. But, you know, there's a reason why I opted for a career change away from field work. :D Now that I think about it, there are a lot of things about field work I won't miss. I'm in the civilised world of dogs, now. We don't get our fingers overly icky with raw mince.

[Leema]

Diced beef or chicken hearts fit the bill here.