# High-value crunchy treats?



## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

I'm looking for some very high-value, crunchy treats that I can have other people give to Archie in exchange for sitting politely or doing other tricks. Anybody have any ideas?

I'm thinking crunchy treats because non-dog people are usually more comfortable handling those. And high-value because he needs super yummy treats to compete with how much he loves jumping up on people, especially if he's not at home. Right now his high-value treats are stuff like hot dog bits and pieces of boiled chicken, which I don't anticipate most people being happy about handling.


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Have you tried freeze dried liver? They carry it at petsmart and petco.....they usually LOVE it!


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Stella & Chewy's freeze dried doggie treats.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Mine love liver biscotti - liquidised liver, an egg, wheat or rice or potato flour to make a dropping consistency.  Bake in a loaf tin at around 350F until cooked through (a skewer or fork comes out clean), slice and cut into strips, and bake again in a very low oven until dry. I found pure dried liver gave Sophy diarrhoea!


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## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

Freeze-dried liver gave Archie tummy issues last time we tried it, though he did love it. I'll look at the Stella & Chewy freeze-dried food...is it pretty crumbly/dusty or does it hold together well? I'm hoping for something that won't leave a lot of residue on people's hands.


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## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

fjm said:


> Mine love liver biscotti - liquidised liver, an egg, wheat or rice or potato flour to make a dropping consistency. Bake in a loaf tin at around 350F until cooked through (a skewer or fork comes out clean), slice and cut into strips, and bake again in a very low oven until dry. I found pure dried liver gave Sophy diarrhoea!


So the biscotti worked OK while the pure liver didn't? Archie gets diarrhea from the pure stuff too, so that might be a good option.


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Zukes treats leaves no residue and my dogs loved the sweet potato one.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I've never had problems with liver biscotti in reasonably small quantities, while one tiny piece of dried liver was enough to upset Sophy's tum. I suppose there is much less liver in each treat.


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## sophie anne (Feb 17, 2015)

The liver flavored Tricky Trainers work really well for this purpose. They are almost play-doh textured and don't leave any kind of residue except a faint liver smell if you roll them around between your fingers too much. I have had dogs smell them from in my pocket from across the room and Ari will do anything for them.

I cut them into four smaller pieces and use them mixed with freeze-dried bison (from Bravo) and pieces of Ari's kibble. She never knows what she's going to get which helps keep her interested. If we are doing something that requires a SUPER high value treat I use homemade chicken jerky that is still slightly chewy or freeze-dried tripe. Both of those are oily/very smelly though so probably not the best for handing to innocent strangers :aetsch:


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Zukes minis and a similar training treat by blue buffalo are both very clean to handle. My dogs all love both of those. I still mostly just give Javelin kibble though and Lily will also happily have kibble as training rewards.


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## Jasper Rules (Jul 12, 2015)

I second the stella and chewy's freeze dried treat suggestion. Not messy at all and most dogs love them! 

Also, Wellness came out with their Trufood line and it includes treats. They are hard and maybe a tad big for training, but Jasper thinks of them as high value (and he usually isn't a huge fan of crunchy treats)!


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## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

Thanks so much for the suggestions, guys! I'll do some shopping and try them all out.

Archie is weirdly picky about treats when he's out in public. He'll accept kibble or a "regular" training treat, but he won't eat it if there's too much excitement going on. For example, last night we went to Petco and an associate there asked my permission to give him a Blue Buffalo training treat. Archie accepted the treat excitedly, then dropped it on the floor and wouldn't take it again until we were back in the car. Once in the car he happily ate it, but in a less familiar environment he wouldn't. I'm not really sure what that's about, but I assume it just takes a lot to overcome his interest in new/unfamiliar things.


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## sophie anne (Feb 17, 2015)

lisasgirl said:


> Thanks so much for the suggestions, guys! I'll do some shopping and try them all out.
> 
> Archie is weirdly picky about treats when he's out in public. He'll accept kibble or a "regular" training treat, but he won't eat it if there's too much excitement going on. For example, last night we went to Petco and an associate there asked my permission to give him a Blue Buffalo training treat. Archie accepted the treat excitedly, then dropped it on the floor and wouldn't take it again until we were back in the car. Once in the car he happily ate it, but in a less familiar environment he wouldn't. I'm not really sure what that's about, but I assume it just takes a lot to overcome his interest in new/unfamiliar things.


Ari does the same when she's overstimulated. To me, this is a signal that whatever we're doing is a little too much and that it's time to take the excitement level down a few notches because it's difficult/impossible to train when she is too distracted to even eat a treat. Maybe Archie is feeling overwhelmed?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Javelin has left quite a few treats on the floor in PetSmart. I also think it is because the general doings are more interesting than eating something. I think maybe also when it is at the cash register that the thought of eating something with all the other people, dogs, etc concentrated there may seem unsafe to him.

I thought of another good crunchy treat. K9 granola factory treats are keenly loved by all of my dogs. They are big, but easily broken up into fairly small pieces. For the use originally asked about I think I would break them up into the size pieces you think are appropriate and give them to the friendly stranger. I am just finishing up a 13 pound bag of pumpkin blueberry crunchers. For us this was a very practical and cost effective way to buy them. I share them with my mom too. K9 Granola Factory


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## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

He's done it in training class a few times, too. The trainer always just recommends a higher-value treat (or pulls one out herself, when he's the demo dog). We're between classes at the moment but our last trainer seemed to think it was just that looking at all the other dogs/people/environment was more interesting than stopping to take a treat. The funny thing is he always seems excited about the treat until he gets it, and then it's like he goes, "On second thought, nah." 

He still checks in with me and listens fairly well when all this is happening, so while it's likely that he is a bit overstimulated I think it's something he can work through for the right reward. Really what he wants most is attention, but the treat works best to lure him into position so he can greet politely in the first place, then the attention from the stranger reinforces it. Otherwise he just goes straight to jumping up and trying to lick their faces.

I'll check out the K9 granola treats too! Those look interesting.


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