Dog treats aren’t exactly hard to come by. They come in numerous shapes and sizes, flavors and colors; they can be seasonal, gluten-free, tailor-made for big dogs or little dogs, etc., etc. The Lickety Stik by PetSafe, an all-natural liquid dog treat that dispenses its numminess via a fun rollerball design, definitely stands out amongst its peers. I was very excited to receive this product to review, especially since the flavor we received (beef burger) isn’t available on the website yet. Yeah, that’s just how I roll. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

Because of Emma’s food allergies, we’re always very careful about what we give her. One glance at the ingredient list for our Lickety Stik showed that her allergies – namely to corn, soy and possibly wheat – wouldn’t be an issue. This also isn’t doggie junk food! For example, the liver flavor contains these few ingredients, most of which are pronounceable: Natural Liver Flavors, Cultured Milk, Lecithin, Mixed Tocopherols (natural preservative and a source of Vitamin E), Ascorbyl Palmitate (source of Vitamin C), Rosemary Extract, Green Tea Extract. Another concern of ours for our mostly sedentary dog is the calorie count. Bulldogs aren’t known for their svelte physiques, but we try to keep her weight in mind, which means not giving her a biscuit every time she gives us the sweet puppy eyes. That said, the Lickety Stik is only 1 calorie per 10 licks (with 500 licks per bottle), which is a great, tasty bang for your dog’s caloric buck.

The Lickety Stik was a huge hit in our house. When we first opened the package, Emma (knowing she was in for something special) sat like a good girl and immediately began slobbering. We had a moment of confusion when she first began to lick, because it didn’t look like any of the liquid was coming out. Eventually my husband gave the rollerball a nudge with his thumb, and the juice began to run – so maybe it was just stuck. The smell is really very strong, like liquid smoke. To me it smells like a McDonald’s kitchen, but to my husband it smells simply of of “umami”. (I was afraid he was going to give it a lick himself.) I’m guessing Emma thought it smelled like heaven, because she quickly became a licking monster. Her eyes crossed in concentration as she stared at the Lickety Stik in my hand and licked and licked and licked. Doggie approved!

Although she wanted to, we didn’t let her slurp the entire bottle down in one go. We still have about half of the bottle left, even after using it once or twice daily for the last two weeks. We’ve found it’s a great training treat because we don’t have to fiddle with biscuits or chews – no fiddling with the packaging, no breaking treats in half. After Emma sits, lies down or waits like a good girl, she gets a couple licks as a reward: easy peasy.

However, there is one catch – at least with our pup: Lickety Stik claims to be “no mess” and “tidy”, but we’ve found that when Emma works up a good slobber after a few strong licks, the beefy liquid can sometimes leak out and mix with said slobber. Because you have to tip the Stik a certain way to allow the dog access, whatever liquid/slobber combo that gets on the bottle will surely run down it and onto your fingers once you straighten the bottle and put the top back on. No big deal, but not exactly “no mess”. If the slobber gets to be too much, I suggest holding it with a paper towel while dispensing – unless you want your hand to smell like a beefy burger.

Slobber or no slobber, we’re a big fan of the Lickety Stik. It’s a fun and unique concept, and we approve of the ingredients and nutrition content. More importantly, Emma is enraptured with hers, so we’re definitely getting another when this one runs out! The website lists three flavors: savory chicken, braised liver, and smokey bacon. And for those of the kitty persuasion, PetSafe is coming out with a feline version of the Lickety Stik in July! They sent us a sample of a kitty-centric flavor (tasty tuna), which comes in a smaller bottle but with the same design. We gave it to a friend who has four cats, and apparently there was a kitty showdown to claim the Lickety Stik. I’m not surprised!

Video via PetSafe