Tucked away between the woodland, meadows, lakes and streams in Carmarthenshire, Wales, you’ll find one of the most sought-after doggy destinations in the UK: The Dog House. Founded in 1994 by Mark Thompson and Gillian Quek, the activity holiday and education centre facility has been used by famous footballers, models, actresses and celebrity chefs.
The canine ‘health farm’ is one of the most prestigious training centres in Great Britain with Mark and Gillian taking ‘enormous pride in educating and caring for dogs, focusing on a combination of learning, exercise, games and health’.
And while an activity holiday might not be feasible for everyone, there is one way you can get a slice of The Dog House from home, and that’s with their training treats and bedtime biscuits.
The Dog House said: “Our years of experience have taught us that food is a key resource in a dog’s daily life, however we frequently see dog treats being over, and inappropriately, used. As a result, we’ve created a range of unique food products that can be used correctly to enhance your dog’s behaviour, whilst helping maintain good health and well-being.”
Phoebe and Frank are big fans of a nighttime treat,and have previously enjoyed Lily’s Kitchen Bedtime Biscuits, Pooch and Mutt Calm and Relaxed and Forthglade Calming treats. The Dog House have created their own Sleepy Snacks from a recipe crafted by two-star Michelin chef Michel Roux, and they come in a beautiful refillable tin.
Made using ‘only the highest quality natural ingredients’, the 250g tin costs £16.50, then £11.50 for subsequent refills. The calming treats contain flaxseed, chamomile and pumpkin seed – which help encourage melatonin, a hormone released in the brain at night that is associated with the control of the sleep-wake cycle.
The Sleepy Snacks are free from artificial colours, preservatives, wheat and gluten, made with added probiotic to restore balanced gut flora. They also contain beneficial fruits and botanicals like cranberries, seaweed, spinach and green tea extract; to ensure a recipe that is not only irresistible, but also highly nutritious.
These work as a great marker to tell your dog it’s time for bed or that it’s time to settle down and relax, making them not just good for bedtime, but also when guests visit, or ahead of car journeys and vet trips.
The biscuits themselves are quite large, and while we’re happy to give out Staffy cross American Bulldogs one each, smaller breeds could make theirs last longer by breaking them in half.
For rewarding good behaviour, The Dog House has developed their Random Rewards treats, which come in a smaller 50g tin for £6.50, with a 220g refill costing £10.
The brand said: “We at The Dog House believe treats can be a key resource with which to reward your dog for a job well done. If used in the correct way, treats can positively reinforce desirable behaviours and actions. However, loose timing, overfeeding and predictability can lead to a dog losing interest in this valuable reward. Keep them guessing, keep them keen.”
Suitable for dogs over five months old due to the size of the treats, Random Rewards are a unique mixture of four different training treats for dogs formulated by expert trainers to benefit behaviour.
Each one contrasts in flavour and texture making training more interesting for your pet, because they’ll never know what’s coming next. Like the Sleepy Snacks, the Random Rewards are wheat and gluten free with no artificial colourants and preservatives, coming in flavours salmon with trout, seaweed with orange, chicken and rice or duck with peas.
The Dog House say this unpredictability promotes better focus from your dog during training sessions as well as keeping them motivated. Though they do recommend that treats are used in combination with a variety of other non-food rewards. We’ve discovered this lottery-style way of training is really effective.
The tin is a really handy size for popping in a bag or coat pocket, and makes a fantastic rattling noise which has the dogs running over to see which Random Reward they’ll get. I love that the tins are reusable and refillable – a bit like W’Zis – and though the initial investment might seem a bit pricey, the tin is beautiful and you do get a lot of treats for your money. You can shop the Sleepy Snacks and Random Rewards here.
