Easy peasy wetfood squeezy
The dilemma:
You want to train with food rewards, but…
you’re looking for a high-value option to use in addition to regular treats/kibbles
you can’t give that many “junk” treats because that’s too many additional calories (for instance if you have a small dog)
your dog can only have prescription food or has food allergies/sensitivities, leaving you without many high value treat options
your dog wears a muzzle and you need a way to easily deliver treats while your dog is wearing it (this depends on the size of the tube’s opening in relation to the gaps of the muzzle)
The solution:
Wet food in a squeeze tube.
The caveat:
For most dogs, this is a high value reward- which is a fine and wonderful thing! But you should be mindful to avoid the problem with high value rewards and use it alongside other “regular” value rewards.
Source: Thebushcraftstore.co.uk
looks like they don’t stock it anymore, but amazon does
Source: Amazon.de
(There are other sizes too)
Food bowl with a flat bottom double as a mashing surface. Source: Our Pets Premium on Amazon
Something like this makes cleaning the tube much easier. Source: Philips Bottle Brush on Amazon
The Squeasy Snacker can be turned inside out and put in the dishwasher- but the other tubes need a brush to clean.
You will need:
• Refillable squeeze tube/s
Such as Coghlans Squeeze Tubes or the Squeasy Snacker. The Coghlans seem to have gotten pricey so have a quick google for “food squeeze tube” or “futtertube” first. These for instance look similar and are more affordable.
• Potato masher and flat-bottom bowl (or a blender, I suppose!)
• Wet food
I recommend trying a few different brands. Try to find ones that are more like a pate or mousse in consistency. This can make the whole process considerably easier.
What about raw food? I haven’t tested this, but I suppose this should work with raw food, too. You will need to use a blender, and of course take hygiene precautions whenever working with raw meat! Possibly you could cook a batch of your dog’s food for this- though this will change the nutritional value. DO NOT do this with any raw food containing bones (cooking would make them splinter!) Check the Raw Fed and Nerdy FB Group for high value treat ideas for raw fed dogs.
• Something to clean the tube with afterwards. The Squeasy Snacker can be turned inside out, but the other tubes require a bottle brush.
The steps: Mush up the wet food, add water if it needs to be a little softer, fill the tube, use it, store in fridge.
Consistency not coming out right? Too runny or too stiff? Or want to make your own mixture without using canned food? Eileen Anderson’s fantastic blog post (The Secret to Filling a Food Tube) has a list of ingredients you can add to get the mixture just right, and some to make it even tastier.