Northwest Naturals Freeze-Dried Dog Treats--An Amazing Tool for Trick Training and Grooming Desensitization!

Recently, Natural Pet Warehouse contacted me and asked if I'd do a product review on some Northwest Naturals Freeze-Dried dog treats. 






Although Dahlia's evening wackies have abated somewhat, she still has her moments and I love having some high-value treats around to motivate and inspire them to channel that energy into something productive. 

And besides, who can say no to freeze-dried treats?

Brandon with Natural Pet Warehouse generously sent us both the salmon and the chicken liver freeze dried treats. Made from just a single ingredient, these treats are the simplest thing possible.  And dogs just go nuts for them. 

Just whip them out and suddenly everyone is at attention

and offering behaviors all over the place. 

Jumping up on exercise balls, lunging into a simul-down, 

rolling over with abandon, and 

joyfully, simultaneously offering a shake, since when there's a freeze-dried treat to be had there's no time to wait for the other dog to finish with the paw behavior first--gotta get that treat now. 

I know my dogs have pretty good lives, but sometimes I worry a bit about Fozzie. He's such an anxious dog, and despite all the fun we have together I wonder sometimes if he's overall that happy. 

Times like this, after a session involving freeze dried treats and fun tricks, I'm pretty sure he's happy. 












High-value freeze-dried treats also come in handy when you have a client dog who's not too sure about grooming. 

Kona is a sweet dog who's come a long way since his people first rescued him, when they couldn't even touch him with a brush without him snapping at them.

He still snarls and snarks a bit when he's approached with a tool, but we spent our first few minutes together just showing him the brush, then giving a freeze-dried treat.  










 
After an interval of this, Kona was much more relaxed

and I was able to brush him pretty much all over.

We were sitting on the porch and just enjoying a rare warm and sunny day, and went slowly and took breaks along the way

This is really my favorite kind of grooming job. Working with a dog who's worried about it, and really taking time to desensitize and change his mind about the whole thing by making it positive--with some really extraordinary treats!








I think Kona's really starting to change his mind about grooming. His parents have done a great job with desensitizing him to touch, handling, and brushing, and I love being a part of his process too!