Does anyone use a butcher to get treats for their dog?

[J. Morrison]

I feel like normal dog treats are horribly over-priced. Do you guys go to a butcher to get meat? I've been thinking of just getting some scraps and cooking them on low heat for a long time to dry them out. I feel like it would be far more affordable. What do you guys use for high value dog treats?

[Emily]

For training treats, bake beef liver till it's nice and dry, and then dice. Dice chicken and just microwave it. You can also nuke hot dogs until they're nice and leathery and dry too. Microwave ground beef until it's cooked and break it into crumbles. I store training treats in the freezer, and just grab some and zap it until it's thawed when I need it.

[Kat09Tails]

The only cooking I do is occasionally I make microwave training treats out of sliced chicken breast on a paper towel. Then cut into a million tiny pieces with shears. Right now I find I use a lot of low sodium hot dogs - the cheap sort with only the finest lips and hooves contained.

Everything else my dogs eat is raw.

As far as high value goes - depends on the dog. One dog's moderate to low value is another dog's high to ultra high value. In other words you need to figure out what floats your dog's boat.

[stardogs]

I cut up hot dogs and string cheese sticks if I need lots of high value treats; no cooking needed! One 1/4" thick slice of each can be made into 4-6 small treats, so easily 100 treats from a single string cheese stick or hot dog!

[Michiyo-Fir]

I make lots of treats myself. But I haven't gone to a butcher to get meat, I just bought it at the supermarket.

I dry quite a lot of chicken breasts and fish in the oven. Also I get liver, heart, gizzard (whatever else internal organs that happen to be on sale), grind it up with some pumpkin to make it stick together and dry that in the oven as well. The pumpkin/organs one is really really popular here.

[AdrianneIsabel]

I'll train with anything, sometimes homemade, sometimes store bought. My fav right now are planet dog treats. http://www.amazon.com/Planet-Dog-Pep.../dp/B004089IPG

[Beanie]

Never gone to the butcher for treats, just for meals. A whole pork hock might make for an interesting training lesson!

I put chicken in the crockpot and let it cook until it just falls apart if I want chicken; otherwise I use hot dog or cheese and just rip off pieces as I need it. Never bothered to dehydrate hot dog in the microwave though I know you can. Hot dog is our highest value treat but I'm sure some dogs would rather something else. Also have done sandwich meats (sliced at the deli) before.

Otherwise I buy a lot of treats because I like soft treats more than crunchy treats. Shredded chicken is about the closest I could get as far as texture and messiness goes! Hot dog is nasty, but that's probably because I intentionally buy the nasty, gross, kinda greasy kind, because it smells really strong and that's exactly why it's our highest value treat, haha.

[AllieMackie]

Originally Posted by Beanie

Never gone to the butcher for treats, just for meals. A whole pork hock might make for an interesting training lesson!

^ Yup! Butcher's for food, haha.

I sometimes get cheapo liver from the grocery store and dehydrate it, or I make my own treats by blending cooked chicken, sweet potato and a dash of molasses into a paste, making droplets in the dehydrator and drying them until they're good to go.

[Emily]

Originally Posted by Michiyo-Fir

Also I get liver, heart, gizzard (whatever else internal organs that happen to be on sale), grind it up with some pumpkin to make it stick together and dry that in the oven as well. The pumpkin/organs one is really really popular here.

I NEVER thought of using pumpkin as a binder before... What a great idea! Liver and pumpkin treats, here I come!

[Emily]

Originally Posted by Beanie

Hot dog is nasty, but that's probably because I intentionally buy the nasty, gross, kinda greasy kind, because it smells really strong and that's exactly why it's our highest value treat, haha.

Ick, I know. That's why I nuke it to death, honestly - so my hands don't get so nasty. Also makes it taste like bacon... mmm... bacon.