Now Barbara has been known to joke that if she cut up cardboard into bite size pieces I would eat them as treats. This is a complete lie and very rude of her to say. I have a discriminating palate and have devised a rating system to identify the best treats.
4 PAWS: Scrumptious - will eat them even when I see squirrels
3 PAWS Delicious - will eat them most of the time
2 PAWS Tasty - will eat them when there are no distractions
1 PAW slightly better than cardboard
I tried to do this in a very scientific manner by comparing treats of similar types and then pitting the best of each type against each other. We put the treats on paper plates. I had to do a sit stay and when she said "OK" I ran to pick which one I liked better. To take in account a left or right bias the treats were switched after a few trials.
Once I selected the most delicious treats we tried them during my training practice.
I know that you have all been waiting anxiously for the results of this very important scientific experiment and here they are:
4 PAWS
Cloud Star Tender Jerky Strips - Pork
3 PAWS
Buddy Biscuits Soft & Chewy - Bacon & Cheese Madness
Buddy Biscuits Soft & Chewy - Beef Madness
Cloud Star Muttos - Duck & Sweet Potato
2 PAWS
Buddy Biscuits Soft & Chewy - Peanut Butter Madness
Vida - Chicken
Train-Me - Beef
1 PAW
Liver Biscotti
Benny Bully's
Now for this to be statistically significant I would have had have done many more repetitions of eating the treats. This sounded like a fine idea to me but Barbara was afraid I would get sick. Also this is my opinion only. It is our responsibility as blogging dogs to taste test as many treats as possible and share the results with the world. Of course your people must read the labels on the treat packages carefully so they don't give you a treat that will cause you problems. Fortunately I don't have any allergies or protein sensitivities but I know that some of my friends do. So test some treats and let us know your favorities.
I also wanted to let you know about a treat dispensing toy called the Kibble Nibble. Barbara bought it for me at the APDT Conference and I have been having a lot of fun with it.
It opens up and your person can put your kibbles and treats in it.
Then they screw it back together and give it to you to play with. As you roll it around on the floor, the food falls out!
Here are a few pictures of me pushing it around the APS training center. Barbara likes it because the purple lines on the side are rubber which means it doesn't make much noise when I roll it around.
Since I am pretty good at getting stuff out of a Kong and a Twist & Treat, the Kibble Nibble wasn't very challenging but it was still fun and of course I got good things to eat!
All this scientific research and product testing is quite exhausting so I must go take a long nap now.
18 comments:
Hi Niamh,
Your tasting test sounds very interesting. My person Sandi brought home a lot of different treats from her conference, but I get so excited getting the treats that I really don't taste them, or even chew them. Perhaps I should try to slow down and enjoy the treats instead of just inhaling them.
Sandi works with me on this problem with my breakfast and dinner. I am still a little worried that someone will take my food away and eating can make me nervous. Positive training with rewards makes it easier for me to work on this problem. Plus it makes training so much fun!
Your friend, Ayla
Hi, Niamh!
Looks like you have been very busy testing all those treats!
And that toy too!
I don't get many treats and my favorite is chicken jerk!
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza
That is a hugely interesting post. The only problem at this end is that we don't have Cloud Star/Buddy Biscuits available in France. Sigh.............
I like the look of the treat ball too. Maybe I can persuade #1 to order me one.
Your Pal,
Tom
That was a really cool experiment, Niamh! I can't get any of those types of treats where I live unless my mom orders them online, but I'm not sure if they would interest me much. The only treat that I like is cheese, but not even cheese holds any sway over me if I'm not hungry. When my mom first got me she discovered my lack of enthusiasm for food pretty quickly so when I was taught proper dog manners she always had to use a lot of praise or my ball as a reward. Maybe if I could try one of those super cool treats you tried I may change my mind about treats.
All the treats sound sooo delish to me! But I'd never go for the peanut butter one. Not my kinda of taste. That toy looks pretty fun too! Bet it's hard to get the treats out. You can keep rolling them again & again & it takes a million years for'em to come out. Right?
Back to my BOOGIEself,
Solid Gold Dancer
Well personally we think you should have really(for a more accurate representation) been allowed to eat the entire contents of each package...but.. humans....PL2 is very intereseted in that treat ball because everyone she has gotten has been VERY LOUD!! Love A+A
Oh Niamh,We wished you lived near us as well! First of all we could all play and 2cd we would LOVE to have your human as our trainer! PL2 is worried now..Is a penny/coffee can bad??She has had such awfull luck with finding a trainer that is right for us( boy oh boy could she tell your human a story or too!!) Does your human know of anyone in the area??If your human wants to reply by email she can email PL2 at our email site which is on our blog( sometimes we let her use it) Love A+A
Niamh,
Thank you so much for doing the taste testing. Mom has noted your choices and will be picking up some of your 4 paw picks. I've got a kibble cube that Mom uses when my separation anxiety rears up, so we are intrigued in the kibble nibble. You are a great tester!
Your pal,
Kirby
That's neat that you got to taste test. Our girl just thinks that a treat is a treat is a treat.
We have some kibble balls (not quite like your Kibble Nibble). We love to throw them around to get the kibble.
Thank you for the reviews. We have seen those treat thingies at the dog store. Mom sometimes makes me stay in the house and then she scatters treats around the yard for me to find, but maybe the treat ball would be fun too.
SLobbbers,
Mango
We sure hope that Mom gets us some treats to test.. That looks like a great pass time. Cool toy too.. We will ask for one of those for Xmas..
Big Sloppy Kisses
Gus, Louie and Callie
Niamh,
You have provided an invaluable public service by volunteering to do this tedious test of dawg treats. I'm sure you suffered through the process but the data will help save countless dawgs from unpalatable treats in the future. Thank you for your selflessness! You are a dawg above dawgs!
Pedro
Oooh, Ms. Alpha likes your silent treat ball. I haven't seen my plastic treat toy for a while because it makes a RACKET!!!
We also love those meaty strips.
Speaking of treats, last week Ms. Alpha dropped a McDonald's french fry on the floor. Of course I had to go have a sniff and see if it pleased me. I turned my head away in disgust. Not even a lick or nibble! That taught Ms. Alpha a lesson...if a dog turns away, it must be BAD!
No more McD's french fries in MY house!
Your pal,
Fenway
We won't be buying any Liver Biscotti or Benny Bully's! hehehehe Thanks for the taste testing tip, Niamh!
What a cool treat ball! We think that needs to go on our Christmas list!
Love ya lots,
Maggie and Mitch
Niamh!! OHhhhhh... how nice! :) We wanted to join you to try so many different kinds of treats!!!! Anyway thank you for your review. We're sure our mom will take a memo to get us more treats. :)
Momo & Pinot
Oh wow Niamh, that taste testing looked fun.
We both have sensitive tummys and so we have to be careful what treats we try. We do have a selection of our favourites though, treats are yummy. :-)
Your pals,
Holly & Zac
Hi Niamh! Not fair....we don't get to test lots of different treats like you *sigh* it's a dog's life! Anyway, tonight we got an award for our blog and we think oyu're cool so we wanted to pass it on to you......enjoy!
Slobbers xx
I used to have a little ball like that big one. Mum says you must have very discerning tastes and i would have just snaffled them all up. I dunno what she means!
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