As with you humans, we dogs like the occasional food treat between meals. The right kinds of treats are good for us, providing a healthy outlet for anxious behavior, even cleaning our teeth. The wrong kinds can damage our health, encourage us to steal your human food or give us other wrong training signals.

A treat at just the right time can reward good canine behavior. We like treats to let us know when we’re doing the right thing, like walking beside you peacefully or playing nicely with others. When we’re cooped up in the house and our minds turn to things you’d rather we stay away from, a bit of rawhide can occupy us for hours and make us forget all about your shoes.


For training, the best treats are little bits of healthy stuff that tastes good. They don’t have to be steak. In fact, we get kind of confused when you give us human food and then get upset when we climb up on the counter for more. Please help us keep straight what we are and are not allowed to have by making our treats for dogs only (and then don’t let us catch you eating our stuff!). Table scraps are the worst, since it only turns us into human food addicts ready to do anything (beg, whine, dig through your trash, climb into dumpsters) for more.

Bones can be OK, as long as they are not evil chicken bones, which can splinter and cause internal bleeding. Chocolate is out, out out - it hurts our organs. Bits of kibble, dog biscuits, even a special treat from a doggie bakery is appreciated (yes, we have our own bakeries now).

At the end of the day, or when you think our breath isn’t so hot, a Greenie, a Iams Tartar Treat or a bit of rawhide can help us clean our teeth. This is important, since Sonicare has not yet recognized the canine market.

As with your treats, please exercise moderation. They tell us that treats should not amount to more than 10% of our daily caloric input.

If you can think of any more ideas I’ll be out on the patio with a scotch and soda.