Product Review: Vitalife Dog Treats

Vitalife Healthy Hips And Joints

Dog Time Media put out a request a while back for bloggers interested in reviewing Vitalife (from Nomerica Products) dog treats. I had already purchased their treats a few times and agreed to receive the samples and give them a try. (There’s your disclosure and your intro, in one swell foop.)

First, a word on treats. I look at treats as falling into two broad categories: treats that I might give to one of my dogs as well, a treat — not necessarily part of their regular nutrition — and treats that I use for training.

Training treats are something that I can easily cut or break into very, very small pieces. They should also be more on the soft side and not something “crunchy” (creating distracting crumbs) or too chewy (taking a long time to eat.) “Regular” treats don’t necessarily have to be that flexible. Both, however, should be nutritionally sound, usually made from whole meat and without a lot of grain or artificial preservatives.

As I already mentioned, I have purchased Vitalife treats before. They are what I consider to be nutritionally sound. All of their treats state on the label that they are made from whole components, and it’s obvious when you see them that they are. I am not a fan of treats that are more or less meat-flavored cookies. Vitalife treats also include “feeding guidelines,” making it clear that your dog should only get a few of these treats a day. The guidelines differed for each of the sample bags I received, so they are not just standard text slapped on to make it look like Vitalife cares – they are based on the serving size and/or calories of the individual treat.

Vitalife “Plus” Healthy Hips and Joints Chicken Tenders

Vitalife’s “Plus” products contain extra supplements, such as the Glucosamine and Chondroitin in the Healthy Hips and Joints Chicken Tenders. These “tenders” look like chicken jerky to me. They also smell like chicken and most dogs find them very rewarding. Rewarding enough that you can use them as training treats if you spend the time in advance to cut them up into small enough pieces. Despite being dry and brittle, they don’t produce any crumbs. I guess that’s where the “tender” name comes from? I’ll stow some of these in my training bag when I think I may need to switch to a different treat to keep an easily dog interested or maybe deal with a real fussbudget that is tough to please.

Duck and Sweet Potato Twists

The Duck and Sweet Potato Twist were new to me, and an instant hit with the Stooges. They are exactly what the name implies: a piece of sweet potato with some duck wrapped around it. (Kind of genius, when you think about it.) Buddha rewarded these treats with his special “lip quiver” (he doesn’t have enough teeth for a tooth chatter) when I first opened this package, before he even tasted one. The treats look and smell exactly the way they should – a piece of baked sweet potato wrapped in a piece of dried duck. Their shape and texture would make them difficult to use as a training treat, although you could cut them up and end up with sweet potato and duck pieces. I think of them as very high value treats that I might actually use for something like “come when called” when I want to make a big impression on the dog and speed and portability are not important.

Chicken and Banana Wraps

The Chicken and Banana Wraps are again, exactly what the name implies. Banana Chips wrapped with what appears to be the same chicken as the chicken tenders. If you ever feel lonely in my house, peel a banana, so these treats were a “hit” too. The ingredients mention coconut oil in the banana chips, so “pet foodies” may not like these treats as much as the others. The Stooges really like them, and I do like the small serving size of these over the rather large duck treats. (But I’m sure I’ll be buying both at separate times in the future.

Overall. I like the Vitalife treats and think it’s a great product line. If you are going to buy premade dog treats, these are the kind of products should be be steering toward: whole foods and whole fruits and vegetables with no artificial anything.