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Three “Dog Mom” chores that I don't love are giving everyone a bath, picking up poop, and clipping nails. The dogs act as if I'm betraying them when I'm bathing them. While picking up poop gives me a clue into how they're doing diet-wise, it's still not fun. And none of my dogs like to have their nails clipped – it's the worst. Until now.
I've always known that I could use treats, but I have never succeeded because I usually give up. This weekend, I was determined to clip everyone's nails. Chewy.com gave us a bag of Stella & Chewy's Crav'n Bac'n Bites Bacon & Chicken Recipe Dog Treats, and I figured that these would make an easy treat to bribe my dogs into a nail trim. And it worked.
Clipping Nails with Dog Treats
When clipping my dogs' nails, I go into a room with a dog, one at a time (closing the door). The rule is “one clip, one treat,” but before we get started, the dogs get a couple of treats. I prefer to clip nails with my dogs lying on the bed. After every nail clip, I give them a treat facing away from the paw that I'm working on – this keeps them from nosing into my work. My dogs are used to having their nails clipped, but none of them love this chore. I never let go of their paws if they start pulling. Zoey is the worse, she pulls her paws back and cries – but not this time. She quickly understood that she'd get a treat after every nail clip.
Sydney was our only dog that wasn't fooled by this trick. Although she was highly food motivated, she would walk to the door and wait for me to open it; choosing to get away from me and the nail clippers over yummy dog treats.
What are Crav'n Bac'n Bites?
Crav'n Bac'n Bites from Stella and Chewy's are a new dog treat that I wouldn't normally purchase for my dogs because of the ingredients. I was surprised when I opened the bag, you can smell the bacon. I wanted to try them. But I didn't. I decided to use them as training treats – they're a perfect size. And the dogs loved them. I've never seen them so compliant – especially when I'm holding a pair of nail trimmers.
Stella and Chewy's offers four recipes:
- bacon and chicken
- bacon and duck
- bacon and beef
- bacon and turkey
Ingredients in Crav'n Bac'n Bites
“Bacon, Chicken, Oatmeal, Barley, Sorghum, Millet, Brown Rice, Glycerin, Brown Rice Syrup, Salt, Natural Hickory Smoke Flavor, Dried Cultured Whey, Natural Flavor, Citric Acid (Preservative), Distilled Vinegar, Gelatin, Mixed Tocopherols (Preservative), Rosemary Extract.”
Chewy.com
If you would have shown me this list of ingredients a few years ago, I wouldn't have given these treats a shot. If you would have suggested these treats a month ago, I would have passed. But they're treats – not my dogs' regular diet. I prefer single-ingredient protein treats for my dogs because it allows me to better control their consumption. I like to avoid grains and sweeteners; I don't believe that these are appropriate in a dog's diet, however, are they okay as an occasional treat? I'm not sure. But no one had an adverse reaction in the days following their nail trim.
The only ingredient that raises concern is rosemary extract because rosemary essential oil can bring on seizures in epileptic dogs. Rosemary extract and rosemary essential oil are not the same, and like the plant or dried herbs, the extract is safe to use with dogs. However, if you're concerned, please speak with your veterinarian.
My Dogs' Take on Crav'n Bac'n Bites
So, yeah, I wouldn't have chosen these treats on my own, but now I have a soft spot for them. During Sydney's last week, when her appetite was seriously waning, Johan gave her some of these treats and she enjoyed them. We did anything to make her happy and these treats made her happy. She wagged her tail lightly whenever she saw the bag.
For all of our dogs, we liked the size – perfect for training treats – and the smell. What surprised me most is how long a bag lasts with five dogs. Sometimes, training treats are too small and I end up giving more, going through a bag quickly. Like I said, these were just the right size.
When you open the bag, you get a big whiff of bacon (the hickory smoke flavor). I'm never sure if the smell is for the dogs or for the humans, but the dogs were excited whenever I grabbed the red bag.
Nail Clippers I Prefer for My Dogs
A lot of people prefer a Dremel for nail trims and I've tried to slowly introduce a Dremel to my dogs many times and they freak out. So I returned to a clipper and I try to trim everyone's nails at least once a month – the sound of nails clipping on our hardwood floors is a clear sign that it's time for a trim. I have several nail trimmers, but the ones that work the best are the Miller's Forge trimmers for medium-sized dogs. There is one for large dogs, but it's a bit too heavy for my dogs and seems to cause discomfort when I trim my dogs' nails.
Another set of clippers that I really like are the Safari clippers (two-toned green) for small-medium dogs; although I don't have small dogs, these clippers are perfect for their nails. Very gentle.
I use the dremel and we use animal crackers. We did hot dogs for awhile (the ones without the nitrites in them) but suddenly they started being really thirsty all day after hot dogs and nails. So we use animal crackers. Not the best choice but I do what works for my dogs. They make up for it with a raw diet. I do the same and give some before we start. Sometimes we only do the fronts and do the backs a different day.