Although I love giving Chile homemade treats, I also appreciate being able to buy certain store bought treats to give her a little variety.  I’ve mentioned a few other brands that I have researched but I would have to say, when it comes to packaged treats, there is no company I trust more than The Honest Kitchen.  The Honest Kitchen (THK) also makes excellent quality dog and cat food that I have fed Chile in the past but since she’s now on a homemade diet we only purchase the treats.   THK has a wide variety of treats but the two that suit Chile best (the right texture and ingredients) are Wishes and Beams.  Both products are made from a single fish product.  Wishes are 100% wild-caught Icelandic Haddock and Beams are 100% wild-caught Alantic catfish skins.  I love that the fish are responsibly and sustainably fished and that there are no other added fillers.

Wishes are dehydrated haddock fillets that are easy to break into smaller pieces for whatever size dog you have.

We were first introduced to Wishes when we attended a fundraiser for the local Pug Rescue where THK had a booth set up.  Chile is obviously not a pug but she likes to support the adoption of all breeds of dogs 🙂  The product representative offered Chile a few of the normal “biscuit” type treats (which are also made with high quality ingredients) but she turned her nose up at each one.  I was quite familiar with most of THK products having bought most of the treats for Chile myself but ended up giving them to friends for their dogs since she wouldn’t eat them.

The rep went under the table and pulled out a new bag of treats I hadn’t seen before, called Wishes.  As soon as she opened the bag Chile’s ears and nose perked up.  She was definitely interested in THOSE treats and gobbled them down.  The rep told me they were new and they didn’t have any sample bags so I ran down to Dexter’s Deli the next day to find some.  Unfortunately they don’t keep them in stock, it’s a small store, but they’re always happy to order anything for us.  We’ve been buying Wishes for Chile ever since.   Of course they do smell rather fishy, being made purely of fish, but the scent doesn’t linger long.

Beams are a relatively new product of THK.  When I read on their Facebook page that they were coming out with a chewy treat that could be an alternative to chicken jerky or bully sticks I was pretty excited.  When I saw them in the store, however, I was a little disgusted.  Fish skins aren’t the most appetizing thing to look at let alone smell.  The nice lady working at the counter of Dexter’s Deli gave me a sample of a stinky fish Beam to take home to Chile.  Chile absolutely loved the sample I gave her so, of course, Beams are always on the Dexter’s Deli list too.  Be warned though, these are even stinkier than the Wishes and they are chewier so they take a dog Chile’s size (12 lbs) a bit longer to eat.  Any surface she eats them on smells like fish if it’s not cleaned right away.  When we take Chile to restaurants we like to bring along a toy or a chew to keep her busy but Beams are not really restaurant friendly because the stench travels.  At home, however, we are more than happy to deal with the smell because she loves to chew on them so much.  Another HUGE plus with the Beams is that they don’t upset Chile’s stomach no matter how big  of  a chunk she swallows.  Other chews I’ve given her in the past have caused all kinds of gastrointestinal distress because she’ll chew them down until they’re just small enough and then gulp them down as if she were a pelican.  I usually try to take away any treats that she doesn’t chew down all the way to prevent problems later but sometimes she is just too quick and I also hate having to throw away a quarter of every treat I give her.  She has had no problem at all with any size Beam she’s forced down her gullet.   Although you should always closely supervise your dog when giving any kind of chew, it’s nice peace of mind to know I don’t have to wrestle the last bit of soggy fish skin away from her when she’s about to swallow it.

Although Wishes and Beams might be considered on the pricey side to some ($8.99-$12.99 depending on the size of the bag) they are definitely worth every penny for the high-quality, human-grade ingredients that are healthy for your dog and responsibly sourced so they are healthy for the environment too.