What non-messy food item do your dogs go ABSOLUTELY NUTS for?

[Kestrel]

We've had two dogs. Dog #1 - cheese is the winner. I do suggest that you cut it into cubes and let it sit out on the counter for two or three hours; enough so it gets a crust on it. This makes it much less messy to deal with. Dog #2 - so NOT food motivated. For him, it was ball, ball, ball. Three good bounces and chuck it to the next room.

[dogmom]

To your particular situation I have couple of suggestions besides food if the dog is not food motivated. Have your DH sit on the floor of periods of time and ignore the dog, like on been bag watching the tv. Have you the kids interact with him be as calm and caring to your and the kids as possible. There is a good chance the dog witnessed violence to other members of the household from a male member. This might also help you refrain it for your DH, he might be more able to emotional get it that it wasn’t just some guy hurting the dog, but others. Make sure he is not trying to to make eye contact with the dog also. That can be very threatening.

[AnnieW625]

Our 4 year old 17lb (what we think is a) Doxen/Jack Russell Terrier/Chihuahua mix loves carrots, deli meat (salami is his favorite), dry cereal, bread, and his favorite traditional dog treats are Pupparoni discs. He pretty much wants to eat anything we are eating. We don’t give him much chicken because we think he has some skin issues and the vet suggested limit the chicken and the skin issues all but went away.


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[Howtobelovely]

Our third dog was originally scared to death of DH, but she got over it with time and slow affection. She was a daddy's girl until the bitter end.

One of our other dogs doesn't get along with little girls (he growled at them, so mortifying!) and wouldn't you know it, our dog minder wanted to bring her niece over. Our trainer encouraged that we use the smelliest treat, give them to the little girl and have her toss them at the dog one at a time. They only came from her and were not given to our younger dog. It worked out tremendously (although I cringe when I see the pictures of her petting him). So, that's what I recommend. Good luck!

[doberbrat]

All good things should come from dh - attention, walks, food, toys etc.

if you want less messy hotdogs, you can quarter them and cut into strips and nuke in the microwave.

Also, you can get beef heart, slice it thinly and put in the oven on low (200?) till its dried out.

[dhano923]

Our lab has several food allergies, so we have limited snack options. Hits with her are:
Cheese
Blueberries
Carrots
Grain-free peanut butter and banana biscuits from Trader Joes - they are small, like 2”
Merrick Power Bites dog treats

[hbridge]

Try different things yourself before transferring to your DH.

Cheese Sticks always the no. 1 in this house, but also try:

Cheerios (one pup will do anything for them, the other not so much)
Liver treats
Carrots
Ginger cookies from trader joes (if they still have them, they are small)
Dried chicken dog treats (but watch for allergies)

[twowhat?]

Twowhat, do we own the same dog??!! Our situation is very similar except now the dog barks or growls when DH enters the room or she hears him come up the stairs from the basement (and since he recently moved his office to the basement for working from home, the barking is increasing). She is super cuddly and lovable with the girls and I but she hides under the table or in a corner and barks at him. He has been trying to take her outside more often and also helps with feeding her dinner, but the behavior has gotten worse over time. She likes the Wellness Soft Bites treats (they are large so we cut them up into smaller pieces and keep in a sandwich baggy). He keeps forgetting to keep the baggie in his pocket for when he comes upstairs though and then it is a delayed treat instead of instant. Maybe I will try some of those liver bites.

Ours has growled a couple of times when he felt cornered (I am working on telling DH to NOT FOLLOW HIM AROUND). And yes, when DH is coming down the stairs, our dog immediately becomes anxious!!! And same thing here, the dog is a DOLL with me and the girls and it's super sad that DH doesn't see that personality shine because as soon as DH appears, the dog shuts down.

Kraft mini marshmallows. Spray cheese. Dried cross sections of trachea.

For messy: cheap, gross canned cat food, the stinkier the better.

Our girl still does not like DH, either. We are in the same boat as PP’s. Dog trainer friend recommended he hand feed her *all* meals, which is what I also read in a dog training book. So far DH hasn’t committed to that investment of time, which is setting a bad pattern.

This is part of our problem too. DH will not invest the time needed. He does not have the patience to hand-feed the dog. He has the "Fine, if the dog doesn't like me, then I don't like the dog" attitude which I am trying to change. It's not that the dog doesn't like him. The dog is AFRAID of him. It's not a choice the dog made!!!

Also, in terms of the reason for the behavior, dogs being afraid of men is VERY common. Men tend to be bigger, have deeper/growlier voices, and tend to be more rough-hand-on (think hard patting vs soft petting). It's so critical that dogs are exposed to men during the couple of critical developmental periods when they are young (I don't remember the timeframes but something like by 3 months, and by 6 months). We know most of the history of our rescue. He was rescued at 3 months old, part of a litter of pups dumped outside the shelter, and all of them were STARVING. Ribs showing, super skinny. Very skittish and terrified. He had been at the same rescue ever since...so literally for 7 years. This is a good rescue located out in the country where we adopted our previous 2 dogs. They run an outdoor operation (think Best Friends Animal Society, but without the visibility). Because of their location and low visibility, they don't get too many in-person visitors. Rather, they drive their most adoptable dogs 2 hours into the city every weekend. Adoption days are stressful for the dogs, and our dog attended a lot of them. So his exposure to strangers was almost always under these stressful environments. At the shelter itself, it is very quiet. Most of the caregivers are women. I'm almost certain our dog's problem stems from lack of proper and positive exposure/socialization, and it is also possible something happened in the first 3 months of his life to shape his current emotional state. He is EXCELLENT with other dogs, which makes sense since he lived in close contact with 100+ of the since he was a puppy, and he was also the one that the rescue liked to put puppies with and described as an "Uncle Dog". He is a works in progress...he was terrified of anything shiny (still is a little, but getting better). Probably due to lack of exposure again! There's nothing shiny out in the country where they have a large wooded park to play in and kennels with wooden dog houses, etc! Like literally you can show him a pair of human nail clippers, or a shiny pot and he gets worried.

Anyway, thanks for the ideas. I'm sticking with the less messy suggestions for now due to how often the treats need to be handed out and because DH literally has to walk around with the treats on his person all day. DH is at least pretty good with this (I do have to remind him sometimes). He has been treating the dog anytime he walks by, and if the dog won't come up to him he is instructed to toss the treat a short distance away. DH has enough patience to do this so we will see how it goes...cross your fingers! I'm not beyond calling in a professional either although I feel like I'd be paying $$ for someone else to tell DH what I already know (which honestly could be useful haha).

[robinsmommy]

I'm not beyond calling in a professional either although I feel like I'd be paying $$ for someone else to tell DH what I already know (which honestly could be useful haha).

I so get this! Good luck!

It doesn't help any that DH has authority and will use it if she is chewing a shoe or such. I keep telling him that unless it is an emergency, he doesn't help with the unfun stuff - that is all for me - discipline, vet trips, baths - all the stuff they don't love.

A new treat our girl likes is the TJ's salmon sweet potato bites. They are pretty unmessy, and our girl loves fish. They are also a good size to break into quarters, to slow down the enjoyment and make the "pleasant association" last a little longer. She loves the salmon skins, too - but those are messy as they flake, and our girl's tummy can only take so much before the fat in the salmon gives her looser stools.

[icunurse]

My dog will eat anything. But his favorites are bread, cheese, French fries, and peanut butter cookies. As for dog treats, Trader Joe’s has salmon skin treats which are healthy, not messy, and my dog is crazy about them.