Dog Parade Treats: What Goes in the Pouch This March
Parade day starts with our freeze-dried treats in the pouch, single ingredient and small enough to hand over one at a time, because a parade is mostly standing around while somebody's float stalls out. Dog parade treats matter more on those days than an ordinary walk. We build the pouch around the Pot of Gold Dog Treat Coins this time of year and whatever else is small enough to hand over one at a time without breaking stride.
What goes in the pouch
A parade route is long and mostly standing still, which is a different kind of walk than a hike or a lap around the block. We pack treats that are small, single ingredient, and easy to count out one at a time so nothing turns into a handful of crumbs by the second stop.
- Pot of Gold Dog Treat Coins, arriving for the season, coin-shaped for the occasion.
- Freeze-Dried Cheddar Cheese Dog Treats, a reliable small bite.
- Freeze-Dried Beef Heart Dog Treats, lean and single ingredient.
Grab all three from the freeze-dried dog treats collection before the parade, one page covers the lineup so there is no last minute guessing at what is in stock the morning of.
Carrying it all
A pocket only holds so much once you add a phone, keys, and a roll of poop bags. A dedicated pouch keeps the coins from turning into crumbs by the second block of the route. The Treat Pouch Trio pairs beef liver, heart, and sardines in one set if you want to rotate flavors without carrying three separate bags, and the wider treat pouches and dispensers collection covers the rest of the options for anyone who shows up to a parade with treats loose in a jacket pocket.
Clip the pouch to a belt loop or the leash itself, not a coat pocket you might switch out before you leave the house. It sounds small, but forgetting the pouch on a different jacket is the most common reason a parade morning turns into a treat-free parade morning.
Getting there and back
The drive to a parade is usually short, the parking is usually not, and a dog that has been riding shotgun for twenty minutes is not always ready to stand still the second the door opens. We give Ella a minute in the car with the windows cracked before clipping the leash, just enough time to settle from car mode into crowd mode. It costs nothing and it means less pulling on the way to the curb.
Parking near a parade route fills in fast, and once the street closures go up there is usually a walk of a few blocks no matter how early you arrive. That walk is a good chance to let the dog stretch out before standing still for the better part of an hour, and it is also a good chance to hand out the first coin from the pouch before the crowd gets thick enough to make treats awkward to manage.
The Camaro itself tends to draw as much attention as Ella does once it is parked, which is its own kind of slow walk back afterward. We have learned to budget extra time for both the walk in and the walk out, since neither one moves at a normal pace once people start asking questions about the car or want to say hello to the dog.
Finding the parade
We do not keep a master list of every parade route ourselves, and the local calendar changes year to year depending on which township is hosting. The dog-friendly car events board is where local parades and car shows get posted as we hear about them, check there before picking a spot to stand, since the good curb spots fill in early and a dog on a leash needs a little more room than a person alone does.
From the shop
- Pot of Gold Dog Treat Coins, arriving for the season.
- Freeze-Dried Cheddar Cheese Dog Treats
- Freeze-Dried Beef Heart Dog Treats
- Treat Pouch Trio
- Treat Pouches and Dispensers
Questions
When do the Pot of Gold Dog Treat Coins arrive?
They are an announced seasonal item with no fixed date yet. The product page updates the moment they are ready, so it is worth a look before the parade rather than a guess the week of. If they have not arrived by the time your parade rolls around, the rest of the freeze-dried lineup covers the same pouch just as well.
What is the best way to carry treats on parade day?
A pouch clipped to a belt or leash beats a pocket, it keeps the treats from crumbling and keeps your hands free for the leash. See the treat pouches and dispensers collection for options, or the Treat Pouch Trio if you want a set already built for rotating flavors during a long route.
Do you list local parades?
Not directly, we point people to the events board mentioned above instead, since it gets updated as local parades and shows are announced rather than sitting on a fixed yearly calendar that goes stale by February. Checking a week or two ahead usually gives enough time to plan around parking and pick a curb spot before the route fills in.
For more of what Ella and the Camaro get into between now and summer, visit Explore.
