I adopted my best friend Rudy a year ago this month. He was estimated to be about a year old and because he was a pure bred Shih Tzu he was made an ambassador of the Humane Society. He was turned in as a stray but already pampered and spoiled by the time we discovered him.

     Six months later we adopted my husband's (Jarred) best friend Rocky (lol). Also approximately a year old. Rocky was a special case, brought up to Montana from a  large hoarding case in California. He weighed in only at 4.6 pounds, tiny little guy, white from head to toe except a light tan freckle the size of a golf ball on his back, one tan corner of his left ear, and a very thin tan circle around his right eye. Rocky was very timid around everyone and would try to find a corner to hide in no matter what room he was in or who was in that room. The little guy was quite a challenge compared to Rudy, but both still needed some type of encouraging in their new home.

     That's where Bil*Jac's Little*Jacs Small Dog Training Treats come into the picture.


     Things were going pretty well with Rudy by the time we had adopted Rocky. Rudy was leash and collar trained when we got him so that was not something we had to train. However; come, stay, and even sit was not in his k9 vocabulary and every time we would go for a walk he was bouncing from one side to the other, out of control, wanting to sniff everything he could see. We used several different treats with Rudy and he learned a lot faster than we gave him credit for. Mainly because he also learned that we didn't really know how to train him and would end up giving him twice the number of treats than what he deserved for performing one simple command.

     We eventually caught on. He had it in his mind though that if he prolonged his response, he might just get those extra treats.


Back to Rocky and Bil*Jac

     Rocky, as I explained earlier was extremely timid. On a scale of one to ten, I would put him at about 15.  He was terrified of human contact. Now the reason why the Humane Society allowed us to adopt him in this condition is because the hoarder had 120 dogs, the shelter in California that had taken them in, had scheduled to have him and 29 other dogs euthanized. So our humane society was determined to save their lives and that was the important part. We understood when we adopted Rocky, the challenges we would face.

     The day we brought Rocky home, he was just out of surgery for neutering. This caused him to be even more timid. If we touched him, he would shriek and urinate all over himself. For three days he refused to eat, and the only water he consumed is what I fed him through an eye dropper. We had anticipated some challenges, but this worried us.  But I will fast forward a little.

     2 weeks later Rocky was on his feet, eating and drinking on his own and following Rudy around the house like a little brother.

     Now it was time for the training. Rocky's vocabulary was nil. The lack of human contact for the first year of his life really does have a negative affect on a dog. At a year old he had to be taught everything from sharing his food, to simply wearing a collar. Think of a 7 year old acting like a newborn seeing things for the first time.

I will fast forward again.

     The treats we used in training Rudy, were an inconvience to use while attempting to train Rocky. Rudys mouth, if you have ever seen a Shih Tzu yawn, you will know, could mouth your whole fist. They just have enormous mouths for such small dogs. Rocky couldn't mouth our pinky. That's the size difference between them, and we were having to tear Rudy's treats into 4ths just for Rocky.

     On one of my visits to petsmart, on the isle where you find ALL of those wonderful treats for your buddy, I came across several "small dog training treats". I will admit, I went with the one that was a little bit more expensive just because it came in a plastic jar with a snap shut lid. Worst mistake ever! The treats were stale by the time I reached the bottom of that jar.

     So standing in petsmart...again. On the treat isle...again, I found Little*Jacs Small Dog Training Treats.  The pretty purple bag is what really caught my attention, and the fact that it had the actual size of the treat on the bag so you can see what you are really buying.  The best way to describe the size of Little*Jacs is that they look like rabbit pellets. No, not the food pellets; poop pellets. Yes you did read that right. The size of the treats is the size of rabbit poop. However!, the color is proof that they are not poop. They are a chocolate brown. Not only that, the smell of them has the aroma of what you would expect a treat made with fresh chicken liver to smell like. And guess what,  chicken liver is the very first ingredient listed! (Other ingredients will be listed below)

     So the look, and the chicken, and the size sold me, along with the price of $2.99. They were on sale! It just gets better.

     When I got home, and unloaded all the goodies for us and our best friends, I thought, okay, let's see how the guys like these. I tear open the foil package (that zips closed) and take out two treats. They really ARE the perfect size for Rocky as well as soft. You can easily mash them between your fingers, but they are not squishy or crumbly.  No more tearing treats in half! This one was perfect!

     What Jarred had been teaching Rocky was "put 'em up". You're going to think this is lame, but we gave Rocky his name because he was such a little fighter. So "put 'em up" as in put up your first, ready to box. See?

     Apparently the Little*Jacs smelled pretty appealing to both my guys because the second I said "put 'em up" both were on their hind legs with their paws up in the air! Now Rudy is always a bit stubborn remember, so I was a little shocked to see him so eagerly pumping his little paws. I gave them both the treats and the best description I can give you is that the dogs did not eat them, they INHALED them.  I asked them "how can you even taste that?" because I did not see either of them even do anything remotely like chewing, or enjoying the treat like how we humans savor something. The thing was, they must have tasted it because without a command, both "put 'em up" again!

     With Little*Jac's treats. We have been able to teach Rocky "go outside", "let's go to bed", "shush", and "wait for it". He absolutely hates wearing a leash and would run from us when we would bring one out. But now, we pull out a treat, tell him to "put 'em up" and hook his leash on without having to chase him down.

     So to try and sum up this review in a short paragraph, Bill*Jac's,  Little*Jac's,  Small Dog Training Treats (made with fresh chicken liver) has actually made training easier.  No more tearing treats, no more stale treats, easy zip lock foil package, and perfect serving size for any small dog. I no longer have to tell Rudy twice on anything when I pull these out. He's ready to inhale his  treat as fast as possible.

And Rocky and Rudy (which we refer to as Rockin' Rudy) are partners in crime everywhere they go. One will not come inside without the other, and unfortunately both love the same side of the bed... MINE!  But, they are both doing well, and Rocky has come along way.

Bil*Jac's Little*Jac's ingrediants:

Chicken liver, Chicken, Chicken Meal, Wheat Flour, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Phosphoric Acid, Salt, Mixed Tocopherols and Potassium Sorbate and Citric Acid and BHA and Calcium Propinate (preservatives), Rosemary Extract.

Guaranteed Analysis:

Crude Protein, not less than 25%. Crude Fat, not less than 10%. Crude Fiber, not more than 2%. Moisture, not more than 30%
 


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Recommended: Yes