Does anybody do this for their puppies? Red (13 weeks) and I start her training course next week. We have to take high quality treats. At the introductory meeting (without puppies), the trainer said to dehydrate vegetables such as carrots. I have bought a dehydrator and today am having my first go at dehydrating carrots. (She also said bits of Red Leicester cheese is ok too). I did start to give Red purchased dog treats but stopped these about a week ago (loose poo) and have been using part of her kibble allowance instead and a little bit of cooked chicken. The course is an evening one and I don't want to fill her up on kibble. Would be very interested to hear what other people do.
I don't bother with the dehydrating, Coco has roast beef cut up small, pork sausage (occasionally - but it is very high value). Carrot - cut up small. Giant Bonio biscuits (these are ultra high value for some reason). Schmackos (I really don't like these but Coco, again, thinks they're high value) - these last 2 are used when he needs luring/distracting. Definitely don't use Schmackos with Red...runny bum time. What does Red think of carrots? If she loves them, they sound like a good option for the evening. If the carrots come out titchy, I can see it'd be great for a little puppy. Interested to hear how they turn out. Oh you might make me invest in a dehydrator.... I wonder why your trainer specified "Red Leicester" cheese? Are you in Leicester? I think I'd eat it all before the dog got any! I love a good Red Leicester. Mild Cheddar is good. I use Edam for rare visits to the vet. Think "cheeses that don't crumble".
Thank you so much for this response. She said Red Leicester has less salt in it - don't know about this. Will get some but like you, I will probably eat it !! Not sure if Red will like the carrots but will give it a go. At least I can eat them if she's not interested. Thought I'd give the dehydrator a go anyway as can make healthy snacks for grandchildren.
I've thought about getting a dehydrator too... I suppose you could use it for veg like carrot, apple, sweet potato or meaty treats like liver, or fish fillets. And I think you can make meat jerky too? Training classes were a pain for us because Jess has a pretty sensitive tummy and the number of treats that we got through always had unpleasant consequences. We had a lot of trial and error before figuring out which treats to give. Now I try to give her almost exclusively fish treats. (There's lot of these available at fish4dogs or petsathome - though do check the ingredients as many supposedly fish treats are actually chicken based. The squid bites are soft and can be broken into little pieces and smell very strong so quite effective in a training context). She also loves cheese, but I think tolerates it better now she's a bit older. For meat treats, the nature's menu treats are good and you can cut them into very small pieces to make a packet go further. Jess also loves schmackos!
Roast beef, roast pork, roast chicken, cooked pig liver, sausages all make high value treats. I also make tuna cookies, which are just tuna in oil, rice flour and egg. I've considered a dehydrator but I go through so many treats, I thing just roasting is easier
We have a dehydrator and used it once to dry beef liver for treats. It worked fine but the whole house smelled like an arson attack in an offal factory for weeks....
I use fish cubes for high value treats, but I'd be interested to find out how you go with the dehydrator - keep us posted ,,,
I would not dehydrate treats for training class for puppies because the treats get hard and crispy. Easily swallowed treats are better, our trainer said.. In class, with other dogs around, they tend to gulp in case another dog might try to get it. Hotdogs are great and you can buy them without preservatives, slimey things slide right down the gullet. I do dehydrate though. Make kangaroo jerky in my regular oven on it's dehydrating setting. Need to make some today.
I definitely havent thought of a dehydrator but the chicken I cooked Harley for puppy class was not a hit. She ate a few pieces and then couldn't be bothered. Granted it was just steamed chicken but still...
Dehydrated carrots have gone down well with both the dogs but I will probably use roast chicken at the first training session tomorrow evening (taking onboard Snowshoe's comment). Will definitely dehydrate more vegetables though for treats. Is cooked ham suitable for puppies or would this be too salty?
I give small amounts of ham, but you're right, it is salty, so you need to moderate it. Convenient for training, certainly. I buy blocks of that York ham (not sure if it's called York where you are) and cut it into tiny cubes. I find it sticks together less than regular sliced ham.
I use dried meat (duck) as high value, some biscuites with vanilla, apples (after I make his Kongs I just give him the rest as a treat if we train right ater, he LOVES them an have the most value with him) and his kibble. So far carrots are the only thing he won't eat.
I don't use kibble because she is too greedy and just swallow it so they stuck it her throat even the smallest pieces so I preffer anything soft
