Wildcatch For Pets Salmon Jerky

    Jeff, the owner of our local organic pet food store (Bentley's Specialty Pet Foods) clued us into the new Wildcatch For Pets Salmon Jerky treats the last time I was in and I have to confess the dogs really loved them!  Wildcatch normally spends their time manufacturing for the human population, so you can be pretty sure that the quality's going to be high.  They boast that 47% of the Salmon Jerky comes from protein and of that 95% comes from all natural sustainable wild salmon.   What's in the other 53% of these treats is always of note for me, because I try to feed as grain-free as possible.  The answer: mostly organic Brown Rice flour.  Since they're just for a treat I'll let them get away with that.  I should note that this formulation seems to be somewhat new for Wildcatch, which had been producing a product called Wild Sky Sockeye Salmon Jerky Treats that look very similar to this and are still the only thing advertised on their website...so I think it's just a marketing change.


    I brought these home the day before Jinx came to stay and from the video I think you can tell how popular they were.  I nearly lost some fingers there Mr. Jinx!  I mainly judge the quality of the treat by how well the dog works for it and how much focus it generates...this one was a clear success!

   The real test came a few days later when Cassie had her first hydrotherapy appointment.  We're still trying everything to work on this puppy sit, which is getting better, but just won't go away (we're still working out on our FitPaws Donut, with some success).  Cassie's not afraid of water, but she's never been terribly fond of swimming.  Therefore, keeping that doggie-nose pointed forward and walking on the underwater treadmill for the first time required some very powerful motivators, namely: cheese and Salmon Jerky.  I wish I could have taken video, but I was so focused on keeping her moving in the pool that I didn't have a free hand.

     Once she was harnessed up and inside the tank the water was filled up to just below her withers and she was huddled in the corner of the tank giving me an annoyed look as if to say: "What are you doing to me now?"  The goal was to turn her around, align her on the treadmill and then keep her walking for the next 20-30 mins.  We started with dry biscuits the physical therapists kept on hand.  Needless to say an epic failure, but I let them try it anyway.  I then moved onto Pure Bites Liver, which was still not enough to entice her normally greedy butt out of the corner of the tank.  Finally, I switched to string cheese and finally we had movement!  She was very slowly lured away from the corner and onto the treadmill, but once the belt started moving she quickly lost interest even in cheese.  So, I brought out the big guns: Wildcatch Salmon Jerky!

    As soon as I dropped my hand over the edge of the tank she was instantly moving forward, led by her ever curious twitching sniffer.  That the best thing about these treats: they're super smelly!  The physical therapists even commented on how strong smelling they were.  I say if it worked, it worked...we all seemed to survive the stench!

  Without a doubt, these treats are great motivators.  The dogs loved the taste and the smell and the jerky texture was solid enough that you could break them up with little-to-no mess.  What I didn't like so much was the price.   I paid almost $10 for a 5oz bag.  That means I probably won't buy them too often, but instead saving them for special day treats.  Anytime I have a competition, a really hard trick, or a place where I'm going to need extra focus Wildcatch Salmon Jerky is a great treat!