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Shepherd Boy Farms
One ingredient. USA-sourced from an Indiana family farm. Whole-food taurine, CoQ10, and B vitamins for cardiac, training, and senior support.
The Treat That Lives Up To The Bowl
The label-reading household has been disappointed by the treat aisle for years. The "natural" treats with eight ingredients on the back of the bag, four of which you do not recognize. The "real meat" jerky with glycerin near the top of the deck. The freeze-dried treats that look clean on the front but list corn starch or pea protein as a binder once you turn the bag over. The standards that built the daily bowl rarely survive the reach for a quick reward.
Shepherd Boy Farms takes the simplest possible approach. One ingredient. USA-sourced chicken hearts from their Indiana family farm network, raised under protocols that exclude added hormones and added antibiotics. Flash-frozen at peak freshness, processed in a vacuum chamber at sub-zero temperatures between negative thirty and negative fifty degrees Fahrenheit, freeze-dried to uniform pieces that hold together in a training pouch without crumbling. Independently lab-tested per batch before the bag leaves the facility. No additives, no fillers, no preservatives, no grain, no synthetic anything.
Chicken hearts are one of the most concentrated natural food sources of dietary taurine and coenzyme Q10 available. The same nutrients senior support formulas and cardiac supplements try to deliver in isolation, delivered here as whole food.
What that gives your dog is whole-food protein, naturally occurring taurine (the sulfur-containing amino acid that supports cardiac contractility, retinal function, and central nervous system regulation), coenzyme Q10 (the lipid-soluble compound at the center of mitochondrial energy production, which the body's hardest-working tissues rely on), L-carnitine for fatty acid metabolism, the complete B vitamin spectrum, heme iron (the form bound inside hemoglobin and myoglobin proteins, the most bioavailable iron the canine gut can absorb), zinc, and the full amino acid profile of one of the hardest-working muscles in the body.
Nothing added. Nothing needed. Just the heart.
What These Hearts Help With
Cardiac and DCM support
Whole-food taurine, CoQ10, and L-carnitine layer naturally into the cardiac muscle's own nutritional inputs. Particularly relevant for breeds with documented dilated cardiomyopathy susceptibility and households actively addressing DCM risk.
Senior energy and cognition
CoQ10 levels decline with age in every tissue. Whole-food cardiac muscle is the body's single richest natural CoQ10 reservoir, which makes routine inclusion a clean way to support mitochondrial energy and cognitive sharpness as a dog ages.
High-value training reward
The aroma intensity of freeze-dried chicken heart overrides most distraction. Picky-eater conversions, recall reinforcement, and vet cooperation all benefit from a top-tier reward that holds up in a training pouch without crumbling.
Connective tissue support
Cardiac muscle carries more elastin and collagen than skeletal muscle because the heart relies on elastic recoil. The same amino acids (glycine, proline, hydroxyproline) support tendons, joint capsules, and dermis in your dog.
Energy and stamina
Heme iron incorporates into hemoglobin and myoglobin for oxygen-carrying capacity. The complete B vitamin spectrum supports cellular energy production. The combination is what working dogs, performance dogs, and active sport dogs benefit from.
What's In The Bag
Featured Sourcing
Shepherd Boy Farms is a family operation in Indiana that started as a meat supplier and built the pet line on the same sourcing standards. The chicken is USA-raised under protocols that exclude added hormones and added antibiotics. Every batch is tested by independent laboratories for safety before it leaves the facility. Generic dried chicken treats from a pet store rarely have any of this traceability behind them.
Why this matters in a one-ingredient product. When the label is two words long, the entire quality conversation collapses into the sourcing chain. Indiana family farm network plus independent lab testing per batch is the rare combination in the natural treat category.
Featured Process
The raw hearts are flash-frozen immediately to lock in cellular structure, then placed in a vacuum chamber at negative thirty to negative fifty degrees Fahrenheit. Gentle warming under vacuum sublimates water directly from solid ice to vapor without ever passing through the liquid phase. Think of it as pressing pause on the muscle tissue at peak freshness. Freeze-dried products retain substantially more nutrition than heat-dried or baked alternatives that destroy heat-fragile B vitamins, CoQ10, and amino acids. Four ounces of freeze-dried hearts is roughly equivalent to one pound of fresh hearts, with no refrigeration logistics required.
Chicken hearts are one of the most concentrated natural food sources of dietary taurine available. Taurine supports cardiac muscle contractility, retinal function, bile acid conjugation, and central nervous system regulation. Recent veterinary research on diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy has refocused attention on dietary taurine as a meaningful nutritional input. For breeds with documented DCM susceptibility (Doberman Pinschers, Golden Retrievers, Cocker Spaniels, Boxers, Newfoundlands, Great Danes, Irish Wolfhounds, and a few others), whole-food taurine is one of several inputs holistic veterinarians often discuss with families.
Heart muscle is also the body's single richest natural reservoir of coenzyme Q10 (the lipid-soluble compound that sits at the center of mitochondrial energy production). Every cell uses CoQ10 in the electron transport chain to convert dietary fuel into cellular energy, and the cells that work hardest (cardiac muscle, skeletal muscle, brain, kidney) carry the highest concentrations. CoQ10 levels decline with age, which is why senior support formulations frequently include it as an isolated supplement. A whole-food source delivers it bundled with the fats and proteins the body uses to assemble its own CoQ10 economy.
