Hot dog alternatives - Page 1

First, Id like to say that I personally feel and think that hot dogs are disgusting. I cannot stand the smell of them and all I can think of when I see one is ground up animal genitals. I also remember this time when I was a kid on the school bus, and I looked down to see this dirty little stinky hot dog rolling around on the floor, BLEH! Maybe that experience traumatized me, I dont know. They are also way too slimey, even if someone claims to have "dried" them. My question is, is what are some other good treats that people use other than hot dogs. Right now, Ive tried bacon, which didnt seem to work to well being that the peices were too small. Also have tried Bill & Jac chicken liver treats. I had a hard time with those at first because they crumbled up, but now I dump the bag out and cut one peice into 8 and then return them to the back. Has anyone ever tried making their own Jerky? I am open to trying just about anything, except hot dogs.

rolled dog food. there are a couple different brands, i like the dick van patten natural choice. cut it into slices, then smaller chucks. it freezes well and wont stick back together. works well with tracking, and smells pretty good too. i havent found a dog yet that didnt like it, and that includes my male who hates hot dogs as much as you do. john

we use either Frozen BilJac or we make our own treats from liver. Its kind of smelly to make but they work good. We take liver and cut it cubes,sprinkle them with garlic, cook them in a 200 degree over for two hours and then take them out, flip them and drain the liquid then put them back in a 150 degree oven over night or until they are dry and crunchy. We just store them in an air tight container. this dries the liver out and works great. Jessica GSDBrisko@aol.com

My dog hates hot dogs, he'll pass right over them on a track. Upon running into problems with him tracking too fast and missing corners I had to find something he'd track for and eat every piece. He's very finicky, I couldn't find anything he'd go goobers over till I saw how he was when my dad opened a can of chicken. So thats what I've been using, canned chicken also Perdue chicken cuts (cooked and already sliced in a bag). The canned chicken is very convenient but expensive, hey whatever works. Its also easy to crumble in small pieces while you're laying the track.

Dogs go nuts for this! I do not remember the exact proportions but it will be close, you can't seem to screw up according to any dogs I have given them to. Liver Cookies - Preheat Oven to 350 degrees 1 package liver (about 1 lb.) 1 tblsp. garlic salt OR 1/2 tblsp. garlic powder (or mixture of both) 1 cup cornmeal 1 cup whole wheat flour Grind the liver to a pulp in a food processor. Scrap out into a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Mix until it makes a stiff like dough. Add more flour/ cornmeal if necessary or throw in an egg if to stiff. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and grease or use Pam type spray. Wet your hands this stuff sticks... and spread the dough out on the cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes and let cool (or serve warm LOL) Break into training size treats but watch your fingers you might loose a couple! I have also added things like grated carrots, smoke flavoring etc.

GSDfan, Whats the name of the canned chicken?

Ooops I should have said also store in a zip lock bag in the fridge. If you make alot you might want to freeze as it will go bad. But when it is cooked up it looks like a mollasses cookie. Really easy to break in small pieces.

Hormel, there's others though, I get whatever's on sale. I get the 10oz (might be 12oz) can, which is usually good for one track when I don't put a piece in every footstep. Canned chicken is usually near the canned tuna in the supermarket.

Trailrider I too make something very simular for my dogs treats and training. I also supply them to a dog club here for Tracking classes as Tracking Bait. They do have to be refigerated or I freeze mine. I cut them up with a huge pizza cutter and my dog love them. 3 eggs 2/3 cup oil vegetable or olive oil 1 pound raw beef liver 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon garlic (fresh minced or dried) or garlic salt to taste Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Beat eggs and oil a few seconds in blender. Using scissors, cut liver into small pieces and add to egg/oil mixture. Add a few tablespoons of water to any liver juice remaining in the container, swish, and add to blender mixture. Add fresh minced or powdered garlic or garlic salt 'to taste' and puree until thoroughly blended. Pour mixture into bowl. Add flour while stirring. Depending on your flour, humidity, elevation, etc., adjust flour as necessary. You want the consistency of brownie batter that can be poured into the pans -- not runny, but not like cookie dough either. Spoon batter into non-stick or spray-coated cake or jelly roll pan (I divide the batter between two standard 13x9 sheet cake pans) and spread evenly. Tap pan on counter several times to bring up any air bubbles in the batter. Bake for 10 minutes in 425 degree oven, or until the top is dry and outer edges are just beginning to brown. The thickness of your treats and the baking time will vary depending on the size of the pan(s) you use. Remove from the oven. Cool in pans 5 minutes. Tip cakes out of the pans onto a cutting board, one atop the other. (You can score the treats while they're still in the pan, but that can be hard on your knife blade and on a non-stick baking pan.) Let cool for another five minutes or so. For a soft treat -- Score with a sharp knife lengthwise and widthwise into 1/2" x 1/2" (dime size) pieces. When completely cool, store. Recommended method for the young pup with teething sensitivity. For a firm treat -- Score with a sharp knife into 1/2" x 1/2" pieces. Spread the treats out in the two baking pans or on a large cookie sheet. TURN OFF THE OVEN, and return the treats to the oven to dry for an hour or so. Trust me though, it's kinda gross running the fresh liver thru the food processor but they last so long and I feel good about letting my dogs have a healthy treat like this. They also are ugly as can be, But not to the dogs (laffin) Course, I'm fanatical when it comes to my dogs food and care. I even grate up fresh carrots for them weekly and add in a little apple also.

When I went to see an ACK obedience training instructor, she had the best trained dog in there, he was a mini dachshund!!...She said her "secret" was bolied chicken...my dogs personally love it, so thats what i use when doing tracking and OB...dogs love it and it works great!?(also isent slimy and dosent smell lol)