Try These Training Treats

[sheena]

Amongst my dogs preference for home made treats are these. They are VIP Chunkers Lamb & Vegetable, available from the supermarket, & I have fried them in vegetable oil & garlic. They are easily broken up into tiny little pieces & given to the dog as a special silver service, slow treat reward. The type you give when rewarding something really well done & you want the reward to last approx. 30 seconds. It's only the second time I have made them & my two go nuts for them.

[iggy mum]

I buy them occasionally but never thought to fry them. Great idea!

[sheena]

Fry them with the garlic & the flavour goes right through them & is good to the last tiny piece They are also a handy treat for throwing, either whole or broken up a bit.

[pie]

My dogs like them enough without this treatment :laugh: But I use 4legs, not the VIP ones, the VIP ones have preservatives and always feel slimy and smell off very quickly, yuck

[Weasels]

My dogs like them enough without this treatment :laugh: But I use 4legs, not the VIP ones, the VIP ones have preservatives and always feel slimy and smell off very quickly, yuck

Same here, I'm a bit wary of any VIP pet food, but I like the frying idea

[megan_]

I think choice did some testing and found that VIP had waaaaay more preservatives than advertised on their packaging (as did most "fresh" pet foods). I use 4 paws and it has ground bone in it, so I wouldn't cook it up.

That said, it does look appetising!

[sheena]

I think choice did some testing and found that VIP had waaaaay more preservatives than advertised on their packaging (as did most "fresh" pet foods). I use 4 paws and it has ground bone in it, so I wouldn't cook it up.

That said, it does look appetising!

The packet does not give very much info at all as to what ALL the ingredients are. Maybe when this lot are gone I will just make my own little meat balls out of preservative free sausage mince & fry them up in garlic oil. Though for the small amount of these they get each training session I don't think a little bit of preservative would do my dogs that much harm. It's not as if they are sensitive to anything. Maybe their web site will give me more info.

[RubyStar]

Sounds like you've tasted them personally sheena to know how irresistible they are Good idea especially for those picky dogs. I have Labs, not an issue here

I used to buy these but also found they went slimey even after 1 day in the fridge, and they are harder to break up quickly. I used to spend ages cutting them up into smaller pieces so delivery of treats would be quicker in training, but that was a PITA! So I switched to 4Legs as they last a bit longer and are easily broken up on the spot. I do hate the "bits" 4Legs leave in my pockets and fingers, though!

[tlc]

My dogs like them enough without this treatment :laugh: But I use 4legs, not the VIP ones, the VIP ones have preservatives and always feel slimy and smell off very quickly, yuck

I had similar with one pack I bought ages ago, smelt vile like off so they went right in the bin, I occasionally give my lot 4 legs but don't cook em up like you've done Sheena.

Bet they would love homemade ones, great idea for training treats!

[sheena]

My dogs like them enough without this treatment :laugh: But I use 4legs, not the VIP ones, the VIP ones have preservatives and always feel slimy and smell off very quickly, yuck

I had similar with one pack I bought ages ago, smelt vile like off so they went right in the bin, I occasionally give my lot 4 legs but don't cook em up like you've done Sheena.

Bet they would love homemade ones, great idea for training treats!

You have to really take note of the use by date when you buy them. I bought some a while ago as part of my online grocery shop & the UBD was a month over. I gave those ones to the chooks, who gratefully received them. I fry them up (not the chooks) & put them in the freezer & take them out as I need them.

[Sayreovi]

Sounds like you've tasted them personally sheena to know how irresistible they are Good idea especially for those picky dogs. I have Labs, not an issue here

I used to buy these but also found they went slimey even after 1 day in the fridge, and they are harder to break up quickly. I used to spend ages cutting them up into smaller pieces so delivery of treats would be quicker in training, but that was a PITA! So I switched to 4Legs as they last a bit longer and are easily broken up on the spot. I do hate the "bits" 4Legs leave in my pockets and fingers, though!

Have you tried the puppy 4legs?

It's what I use for every day training as they are already in nice little pieces and don't have that horrid coating on the outside.

[HazyWal]

My dogs like them enough without this treatment :laugh: But I use 4legs, not the VIP ones, the VIP ones have preservatives and always feel slimy and smell off very quickly, yuck

My two are a big fan of the 4legs, 100% preservative free and great for shoving an antibiotic tablet in for my girl at the moment

[piper]

Have you tried the puppy 4legs?

It's what I use for every day training as they are already in nice little pieces and don't have that horrid coating on the outside.

