Dog Treats and Chews

About

Treats do three different jobs and the right product for each is different. Something tiny and soft for training, something hard and long-lasting to occupy a dog, and something in between for when you just want to give them a treat. The Treat Type filter splits them properly. Training treats: small, soft, gone in a second The whole point of a training treat is timing. Your dog has to swallow it and look back at you within a second or two, or the moment you were rewarding has passed. So you want something soft, tiny and smelly. A crunchy biscuit takes twenty seconds to eat and half of it ends up on the floor. Filter by Training or Soft & Chewy and ignore everything else. Worth saying plainly: you don't have to buy these. A handful of your dog's own kibble, taken out of their daily ration, works perfectly well for basic training and costs nothing. Save the bought treats for recall and anything you need a dog to really care about. Long-lasting chews and the size problem Antlers, yak bars, horn and the harder bones are here to occupy a dog rather than reward one. They work, and for a dog that chews out of boredom they can be the difference between a settled evening and a chewed skirting board. Two things to get right. Buy the size up rather than down, because a chew a dog can fit fully in its mouth is a chew that can be swallowed. And stay in the room. The honest bit: very hard chews can crack a tooth, and a fractured molar is an expensive vet visit. If your dog is a determined cruncher rather than a patient gnawer, skip the antler and buy a softer chew. Filter by Soft & Chewy or look at the pate and freeze dried options instead. What to do about the calories Treats are where most dogs put weight on, not dinner. It's easy to forget that four chews and a handful of biscuits is a meal. The simple version: whatever goes in as treats comes off the dinner. If you're using a lot of training treats this week, feed a bit less that evening. If your dog is already carryin