Best Dog Treats Besides beef liver are 80-90% meat dog treats

Recap – why the best dog treat for training is beef liver

A previous article looks at using Beef liver as a reward training treat. This is used universally for several reasons.

It is 100% offal, with no need for preservatives, colouring etc

It is very pungent and dogs love very smelly things. Its taste is very strong, and meat flavoured, which most dogs find irresistible.

Almost every brand of dog treat stocks some form of beef liver in its range so it becomes a commodity and is cheap.

Beef liver has a long storage shelf life

Beef liver dog treats are easy to break into smaller and smaller pieces, so even if you only have one small chunk in your pocket, you are likely to be able to make it go a long way and have many retrieves with rewards on the one liver treat.

It is very nutritious.

Best dog treats – MEAT BASED – Why use anything else for a dog training treat?

Have you ever eaten exactly the same topping of sandwich for a month of lunches? Do you feel pretty sick of that sameness over time? Well dogs can also. Though with beef liver it is pretty rare.

One of the main reasons people might choose something different occasionally for dog training is the potential for toxicity form vitamin A etc (because it is a very nutrient dense food).

There are very few dogs who are social able who will refuse beef liver but there are some, so if you are going to treat based reward your dog for training, then you will need something else.

Best dog treats for training – other 100% meat based dog treats

People may wonder why I am ‘banging on’ about meat based dog treats. Surely if grain is good enough for my dogs main meal, it should be for its treats.

Well you may find that since a dog gets plenty of grain already in its main diet, and it is mostly a carnivore if given choice, that giving a meat based treat for reward is a great idea for all these reasons.

If you are going to really reward a dog for doing a good behavior, why wouldn’t you give it the most healthy natural and nutritious dog treats you can find.

100% meat treats fit this bill, such as buffalo chicken and beef jerky, but you are most likely going to have to cut them down to size for a training quick eat.

That is why smaller meat treats, that are usually combined with some flour, might be the best alternative. But if you are going to stay really healthy, buy the ones that are 80% plus meat based.