Breaking beef heart down for a small dog's mouth

Beef heart for small dogs works best snapped small. The pieces are medium sized and break easily with your fingers, so snap one, then snap the bits again until they suit your dog's mouth. The crumbs that collect at the bottom of the bag are useful too, sprinkled over a meal.

How do you break freeze-dried beef heart into small pieces?

With your fingers. The brand describes the pieces as snapping into smaller pieces, which is exactly what makes them handy for quick rewards. You do not need scissors, a knife or a board.

Take a piece, snap it in two, and snap those again. Keep going until the bit looks right for your dog. The pieces are dry and not greasy, so your fingers stay clean, though you should still wash your hands after handling, since this is freeze dried raw beef heart.

If you are handing a small dog a lot of small rewards in a row, break a handful at once and keep them in your pocket or a pouch. The product is light, so carrying a few snapped pieces costs you nothing.

How small should a piece be for a small dog?

The bag does not give a measurement, and we are not going to invent one. The brand rates the pieces as medium. For a small dog, that means one piece is more than a single bite, so it is a good candidate for snapping.

A simple test: if you would hesitate to hand your dog the piece, snap it again. A good size is one your dog can manage without effort. Watch your dog, and adjust the next piece to match.

Here is a short way to think about the options:

• Whole piece: a big moment, such as a first try or a job well done.
• Snapped pieces: routine rewards through the day.
• Crumbs: a topper over a regular meal.

What do you do with the crumbs?

Use them. The brand notes that beef heart crumbles over kibble or a raw meal as a topper, so the crumbs are not leftovers. For a small dog they may be the best part of the bag, because they are already tiny.

Tip the bag gently over the bowl, or pinch some out. A little goes a long way on a small dog's dinner, which is handy because the amount you add also counts toward the day's treat budget. Fresh water should be nearby.

Crumbs also mean that nothing in the bag goes to waste. A piece that snaps cleanly or one that shatters both end up in a bowl.

Which bag size suits a small dog?

Beef heart comes in 1.5, 3 and 6 ounce bags. A small dog eats a small amount each day, so the smaller bags tend to make sense for a first try, and a larger bag makes sense once you know your dog likes it.

After opening, reseal the bag and keep it somewhere cool and dry. The product page lists it as shelf stable, so the fridge stays out of it. If you have a big dog and a small dog, one bag can serve both, and you simply snap pieces smaller for the little one.

How much fits a small dog's treat budget?

Stay within the 10 percent treat guideline for your dog's size, which is the brand's wording. That 10 percent is shared by all treats, not just this one. A small dog's daily calories are low, so the treat budget is small too.

You do not need to guess. The treat budget tool on the product page takes your dog's daily calories and shows what 10 percent looks like in ounces. Your vet can give you the calorie number if you do not know it.

Beef heart is a treat or meal topper, not a complete diet, so it goes alongside regular meals and never in place of them. If you want to see where else beef heart fits on the site, the home page covers training rewards, meal toppers and storage, and our guides cover the rest.