Do you know someone who:
- has a very bitey/nippy dog?
- has a new puppy (and therefore, a bitey/nippy dog)?
- has a very short dog?
- has a very picky dog?
- likes to wear gloves or mittens on winter walks but still wants to give training treats?
- has a reactive dog?
- has a very barky dog?
If so, you may find that a “food tube” makes a wonderful stocking stuffer!
What is a food tube? A food tube is a clear plastic tube with a screw on cap at one end. The other end is open, so you can fill the food tube with treats. The open end is then closed by folding over the edge and clipping shut with a binder clip. Think of it as a big, empty toothpaste tube that you can stuff full of soft or semi-solid treats.
We sell these at the classroom for $3/each. They’re dishwasher safe, and are fantastic for delivering treats which are too messy to deliver from a pouch. I would never want to dump canned dog food, softened cream cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, liverwurst, peanut butter, canned tripe, mashed sweet potatoes, or yogurt mixed with tuna fish into my treat bag or handle them with my hands. Using a food tube makes delivering these treats, which have a tendency to be very high value, exceptionally easy.
I also really like the food tube for classical conditioning exercises when I want to provide a dog with continuous reinforcement.
You can purchase food tubes online at PetExpertise or at Clean Run. A word of warning – we used to carry the ones like Clean Run has but I hated the plastic slide clip! If you’re purchasing from Clean Run and have a spare binder clip around the house (or can pick a few up on a trip to Staples), you might save yourself a lot of hassle!
