Valentine Dog Treats: A Literal Beef Heart
Every February the treat pouch in the Camaro gets a refill for the day, and this year the shape does the talking. Our freeze-dried treats are made in small batches in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and among the valentine dog treats going out this month is a treat that is, literally, a heart.
A heart, not a metaphor
The Freeze-Dried Beef Heart Dog Treats are single ingredient, beef heart and nothing else, freeze-dried in small batches. It happens to fit the month, but the treat itself has been on the shelf all year. We reach for it in February simply because the shape already does the work a card or a bow might otherwise do, without us having to dress anything up. Whole pieces break apart easily by hand, so one bag stretches across a pouch, a training session in the driveway, or a slow afternoon with the Camaro parked and the doors open while Ella works through a handful.
There is nothing added to change the shape or the flavor. What comes out of the freeze dryer is what goes in the bag, which is most of why we keep coming back to it as a base treat rather than something we bring out once a year and then forget about until the next February.
What goes in the pouch
Our treats go in first. The beef heart is joined by Freeze-Dried Cheddar Cheese Dog Treats, a smaller bite that mixes well in a pouch alongside the larger heart pieces. Both are single ingredient and freeze-dried in small batches, so combining them is really just pouring two bags into one, not a separate recipe or a new product we had to invent for the season. A mixed pouch also means fewer trips back to the kitchen counter mid walk, since one refill covers both textures.
Anyone who wants the fuller lineup for the day can look through the valentines dog treats collection, which is where we are keeping everything we are sending out this month in one place, updated as items move on and off the shelf.
A red Camaro kind of Valentine
February is an odd month for a car show, so most of what counts as a Valentine outing around here is smaller than that: a short drive, a stop by the wheel for a photo, the pouch within reach on the seat the whole way. Ella rides the same way she does every other month of the year, heart treats or not, head out the window when the weather allows it and the roads are dry enough to bother.
For anyone wondering where the Camaro and the rest of the dog-friendly car crowd turn up once the season turns warmer, our dog-friendly car events board is where we keep that list current, rather than us trying to guess what is happening in your area from here.
A few things that ride along too
Beyond the treats, a few small things make the February drive easier. A dry towel for gravel paws, a water bowl that folds flat, and the same pouch we use every week rather than anything new bought just for the day. None of it needs to be fancy to work, and most of it already lives in the car from the last drive rather than being bought special for the occasion.
The kitchen in Malvern runs the same schedule in February as it does the rest of the year, small batches going through the freeze dryer on a rotation rather than a rush order tied to the calendar. That is part of why a treat like the beef heart can sit on the shelf twelve months a year and still feel right for a specific week, since nothing about how it is made changes with the season.
From the shop
Our treats come first, then the gear that rounds out the day:
- Freeze-Dried Beef Heart Dog Treats, single ingredient, freeze-dried in small batches in our own kitchen.
- Freeze-Dried Beef Liver Dog Treats, another single ingredient option made the same way.
- Cheddar & Beef Liver Duo, two of our own treats packed together for less digging in the pouch.
- Sniff and Shift Circle-Logo Dog Bandana, made under our own name.
- Dog Bandanas, Bow Ties and Babe Bows, shipped by Pink Papyrus Co. directly, not made or packed by us.
Questions
What makes the beef heart treat different from the rest of the lineup?
It is single ingredient beef heart, freeze-dried in small batches in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Nothing else goes into the bag, and the shape is simply how a beef heart looks once it has been trimmed and dried, not something we altered to fit the month.
Are the bandanas and bows made by Sniff and Shift?
Our own bandana, the circle logo dog bandana, is ours from design to bag. The wider bandana and bow collection linked above is shipped by Pink Papyrus Co. directly, with its own tracking, and is not packed or made by us.
Can the heart and liver treats go in the same pouch?
Yes. Both are freeze-dried and break apart easily by hand, so filling one pouch with pieces of each is just a matter of pouring two bags together before you head out the door for the day.
For more from the kitchen and the Camaro, visit our explore page.
