Newflands Hoki Treats product reviews

I am an owner (mummy) of a six year old Maltese Shih Tzu called Maddie, she is the BEST pet I could have ever hoped to have; fantastic with my kids, very obedient and loves to please, especially if there is a treat involved!

When the Newflands Hoki Fish bites arrived, I opened the bag and the undeniable fish smell hit me and contrary to what you may be thinking, I thought 'wow, this is great!' as so many mass produced doggy treats are processed to within an inch of their life, that they have no smell at all. I loved the look of the bites, they were cut to a great size and best of all they were actual REAL dried chunks of fish.

Firstly, let me say my Maddie LOVES treats, mind you what dog doesn't? She loves some more than others and after having her in our family for six years, the best treats are carried in her mouth right under the dining table to devour! We realised that this is her 'safe' place, she's little and the cat picks on her a bit so this is where the best morsels are carried to eat, whether the cat is in the house or not. Well I'm pleased to say after she did her usual tricks including begging, spinning and rolling over hoping I'd hand the treat over faster, she eagerly took the fish bite straight out of my hand and under the table she went. Quickly crouching down to see her eat it, well I wasn't quite fast enough - cause it was eaten! Maddie took my presence on the floor to mean "oh you're giving me more?" and her trick pleasing games began again! I took pity on her and gave her another, and just as quickly it vanished.

I would definitely recommend these treats to all dog owners who appreciate a high quality product. They will be great to take along to puppy school training classes or agility competitions or just to have in the cupboard at home when you wish to reward your much loved family pet.

When I saw Newflands Hoki Bites come up for review I knew I had to request to trial some on my animals. We have a large Labrador/Boarder-collie cross dog who lives up to the Labrador appetite but has the smarts of a boarder-collie so when trying to train him he responds very well to any type of food but we have to make sure he doesn't get too much otherwise he'll put on weight. We also have a new young kitten who loves his food, I had no idea a cat could love his food so much.

When I first received the packet I opened it and immediately could smell a fishy type smell which is what you'd expect with it being freeze dried Hoki fish. The cubes were very solid feeling and I wasn't sure if I needed to break them up further for my kitten so on the first go I broke it in half and gave it to him, he sniffed it for a bit but then ate the whole thing. Next I tried him on a full cube and he had no problems downing that one either. He was sniffing around for a bit more so I gave him another two. On the last one he patted at it with his paw and it went sliding along the kitchen floor and he gave chase, eventually catching and devouring it. I think it's fair to say he enjoyed these little treats.

My dog, being a typical lab, was already sitting at attention when I came outside with the Hoki bites. I threw one in the air and he dutifully jumped up to catch it, I'm not sure if he even tasted it before he swallowed but he was already sitting down waiting for more. I put one in my closed fist and said "down" while moving my hand to the ground, he eagerly obeyed and I let him have the second bite. I did a few more tricks with him and he was happy with the Hoki reward each time.

I was very impressed that both my animals enjoyed eating these Hoki Bites. It's so handy to be able to only buy one packet of treats which will suit both of them. At only $5 for a 15g or $10 for 60g pack, plus free shipping if you spend enough it makes it excellent value. Although the shipping cost on it's own is quite expensive so if buying from their website I would strongly recommend spending the minimum to get the free shipping. I've given treats to both my dog and kitten over the last couple of weeks and I still have quite a bit left in the pack so the treats really do go a long way and would go even further with a smaller dog or less hungry kitten. I will definitely be buying these again and recommending them to my family and friends.

The main reason I requested this item is my Tom Cat Van has decided that every food item under this roof is now his and he will not take No for an answer. I have a turtle April and feeding her has become a bit of a mission lately as he 'taps', 'scratches' and 'meows', insisting I share some of her chicken or salmon with him. I thought this would be the perfect item that I could share between my three babies and everyone would be happy.

The first night was a success after April finished her Chicken I pulled the packet out and gave her a couple which she greedily ate and came back up looking for more, Van noticed that she was being fed and jumped on to the couch and put on his 'feed me act' and I gave him one and he loved it and came up for more - success! I then gave April a couple more and Van some and they all seemed very happy. (I am now kicking myself for not taking a picture of this.)

As our winter has been so mild April did not go into her usual hibernation and I assumed since it is already July/August that we had passed the occasion of it arising. But the very next day the weather turned and so did April and now she is fasting. So feeding her is no longer an option.

My female cat is not very well at the moment and is on antibiotics and is basically sleeping all the time and not really eating. I have managed to feed her only the one and then she walked away so I can not comment from her point of view either. I have left my review for as long as I could hoping she would improve but as she still has another two weeks worth of meds I am guessing it will be a while before she is back to normal.

So Van is my only test subject. He is extremely happy to eat them and has no worries at all. One is never enough and I find I am giving him at least half a dozen after his dinner is finished. He does not go crazy mind you and climb up me wanting more instead he just looks at me expecting another one to appear. After I put the packet away he is content to jump on the couch and wash himself and is not asking for anymore which I am guessing means he enjoys them but is not in love with them.

I am still very keen to see if my three babies will all eat together and so I will try again during the hotter months when I am sure Silvermist and April will be back to themselves. I am really impressed with the product that the smell does not cover my hands which was my greatest fear considering how much they smell after I open the packet up each time. I find the price to be really good considering how much Van has ate and how much I still have left. I am sure it will cater for all three just a pity about the timing.

