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.” 

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 family has a soft spot for chocolate labs.

We kept Guinevere, who is a chocolate lab from Avalon's litter (March of 2022). She is Avalon and Holden's daughter and she was born on our son's birthday. We just felt it was the Universe's way of telling us we needed another dog.

My parents also kept a chocolate lab from the same litter, her name is Xena.

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.