Hello there!

I wondered firstly where people source their chicken wings from? As we just have the one pup (now 13 weeks), I am not looking to buy in bulk really but a chicken wing a week wouldn't go a miss without obviously paying over the odds!

Also, she goes to pup classes for socialising and I am doing quite well with her initial training, but I would like to vary her rewards and wondered what others have found to be successful rewards...?
I use (ONLY for whistle recall when we are out) chopped up chicken breast or thighs which at the moment is her ultimate reward treat. Otherwise she gets some titbits from PAH such as their soft biscuit bones and James Wainwrights dried duck bits etc.

We did try baked liver once but she lost interest pretty quickly. I do try and vary how she is given them so she doesn't get the same all the time but of course I would like to reward her with something she likes!

All advice is appreciated, thank you!

Tesco and Morissons and Asda do trays of chicken wings, I often get them if I run out before my next DAF delivery is due. With only one dog you can bag them up in 2 or 3's and freeze them.

Diane

I take it you have tried the supermarkets for chicken wings (under £2 for 10)?I have three dogs and that's where we go, though admittedly it gets a bit pricey when they go through 4 boxes a week on top of everything else?

I make liver cake for mine, flavoured with a bit of garlic--they all like that, but my latest discovery in the line of dog treats is blueberry pancakes :)

I get my dogs chicken wings from the butchers along with all their carcasses and other bits of meat, if I was stuck and wanted to pick some up i'd just pop in tesco and buy a load.

As for treats I make liver cake - with garlic, have sausages, chicken, ham, veal, venison etc...I vary it all the time so they don't get bored.

I haven't found £2 for 10 chicken wings in supermarkets??! BLIMEY. Can't argue with that price... Can you tell me which supermarket that is please?

I've heard you can give cheese as treats and use it to seal rubber kongs up.. Is this true? Are there any cheeses to avoid?

I will try adding bits into my liver cake, see if it improves!

Thank you!

Tescos are about that price, I think Morrisons are cheaper. If you are able to order raw food in bulk, then suppliers do chicken wings and/or necks for about £3 per 2kg bag. Also sliced liver about the same price - useful to keep in the freezer for making liver cake.

Sorry to go off track a little but I too have heard of cheese as treats......what type ? Should this be goats cheese as we are told to avoid cows milk ?

I would love to give my bullie cheese as treats but want to make sure I don't make him poorly...

>I haven't found £2 for 10 chicken wings in supermarkets??! BLIMEY. Can't argue with that price... Can you tell me which supermarket that is please?

The Tesco Value packs of wings are roughly that price.

>cheese as treats......what type ? Should this be goats cheese as we are told to avoid cows milk ?

No need to look for obscure cheese - ordinary cheddar's fine.

Sounds good to me!

Thanks for the tips everyone!

Edam is a good one - it doesn't crumble like cheddar, so it's easy to cut into tiny cubes for treats, plus it's a bit more smelly (always a good advantage!). If you leave the cubes in a cool airy place for a few days they dry out into little crunchies.

> Sorry to go off track a little but I too have heard of cheese as treats......what type ?

I use cheddar as that's what we have in the fridge anyway :) It's easy to cut up into little cubes - the mild chedder doesn't crumble as much in your pocket as mature cheddar, but mature cheder has the edge, it's stronger in taste & smell (and I like to scoff a few cubes myself when I'm chopping some up) :-D

> Edam is a good one - it doesn't crumble like cheddar, so it's easy to cut into tiny cubes for treats, plus it's a bit more smelly (always a good advantage!). If you leave the cubes in a cool airy place for a few days they dry out into little crunchies.

Ooooh, good tip MsT :) Have to give that a try :)

Cooked heart.

It does not stink like liver, crumble like liver and is not as laxative as liver........ ;)

Hi PippaPuppy, both Asda and Sainsbury do a 'basic' range which means that 10 wins can cost anywhere from £1.50odd to maybe pennies over £2 for really big wings. Mostly I pay around the £1.80 mark.

asda "smart price" chicken wings are the cheapest from a supermarket,I think £1.97 a kilo. I buy from The Dog Food Company but use asda's if I run out.

Yeah I've heard of the basic's ranges in the supermarkets - use them too! Just hadn't seen the wings before, nor was I sure where the cheapest place was to get them from without them being rags!

Thanks for all your help though, the edam cheese and basics/values wings are on the shopping list! :D

Sainsbury's often have special deals on with the buy 3 for 2 packs. They often work out cheaper on those offers than the basics range. But yes that is where I currently get my wings from, the supermarkets..

Have you done the tuna frozen into the kong? Thats always a good one to keep them going, especially when teething.

I get the pre-packed trays of ox heart and ox liver from Morrisons, and also cheese. I put a mixture of all of it into a sandwich bag and then put the sandwich bag into my treat bag for a bit of variety.

Tuna, no? Just normal tinned tuna?
I tried peanut butter and she was ok for a couple of weeks with it, then it started making her sick so I stopped giving it to her.

I think I will google some new ideas for the kong, she's chasing me round all day long and I'm getting very little done at the moment! She's currently pinched my hot water bottle and is having a good chew whilst I type as she is getting big enough to jump onto furniture and trying her luck haha!

I will definately have a look at these deals at supermarkets as I would really like to try her on a chicken wing! Thank you for all your help! :)

Just noticed you post pp about chasing me around and not getting anything done. I am in exactly the same position fun isnt it. She is asleep atm so I am creeping around doing things so as not to wake her !!

I use smoked sausage or cocktail sausages and keep packets of Smackos for emergencies :)

Larger pet shops with freezers will sell frozen pet meats so have a look for Prize Choice.  They offer all minces and tripe in blocks and 'freeflow' but also have chunks of beef, hearts, poultry necks and wings too.  Best to ring around as not all pet shops sell the whole range.

I sometimes buy special offer or value wings from Tesco and they are pretty good and meaty and not too expensive.

Treats: I buy a range of different things but my dogs all like hot dogs.  I cut them pretty small and if left to dry out they shrink and get chewy which makes them easier to handle.   

> Best to ring around as not all pet shops sell the whole range.
>

Just to add to this, our local pet shop stocks some of the Prize Choice range and will happily order-in anything they don't allready carry. Worth asking the pet shop if they'd do this.

I've heard of Prize Choice, I will wait until we move at the end of the month before I start asking shops around here to buy things in for me! But thanks for the heads up! At the mo she is on Pets at Home frozen meat with a little bit of kibble so she is used to getting meat. I will try all these ideas to vary her treats though, thank you!

As for getting nothing done, I really haven't! I take her out to exhaust her a bit but by the time I have and she is asleep, I'm shattered myself and sit down to watch half an hours worth of tv from the sky planner haha! I don't know how some people do it with litter after litter... Pure dedication!