Wagatha’s Organic Dog Biscuits Review

I had a chance to try a can of Wagatha’s Cranberry Cheddar and so far I like it! As soon as I opened the canister, the smell of the biscuits surprised me. It smelled so good and I had to have a nibble…well I don’t normally eat all of my dogs’ treats but there are a few that I tried and Wagatha’s is one of them. With just a very tiny nibble, I tasted a very mild sweet flavor to it.

The texture was not too crunchy but it would not be crumble so easily. To compare with human’s cookie, I would say it’s almost similar to short bread but slightly crunchier. For my 2 Yorkies, I think the texture is good for their tiny teeth. Flax seeds could be seen easily blending through out the biscuit, the same for cranberry. I didn’t have to look hard to find it.

Each biscuit is about ½ inches high, 1 ½ inches wide and ¼ inches thick. So if you have a medium to large size dog, a piece is not too big. If you have a small or toy breed dog, half a piece is perfect. I gave half to Nick and he seemed to enjoy it. I gave the other half to Sam. He sniffed it at first and then took it from me. He was not excited about it like Nick did but his picky behavior didn’t surprise me. He watched Nike ate his half a while and decided to have his piece. So Wagatha’s Cranberry Cheddar got 2 approvals from Nick and Sam and my conclusion is that it is wroth to try.

Note: This is not a grain-free biscuit but it is wheat-free with benefit grains.

Available Recipe: Breakfast Biscuit, Super Berry Biscuit, Senior Recipe Biscuit, Cranberry Cheddar, Tomato & Herb Biscuits, Original Flavor Biscuits
Size: 9 oz canister (approximately 31 biscuits)

Ingredient: whole spelt flour, barley flour, oat flour, canola oil, cranberries, flax seed, white cheddar cheese, whole eggs, brown rice flour, and spearmint.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein, minimum: 10.75%
Crude Fat, minimum: 12.34%
Crude Fiber, maximum: 1.44%
Moisture, maximum: 8.71%
Ash, maximum: 1.81%
Calories per biscuit: 30

Yes, Still Playing…

The past 2 weeks, I did not care much about teaching Nick how to sit. That is because I enjoyed playing with him and Sam so much. Instead of hiding myself for Hide and Go Seek game, I made them searched for their treats. The same as the previous version of Hide and Go Seek, I started from an easy level. I asked them to sit and wait. Then I let them sniff my hand with some treats in it. Next I placed 2 pieces of treat about 3-4 feet from the dogs and said “Go get it” to release them from sitting position. When they understood what to do with “Go get it”, I moved the treats to the other room, in this case, I started in the kitchen with Nick and Sam. I put the treats on the floor of the living room and came back to the kitchen to release Nick and Sam. It was funny to hear their sniffing sound. It was pretty loud actually. The ultimate task of this game was that I randomly placed many pieces of treat on the floor and covered them with dog toys. For the first few times, I had to give them a hint but after that, they did not need my help anymore. They just relied on their nose.

Kill two birds (perhaps more) with one stone

So far training Nick to sit is an on going thing but if I just do that, he will be so bored (me too!). By using other games for variety will keep the training going and it is also fun for three of us. Moreover you can combine basic skills such as sit, stay, down and come when you play. Wow… this kills many birds with one stone.

It’s been raining on and off for almost 2 weeks in St. Louis. Nick, Sam and I are getting sick of being inside most of the time so yesterday I played Hide and Go Seek with them. I asked Nick and Sam to sit in the front room then asked them to stay. I stepped backward slowly so if one of the dogs moved, I could repeat my command or reached out to stop them from moving. I kept eye contact at all times. So far the dogs did not move much. Nick got up on his legs a few times but I managed to make him stay put. I backed out to the next room, the kitchen, and waited there for a very short period then asked them to come. As soon as they reached me, each of them got a piece of treat. That was round one.

I walked them back to the front room and asked them to sit again. I gave them a short praise and patted them lightly when they sat and asked them to stay. I backed myself to the same spot in the kitchen and asked them to come. They both found me successfully and got a piece of yummy treat. Again I walked them back to the front room that we started the game and asked them to sit. I repeated this 2 more times.

Next turn, I changed my spot. I made it harder for them to see me. I hid on the other side of the fridge then asked them to come. It was funny to see them ran back and forth to find me. I helped them a little by whispering their name. They finally found me and each won a piece of treat. I continued the games by using my two hiding spots for a few more times and started a new hiding place to make the game harder. This lasted about 30 minutes before we called it quit but we surely had fun.

Who sits first?

[In the picture is Nick, the crazy Yorkie]

After the fourth day of Tug of War with Nick, he sat down right after I got the toy back. So I had to find something else to play with him. On the other hand, I have Sam, the 3 years old Yorkshire terrier who knows “sit” very well so I made the two of them to compete for treat.

Here is the rule. If Nick sits before I count to five, he will get a piece of treat. If he doesn’t, I turn to Sam and ask him to sit. Sam will get a piece of treat if he sits fast enough otherwise he will lose his turn also. So we played. I held a very small piece of treat at the same level as Nick’s nose and asked Nick to sit. He kept staring at the treat in my hand without knowing what to do so he lost his turn when I counted to five. I asked Sam to sit and he did so quickly. I praised him briefly while giving him a piece of treat. I turned to Nick again this time I helped him a bit by pushing the treat toward his nose. He stepped back so I moved the treat up a little and pushed it like I was about to poke the area between his eyes. He looked up to follow the treat and dropped his tail so I gave him treat. I am not sure if Sam was a sample but I saw Nick looked at him every time he got a piece of treat. After a few turns Nick finally got the idea. Ha… we got a new game!

By the way, try praising your dog every time when you give out the treat. By doing this you teach your dog that praising means good thing (yummy treats). It does not need to be fancy. Just a “Yes” or “Good dog” in cheerful kind of voice is enough. So when you say it without treat, you dog still understand that good thing has just happened.

Training by Playing?

The book finally arrived but I didn’t get just the book. I also bought "Play With Your Dog" which is also written by Pat Miller. Play With Your Dog discusses about how important it is for you dog to play, no matter if your dog plays with other dogs or with human. Pat believes that a playful dog is a healthy dog.

Since Play With Your Dog is the thinnest of all, I started reading it first. I finished chapter 4 – The benefits of plays and the book just shown me how to continue training Nick to sit by playing with him. Since Nick knows the meaning of "sit", I told him to sit and as soon as he sat down, I pulled out a plush toy that I hid behind my back and played Tuck of War with him. I repeated this again and again. He seemed to love it so far. What a great idea. This not only reinforced him to sit but also made him tired. Tired dog means quiet house! So I will keep doing this for the rest of the week.