Product Review: Real Meat Venison Jerkey Gourmet Dog Treats

We have a wonderful little Shih Tzu named Sidney, who shares our lives. Of course we like to pamper him as often as possible, and this means keeping him supplied with lots of dog treats.

Since we've had him, we've always purchased whatever sorts of dog treats looked appealing in the supermarket. Sidney is a very particular dog, and turns up his nose at many of the dog biscuits and dog chews we've bought for him. He enjoys the homemade dog treats that I make for him, but I don't always have time to bake when he starts begging for a treat.

Sidney has been having a problem with itchy skin lately, but he doesn't have fleas. He's been eating a lot of the supermarket dog biscuits lately-we finally found a brand that he really enjoys-but I think the biscuits are contributing to his itchy skin problem.

I was doing some reading online, and found out that supermarket dog treats aren't always the best thing for your dog, especially for a breed like the Shih Tzu, who is so prone to itchy skin and allergy problems anyway.

I began searching for a treat that would be better for Sidney, one that wouldn't aggravate his itchy skin. I wanted to find a dog treat that didn't contain lots of cereal, fillers, artifical flavors and colors.

Today we went to a store that specializes in dog items. The owner was very helpful, and suggested that we give Sidney some Real Meat Venison Jerkey Treats to try.

Real Meat Venison Jerkey Treats are made by a New Zealand company, CANZ. According to the package, these Jerkey Treats are all natural, "healthy gourmet dog treats", with no fillers.

We bought a four-ounce (114 g) package of dog treats for $4.95. The treats are made from: venison, chicory, lecithin, sea salt, mixed tocopherols, and garlic. Every one of those ingredients sounds like something we might cook with ourselves.

When we opened the package, the treats smelled like meat, not that big whiff of artificial, chemical fragrance you usually get when you open other commercial dog treat packages. The treats looked just like a piece of beef jerky that you might buy for yourself, only these are made from venison especially for "discerning dogs and puppies".

A note on the package says that Real Meat Venison Jerkey Treats are made from only the finest "free range, farm raised, natural venison".

Once we opened the package, Sidney gobbled up the pieces that we gave him and begged for more. I'm sure he would have eaten the whole package if we'd let him.

We'll definitely be buying more of these dog treats.