I am the proud mummy to two elderly fur-babies. My eldest is a 17 year old male cat. The other is a 16 year old female cat. When I heard that Newflands had hoki bites for them to review with me I volunteered them. They can use a little variety and pampering in their final years.

My first impression when I opened the packet was the strong fishy smell. I am surprised that my husband, who hates eating fish, didn't complain about it. The bites were very hard and I thought that both my cats with missing teeth might avoid them because of that. This wasn't a problem. My boy loved them and kept coming back to me for more. He is usually camera shy but was so distracted eating the bites that I managed to get a decent shot of him.

My girl was reluctant and didn't try them the first day. I assumed that was because she had just finished a course of antibiotics and was scared I was giving her more medicine. When I offered it to her a few days later she was just as keen as her brother. She is currently sitting on my lap knowing the the bag of bites is next to me hoping that she can have some more.

This isn't a cheap product but it is a quality treat. As the pets are only having a small amount at a time the packet will last a long time. I like the versatility of the product. It could be reconstituted and served either hot or cold, it can be crumbled and added to food or served a piece or too straight from the packet. I also like that as a freeze dried product it is all natural (none of the nasty additives so many pet foods contain) and doesn't need to be stored in the fridge or freezer. This is certainly a product I will be recommending to other pet owners.

Our cat must be too well fed! When I offered Plato the first hoki bite, he sniffed a bit and walked away. To be fair, it was after he had eaten his own dinner; however, I was expecting him to be a bit like any little kid and find space for a special treat!! I picked him up and plonked him right on top of the hoki bite. He paid a little more attention to it this time. He ate it quite happily. I have got to say that I expected him to REALLY want to eat the bite and then to demand more. He did put on his best purr while he ate it though and that isn't something he does too readily.

I decided to try it again when he was really hungry. He came into the kitchen last night when I was preparing dinner. I knew that he hadn't had access to food since the morning and figured it should be the perfect time to try the bites again. He was definitely keener than with the previous trial.

Last night my husband decided that it was time to worm Plato. He managed to get the cat into a bit of a frenzy and I had to help to hold the cat still while we got the worm tablet into him. I didn't want Plato to be one of those cats who is a struggle to worm every time he is due. I tried to cuddle him after he had had the tablet but he was obviously shaken. I quickly thought about the bites and asked my husband to get them. I offered the cat one and he sniffed a bit (probably worried that I was going to shove another bite down his throat) and then decided that he was back in control and would eat it. Newfland, who is the supplier of this product, mentions on their Facebook page that this is an easy treat to help training your fur baby. I am hoping that using the product after worming Plato has helped to train him to know that something good comes after the tablet!

Something that I did notice when he had the bites is that he gagged a bit at times. Perhaps this is because the product is freeze dried. I think it might be necessary to allow access to water for Plato after eating the bite. I offered some of the bites to my friend to try with her dog. The dog is a small one and has recently had a tooth extracted. This means that he can't eat hard food. My friend thought that the bites could be perfect for him. She added some water to them to soften them up and she found that he absolutely loved them and they worked a treat for her little dental patient.

The price for the bites seems rather expensive; however, I found that the bag has a huge amount of bites in it and even after giving my cat several servings, the bag appears to be just about as full as when I started. The zip lock bag allows for the product to be kept fresh and also to keep the strong fish smell within the bag rather than escaping in the house.

It seemed as though this would be an awfully expensive way to give your furry friend a treat, but as soon as I picked up the bag I realised just how many bites you get for your money. I gave our six animals two each, and the bag still appeared to be full! Then I realised that, if you added water to reconstitute them to their original size and weight, you would actually have a very heavy bag indeed for very little outlay. That puts the price into perspective: they are actually reasonably priced, and extremely good value. There are a LOT of pieces in a kilogram of dried product!

My six were hilarious. My dog eats anything and everything, so I did not expect anything other than a quick gulp and a hopeful expression in case there was another one going. Four of my five cats were instant fans - they finished their first piece, asked for (and were given) a second, and then spent the rest of the day stalking me and reminding me that I was starving them and they had not been fed for at least a week. (They lied). My fifth cat, also known as my special needs cat, would not have a bar of it. He looked at his bite, growled, then ran in the opposite direction - apparently terrified. I tried him again later in the day with the same reaction. To date he has refused to go anywhere near the bites. (Not that the others mind - all the more for them!)

I then branched out and tried several of my friends. They have collectively one dog and four cats, all of whom were given two bites. Without exception they wolfed them down and demanded more. There was a little altercation when one cat tried to beat his brother up for an extra piece and his owner had to intervene, but eventually all the friends' pets got their allocated two pieces and looked very pleased with themselves.

I did find the pieces need to be stored carefully as they smell quite strong, and even if a human cannot smell them when they are wrapped and sealed, an enterprising cat can. One of mine, Nessie, scaled the side of a cupboard, got on to the top shelf where I had put the remainder into a sealed plastic bag inside a tin with a closed lid, and biffed the tin down to the floor! It fell open, the plastic bag split, and Nessie leaped down after it to retrieve her spoils! Luckily I was there and managed to salvage the bites before she could devour them all. The remainder are now stored safely in the freezer and will be taken out as and when I need them.

So all in all I would say that this product is a great success - well over 90% uptake if you factor in the one cat that was not interested. I can see that I will use it as a bribe or special treat when I want them to come inside. They have already proved that they will do pretty well anything to get one! I will also try them on my dog when we are doing training sessions. It is just a pity that the cats are not interested in being trained too; they just expect that it is their right to get one whenever their dog does!