Like so many of you, my wife and I are meticulous shoppers. Whether it be online or in-person, we tend to put a lot of research into the things we purchase so that we know we're putting our hard-earned money on the proper products. There are so many options for even basic items like leashes and collars that it's easy to get lost in what we're buying.

We will be writing reviews as we purchase and use these items ourselves. As you do your research for products you're planning to buy, our goal is to add another layer to that research.

We're excited to tell you about one of Markus' favourite snack brands this week: Naked Beasts. We first stumbled upon Naked Beasts on Instagram and after having made some orders, it's quickly become our go-to high level treat.

You might know at this point that Markus is a picky eater. Even after a long flight from Korea to Seattle when we first adopted him, Markus only ate the meat treats and rejected the cookie treats we were trying to offer him. He must've been starving after that flight and still said no to cookie treats. And that was one of the first things we learned about him.

It's been more of the same since then. Markus is still a picky eater and he still prefers the meat treats. Whether it's beef, chicken, turkey, duck, lamb or fish, as long as it has meat on it, Markus is down to eat it. We're always on the lookout for treats that are high level, can be broken down into trainable sizes and also don't come with ingredients with names that sound like it should belong in a lab.

We've really started paying attention to the treats we buy for Markus, especially ones that come cheaper or in bulk. A quick pick up of the packaging and turning it over to read the ingredients list will mostly show you what you need to know. In short, if you're purchasing a bag of chicken treats, you should be buying only the chicken and not all the preservatives. Our general rule of thumb is we only go for products where the ingredients are things we know.

We've also become fans of products with single ingredients. On our quest, when we stumbled upon Naked Beasts Snacks on Instagram, which looked interesting so we looked up what they were all about. Naked Beasts Snacks specialize on meat products like whole prey that have been dehydrated. This dehydration process kills harmful things like parasites so your dog can actually eat the entire prey - including the organs, head, feet, fur or feathers.

The process of dehydration allows the meat to last longer, but it also makes the bones and nail become brittle in the process so that it's not just safe for your dog to eat entirely, but it is encouraged. The type of essential vitamins and minerals that dogs get from eating whole prey are often hard to find on products off the shelves because they've been stripped out during the preserving process.

Since Markus is a carnivore at heart, we had a feeling that he'd really enjoy these treats, so we ordered a few different proteins for him to try. Considering the order comes from the US and we live in Canada, it came fairly quickly and we were pleased to find that it had arrived!

And wow, does Markus love these treats.

So far we've given him whole quails, sardines, chicken feet and duck feet. We're always on the look out for high level rewards and this is the highest level we've found so far. Markus will finish these treats from beginning to end so quickly that there's no time to savour and it's usually gone within a minute.

Even though they say that you don't need to put their products in the freezer or fridge, we usually keep these in the freezer. Markus has learned that's where we keep them, so even if we're opening the freezer for our own treats like ice cream, he's flying around the corner at the sound of the freezer opening just in case there's something for him.

Another part of Naked Beasts snacks that we love is how friendly the owners have been. They've been gracious with their time and if there's a product that sold out, they've been so good at messaging us to let us know when the products are back in stock. We appreciate their thoughtfulness and care towards their customers!

Markus is such a picky eater that there's no fooling him. He'll always find a way to eat around cookies, vegetables or medicine, but he'll always have time for Naked Beasts treats and that speaks to the quality of their products.

You can learn more about Naked Beasts and their 30-144 hour long process of dehydrating and why this style is great for the health of your dog on their website.

We’re so grateful for your support of The Markus Project. We mostly choose our locations through searching and word of mouth. If you know of a park, trail or location you think we should check out, please share it with us. We’d love to know!