I started Nothin’ but Heart Dog Treats for my handsome chocolate lab, Tristan. I cherished my boy and wanted to give him the very best treats I could find. Tristan was a gift given to our family by my in-laws Carla and Wally Reuben-Carbone, the owners of On The Bluff Labradors.

They have been feeding their dogs an exclusively raw food diet for over 40 years. 

When I was looking for treats for Tristan I wanted something that was compatible with his raw diet. So, I asked Carla what would be the healthiest treat to give him. “Without a question” she said, “give him hearts. Organ meats are like giving your dog a super nutrient multi-vitamin and nothing beats raw hearts.” 

Upon doing a little bit of research, what I discovered is that hearts supply a nutritional wallop like no other food.
Hearts are the most densely packed muscle in the body containing just about every nutrient, including heavy doses of B vitamins such as: B1, B2, B6, folic acid and vitamin B12. Hearts are loaded with minerals like phosphorus, iron, copper, magnesium and iodine, and provide the important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. 
The heart contains 3 times the amount of protein than any other organ meat and 10 times the amount of the super nutrient CoQ10. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is necessary for the basic functioning of cells, as well as optimizing the heart’s rhythm. CoQ10 levels are reported to decrease with a dog’s age which may lead to chronic diseases such as heart conditions, cancer, diabetes, and immune disorders.
Also, Because of their muscle density hearts contain an enormous amount of natural Vitamin D. Vitamin D is one of the most important vitamins (actually a hormone precursor) and regulates numerous functions in a dog’s body.
Vitamin D deficiency is related to muscle weakness, fractures, common cancers, autoimmune diseases and infectious diseases. It’s especially important for dogs who live at higher latitudes and receive less sun (since sun exposure is the best source of Vitamin D). 

I did the reading and I knew- Raw hearts are without question the best dog treat in the world. So I went to my local butcher and got some beef, turkey and chicken hearts. I don’t know about most of you, but it was really hard for me to get over the ick factor of handling a slippery, bloody heart- No matter how nutritious it was for my beloved dog. This wasn’t something I could do easily. 

Than I thought of dehydrating them.

The overwhelming response has been wagging tails and drool.

Avalon, our beautiful black lab was also gifted to us from my in-laws. I decided when we got her that I would create a new treat. Many people have questioned whether or not I would do some sort of biscuit as well as the dehydrated hearts and after a few months of trial and error I came up with the winning cookie recipe. While there are no hearts in the original (pumpkin coconut cookies) cookies, it was love at first bite for Tristan and Avalon!

In March of 2020, the Covid 19 pandemic took over the country and I had to get creative. Due to a meat shortage, I couldn't acquire more beef hearts, turkey hearts or chicken hearts. I started searching the internet for a solution to my dilemma. I found beef heart powder. It has all the same health benefits and nutrients as a raw heart. I started playing around with a new cookie recipe involving the heart powder. It turned out, that Tristan and Avalon went crazy for this new cookie.

The cookies are made with the highest quality organic ingredients.

After months of being unable to get more hearts, I came to realize that discontinuing the entire heart collection was inevitable. I thought long and hard about it, especially considering how nutritious the hearts are for the dogs.

In times of uncertainty I want to be able to adapt, grow and change so I can overcome any obstacles that come my way.

Here we are in 2021, still going strong!

We were gifted two more gorgeous girls by my very generous in-laws. A fox red lab named Scarlett and Kennedy, a chocolate lab.

Our newest girl is Guinevere, another chocolate lab. She is Avalon's daughter. She was born on our son's birthday.

We have now also added meat treats to our collection. We partnered with State of Nature to bring you the meat treats. They are sourced from local farms in the area so they are of the freshest quality. They are single ingredient treats, that have been ground up and shaped into hearts.

I have put my heart and soul into this company and I would like to dedicate every bag I make to my wonderfully suportive family and Tristan, my original reason for starting this company.

Tristan 4/29/18-2/1/22 he was the best boy. 💙 Although his time with us was cut short, I'm grateful for every day we had with him.

Nothin’ but Heart Dog Treats are produced in Ulster County, NY.