Suggestions for training treats?

[David and Franklin]

I have begun training little Franklin. Out of force of habit I selected Dick Van Patten's - Natural Balance Pet Foods Dog Food Rolls:

http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/product-category.aspx?ProductCateg...

When my last dog was a pup, these were prominently on display at most pet stores. They are now relegated to the far back corners of most pet stores. Franklin is not a chow hound and likes them but not to an extreme degree.

So 2 questions:

1. Anyone have an opinion as to whether these treats are healthy?

2. Any suggestions for good training treats?

Thanks as always!

[Linda And Callie]

Cloudstar Tricky Trainers. They're very tiny and have been approved on this board as being safe.

[Joan Bollaert]

The obedience/training place I took Millie to just uses the food the dog eats. Cut down on amount of feelings . Her concept for you being the pack leader , in control and dogs working for reward from training session to feeding. Also feed for 20 min. And take food up if they leave it at 20 minutes. They will learn that if they want to eat they'd better do it when the food is there. During that time. She said you can use treats but she never uses anything else but the food they eat.

[Deborah Brown]

I second the recommendation for using dog food.  Does your food come in a different flavor?  My dogs eat Orijen adult and consider the seafood flavor to be a big treat.  If this isn't special enough, then I'd use Purebites or something similar that is 100% protein/meat instead of a blend.

I don't know of anything wrong with the Natural Balance line.  We used to feed it but switched because the company was bought by Nestle.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Del Monte. :) 

And that's what's wrong with the line, lol. Recalls are only a matter of time. 

[David and Franklin]

That's enough for me. Thanks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

We're no longer recommending Natural Balance products since the company was sold to Del Monte. :(

Here's a list of our recommended treat brands: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/recomme...

I like pure protein treats like Pure Bites, which are small, dry, and easily carried. Try the liver flavor. Freeze dried liver treats are usually like doggy crack. 

The Cloudstar Tricky Trainers that Linda recommended would be a good choice, too.

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

We also like cloudstar. I sometimes boil a chicken breast and cut into very small bites and freeze in ziplock bags, the snack size. I just set a bag out before we go to class to thaw. I don't use these for random training but new, more difficult tasks.
It can be messy but it's good for them and they really like it.

[Deborah Brown]

I do the boiled chicken breast too.  You can get a whole lot of treats out of one breast.  My tip is to cut them up before boiling so the pieces don't shred.