The joy of treats

This post is sponsored by WellPet, but the content and opinions expressed here are my own. 

As I alluded to in last week's post, having a dog is an incredibly rewarding experience on many levels, but you also need to put in a lot of work. There's the physical work, like exercising your dog, and there's mental work, which is often the more challenging kind. In order to make life easier for you and your dog, a certain level of training is in order. The most basic is housebreaking, followed by sit, stay, and come; you can get fancy and teach your dog tricks, and if they have the right temperament, they can be trained to be a service animal. However you train your dog, repetition and reinforcement are key—we practice training Zuni every single day—and in order to make it stick, you need to reward your dog. Some dogs respond better to action-based rewards, like getting to play with a favorite toy, whereas others respond best to treats. Zuni falls into the treat-based category, and when she's being stubborn (which is fairly frequently) it helps to have some that are really rewarding. Thankfully we've discovered Old Mother Hubbard, and Zuni loves them so much, she'll do just about anything for one. 

Old Mother Hubbard has been making all-natural dog treats in Massachusetts since 1926, using home-style recipes and wholesome ingredients. To keep Zuni on her toes, we alternate between the P-Nuttier peanut-butter flavor and the Original assortment, which has chicken, cheddar, char tar, and original flavors. The treats are oven-baked and super crunchy, which I like because it takes Zuni a bit longer to eat, versus softer treats, which she inhales in seconds. 




You can give your dog a treat anytime, of course, but since Zuni loves these Old Mother Hubbard treats so much, we like to use them to reward her during training. I like to break the treats in two, as even the mini is generous for a dog of Zuni's size, but if she's a reallllly good dog, I give her a whole treat. Here we are practicing "touch."




The deliciousness of this reward helps to reinforce when Zuni is doing something right, and I honestly love watching the joy on her face as she scarfs it down. It's especially awesome when she licks her lips and smiles (she's technically panting, but it looks like a smile to me). Zuni is clearly my dog—we both love to eat!




You can find Old Mother Hubbard dog treats at Wal-Mart, either in-store or using Online Grocery Pickup. Thanks to Old Mother Hubbard for sponsoring this post! 

8 comments

Mica said...

She is such a cute pup! :) Our little Shih Tzu is very food motivated too so food is great for training - although with a few party tricks we didn't try teach him much more, so he only knows about 12 commands, haha! :)

Hope that you are having a lovely weekend :)

Away From Blue

Gata Collins said...

Thank you for sharing your thoughts about this product! I'll give it a shot!
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Straight A Style said...

These are the cutest photos! Sounds like a great dog treat.

Amy Ann
Straight A Style

Laura B said...

I haven't heard of these treats before. Thanks for sharing! I'm always trying out new things since this is the first time I've had a dog!

Shelbee on the Edge said...

What a sweet pup Zuni is! I have been wanting to stock up on dog treats for the pups in my neighborhood. My neighbor across the street has the cutest dog, Wally, and I can't even tell you how many times I will just be sitting in my house and Wally appears in my living room! Haha. I don't know who lets him in, but he loves visiting us! Sadly, they are moving to Virginia next week and I will miss Wally's impromptu visits. Such a wonderful pup post, Cheryl! Thanks for sharing and linking up with me.

Shelbee
www.shelbeeontheedge.com

Shauna Crymble said...

Your dog is very cute!

Aidan Brogan said...

Thanks for reviewing!

autobiography writing services said...

What an adorable puppy she is! :) Food is a terrific training tool because our little Shih Tzu is highly food motivated as well; however, we only tried teaching him a few party skills and didn't try teaching him many more commands, thus he only knows approximately 12 at the moment.