Same.

I used to use chunkers but found even with plenty of time on the expiry date they had to be put in the freezer as soon as opened or they would go gross in the fridge in a day.

[J...]

I use the puppy 4 legs as well - they keep quite well and I use them as part of a mix with some cheap round steak cut into small pieces. Good for some variety, the flavour tends to spill into the steak and the puppy 4 legs is wheat free :D

[RubyStar]

Sounds like you've tasted them personally sheena to know how irresistible they are Good idea especially for those picky dogs. I have Labs, not an issue here

I used to buy these but also found they went slimey even after 1 day in the fridge, and they are harder to break up quickly. I used to spend ages cutting them up into smaller pieces so delivery of treats would be quicker in training, but that was a PITA! So I switched to 4Legs as they last a bit longer and are easily broken up on the spot. I do hate the "bits" 4Legs leave in my pockets and fingers, though!

Have you tried the puppy 4legs?

It's what I use for every day training as they are already in nice little pieces and don't have that horrid coating on the outside.

Yep I use those, too :) They still have parsley bits on them that are annoying

[Tumbleweed]

Fry them with the garlic & the flavour goes right through them & is good to the last tiny piece They are also a handy treat for throwing, either whole or broken up a bit.

I use these too - except after I buy them I bag them up into individual bags that last a training session, and pop them in the freezer. I normally get about 10 bags - so less than 50 cents per training session! If I have training that night, I pull out a bag in the morning and let it defrost during the day.

I'm not keen on the preservatives either, so I don't use them too regularly and make sure I mix and match with other treats. I love that you can break them apart and they don't crumble! I found the coconut sort of stuff on the 4 paws ones crumbled too easily and then my dogs spent the whole time sniffing the ground.

Will have to try frying them - great idea.

Any other great treat ideas out there on DOL? I'm always looking for the 'ideal' treat for training....haven't found it yet. They are all too crunchy, or too big, or too crumbly, or my dog doesn't rate them (e.g. cheese).

[sheena]

Fry them with the garlic & the flavour goes right through them & is good to the last tiny piece They are also a handy treat for throwing, either whole or broken up a bit.

I use these too - except after I buy them I bag them up into individual bags that last a training session, and pop them in the freezer. I normally get about 10 bags - so less than 50 cents per training session! If I have training that night, I pull out a bag in the morning and let it defrost during the day.

I'm not keen on the preservatives either, so I don't use them too regularly and make sure I mix and match with other treats. I love that you can break them apart and they don't crumble! I found the coconut sort of stuff on the 4 paws ones crumbled too easily and then my dogs spent the whole time sniffing the ground.

Will have to try frying them - great idea.

Any other great treat ideas out there on DOL? I'm always looking for the 'ideal' treat for training....haven't found it yet. They are all too crunchy, or too big, or too crumbly, or my dog doesn't rate them (e.g. cheese).

I like them too as you can break them up into tiny little pieces without them crumbling. I make up a variety Listed here & mix them up, but for reinforcing something new, I can't go past these garlic flavoured Chunkers. I have never had a problem with them going slimy....I fry them up as soon as I get them home & freeze them.

[Tumbleweed]

I like them too as you can break them up into tiny little pieces without them crumbling. I make up a variety Listed here & mix them up, but for reinforcing something new, I can't go past these garlic flavoured Chunkers. I have never had a problem with them going slimy....I fry them up as soon as I get them home & freeze them.

Brilliant - I will try that slice (with sardines, my Sibe really isn't a fan of liver...strange dog).

Do you use the sausage mince designed for using in sausage rolls?

[sheena]

I like them too as you can break them up into tiny little pieces without them crumbling. I make up a variety Listed here & mix them up, but for reinforcing something new, I can't go past these garlic flavoured Chunkers. I have never had a problem with them going slimy....I fry them up as soon as I get them home & freeze them.

Brilliant - I will try that slice (with sardines, my Sibe really isn't a fan of liver...strange dog).

Do you use the sausage mince designed for using in sausage rolls?

Yes...the very fine mince. It forms the basis of the slice & holds it all together. Lately I have been putting a can of mackeral in instead of the sardines. Add as much flour as you wish to make it not too runny. We have our own cattle so I use our sausage mince, but get it from the butcher as the supermarket ones are loaded with preservatives.

[sas]

I had used the Woolworths brand of 4Leggs as they were smaller and didn't have so much 'stuff' on them that will come off in my pocket but either product are great.