[Charla H]

I like to have a variety of treats for my dog, Spike.

I like to feed him healthy, actual food that I could eat as a treat. He LOVES apple slices, cucumber slices, cherries and carrots. We frequent the farmers’ market, and some of the farmers treat him to bites of produce. He’s a picky eater — he turns up his nose at the homemade dog biscuit booth — he’d rather have a nice vegetable treat or even a bit of cheese from one of the creameries. And he LOVES popcorn.

The meat producers at the farmer’s market also sell dog bones. I buy beef, pork, lamb and bison bones for Spike as treats. I freeze them and give them to him outside on hit days — like a doggy popsicle.

I also give him Mingua Beef Jerky. It’s made by a family in my hometown, and it’s for people. I stay away from the spicy varieties. He loves his beef jerky!

There are also some freeze-dried liver bits that he loves. I am out of them now and can’t remember the name (if they change their packaging, I’m in trouble because I know them by their blue bag.) But they are just freeze-dried beef liver. They are about the size of regular dog kibble.

He also gets some treats to clean his teeth, freshen his breath and for his coat/skin.

For small training treats, I buy a small bag of dog food that is a different brand than his daily food. I can use lots of treats in training because I literally exchange the exact amount, whatever part that might be, from the food in his bowl. As long as the treat food is as good a quality as the dish food, you’re good on nutrition and safe on calories.

I also use the food treat exchange for socialization. I’ll take it in a treat pack on my belt and let kids at the market or whomever, offer him a treat, or give him a treat when he gets on the elevator, or whatever. He eats small bites, so he can be treated fifty times without a noticeable change (at least to him) in his food bowl.

Clearly, he is spoiled rotten. No, he doesn’t get all of these treats in one day! But he’s still rather spoiled.