Dogs

Treat Review Team Loves Zukes' Choices

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

This review has been a long time in the making. My friends at Zukes sent me an overly generous assortment of their goodies to test. Sophie's mom and I looked at the boxes of various textures, purposes and flavors and almost felt overwhelmed. Where should we start? As it turned out, we started at the beginning...training.

In going through our team routine of checking for palatability, digestibility, and quality ingredients, several of the owners of our diverse group of snack-testers offered similar responses to today's product focus. We all thought the tiny treats look like an old-fashioned vitamin tablet! I had to think that through for a while. Why did Zukes use that image for these treats? The answer came to me in the middle of the night, as sometimes quandaries are solved that way.

The Superfood Dog Treats and Mini Bakes Dog Treats are so nutritious that it's difficult to question their reasoning for creating a small treat that looks like a vitamin. Of course I also realize that our Fidos could care a less about the shape as long as it is easy enough to nosh on. What's wonderful about the unique packaging as a nutritious imagery is that they also included the scoring mark, to allow for easy breaking into two pieces, perfect for tiny Oliver who needs a much smaller training treat.

Given that training is a word often associated more with puppies, this ability to create a smaller nibble is ideal and inventive on Zuke's part. But more than that, their ingredients seal the deal. Just look at the vegetables in the Mean Greenz Superfood treats (I love that name!) and you find broccoli, spinach, peas, asparagus, kale, cabbage and green beans along with Organic oats and barley. You can guess that seeing the O word sold me. Can you guess what color these treats are? The box may give them away, but the ingredient list should offer a hint, as well. Ditto with their Very Berryz Superfood that sports a healthy assortment of antioxidant-rich raspberries, cranberries, blueberries, beets, cherries and blackberries. Are you seeing red?!!!

So, as training treats go, the Superfood Dog Treats get a hearty 2 paws up from the All Things Dog Blog Treat Review Team. We then moved on to a tinier version of the vitamin image in their Zukes Mini Bakes, which combine chicken and turkey with fruits and vegetables in their different flavor offerings. It was no surprise that Tanner and Oliver enjoyed these as well, and I found the even smaller size to work better for Oliver during photo shoots, as it didn't hold up the next shoot for quite as long. Those tiny teeth of his take a while to do their job.

For many owners that do a great deal of training in a low-anxiety environment (we're not talking about working on fear issues or challenging agility courses), a dry, non-sticky training treat is the best choice. Something that won't stain your pocket or make a mess on your hands is good when working on daily motivation to mold behaviors. I suppose that's where I categorize Tanner and Oliver's training, focused more on photo behaviors and rock solid stays, while I hold a camera and arrange and re-arrange their "sets". Sticky hands and camera lenses just don't mix. But more importantly, the treats must be tasty. Our team all agreed on this criteria!

Where can you buy Zukes for your Fido? Of course their website is one option that will save you time and gasoline. You'll also find a locator for other online retailers here. If you're looking for local brick and mortar stores, try their Store Locator to find the closest retailer.

Watch the blog for a giveaway of Zukes that will have you singing all the way to your training area. Happy tails are sure to happen.

Full disclosure: Zukes provided us with samples of a number of their treats to review and share our findings with you. A review of their moist treats will follow this one. We have not been paid to share our experiences or opinion and the comments here are our own.

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