Cardiac muscle is a concentrated natural source of L-carnitine, an amino acid derivative that shuttles long-chain fatty acids into the mitochondrial matrix where they are oxidized for energy. Like taurine and CoQ10, L-carnitine has been studied specifically in the context of canine cardiomyopathy and energy metabolism. The complete B vitamin spectrum (B12, riboflavin, niacin, folate, B6) supports nervous system function, cellular energy production, and DNA synthesis. Heme iron (bound inside hemoglobin and myoglobin) and zinc are delivered in the most bioavailable form, supporting oxygen-carrying capacity, immune function, and skin barrier integrity.
The guaranteed analysis lists crude protein at 42.25% minimum and crude fat at 28.88% minimum on a dry-matter basis. Cardiac muscle also carries more elastin and collagen than skeletal muscle because the heart relies on elastic recoil, contributing glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline (the same amino acids connective tissue formulations highlight) to the daily pool. Functional enrichment, not empty calories.
The Standards Behind Every Bag
Indiana family farm sourcing
USA-raised under protocols that exclude added hormones and added antibiotics. Traceable to a real farm network.
One ingredient on the label
Chicken hearts. Nothing added, nothing else in the bag. No glycerin, no preservatives, no fillers, no synthetic anything.
Sub-zero freeze-drying
Negative thirty to negative fifty degrees Fahrenheit under vacuum. Protects heat-fragile B vitamins, CoQ10, and amino acids.
Independent batch lab testing
Every batch tested by independent laboratories for safety before leaving the facility.
42.25% min protein
Crude protein at 42.25% minimum, crude fat at 28.88% minimum on a dry-matter basis. Functionally dense, not calorically empty.
Shelf-stable, no refrigeration
Use within forty-five days after opening for optimal freshness. Avoid refrigeration (moisture differential compromises the texture).
The Signature Trust Marker
Generic dried chicken treats from the pet store almost never publish batch testing data. Sourcing is often opaque, and processing is usually baking or extrusion that damages heat-fragile B vitamins, CoQ10, and amino acids. Shepherd Boy Farms runs the standard the other direction: Indiana family farm sourcing, protocols that exclude added hormones and antibiotics, sub-zero vacuum freeze-drying, and independent lab testing on every batch before it ships. That is the trust element this product is built on.
Is This Right For Your Dog
Highest Match
Your dog is a DCM-susceptible breed (Doberman Pinscher, Golden Retriever, Cocker Spaniel, Boxer, Newfoundland, Great Dane, Irish Wolfhound, or similar). Your household wants to layer whole-food natural taurine, CoQ10, and L-carnitine into the daily nutritional total alongside whatever the veterinary team has advised. These hearts are exactly that layer.
Highest Match
You are the label-reading holistic household where every treat has to clear the same ingredient bar as the daily bowl. You are tired of the typical treat aisle. You want a single-ingredient, USA family farm-sourced, freeze-dried treat that delivers real cardiac, energy, and senior support from the food itself.
You have a senior dog whose cardiac function, cognitive sharpness, or energy levels you want to support naturally with whole-food CoQ10, taurine, and B vitamins in a treat-sized format.
You are a raw feeder whose daily bowl already includes organ rotation, and you want a shelf-stable training-pouch option that matches the same whole-food standard without thaw or refrigeration logistics.
You have a working, performance, or active sport dog whose energy and recovery demands benefit from whole-food heme iron, B vitamins, and complete amino acid enrichment beyond what kibble alone delivers.
You need a high-value training reward for distraction-heavy work, recall reinforcement, or veterinary cooperation. The aroma intensity of freeze-dried chicken heart outperforms most of the natural treat aisle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, with the standard framing. Whole-food natural taurine, CoQ10, and L-carnitine are exactly the nutritional inputs the holistic feeding community has long pointed to for DCM-susceptible breeds. The hearts are not a treatment, a cure, or a replacement for veterinary cardiology guidance if your dog has a documented condition or carries breed-level risk. They are whole-food enrichment that contributes to the daily taurine and cardiac-support nutritional total in a treat-sized format. Discuss the broader picture with your veterinary team, especially if your dog is on a prescribed cardiac diet or being monitored for diet-associated DCM.
Yes. Chicken is the most common food allergen in dogs, and a single-ingredient chicken heart treat is not appropriate for chicken-sensitive households. Shepherd Boy Farms offers duck hearts, beef hearts, lamb hearts, and pork hearts under the same single-ingredient whole-food standard. The mechanism story (taurine, CoQ10, B vitamins, complete amino acids) carries across the heart-muscle category regardless of the specific animal protein.
Yes, with two adjustments. Break the pieces into puppy-appropriate sizes, and factor the hearts into the daily caloric and protein total. Puppies are calorie-dense feeders by design, and a heart piece is a meaningful contribution to that total rather than a free add-on. The taurine, CoQ10, B vitamins, and heme iron in cardiac muscle support nervous system development, energy metabolism, and tissue building during the rapid-growth phase.
One ingredient. One family farm. Real nutrition.
USA-sourced chicken hearts from an Indiana family farm network. Flash-frozen at peak freshness, vacuum-chamber processed at sub-zero temperatures, freeze-dried into uniform, shelf-stable, training-pouch-friendly pieces. One ingredient. Independently lab-tested. No additives, no fillers, no preservatives, no grain. Crude protein at 42.25% minimum, crude fat at 28.88% minimum.
For the DCM-aware household, this is the whole-food taurine, CoQ10, and L-carnitine layer that complements veterinary care. For the senior dog whose cardiac function and cognitive sharpness you want to support naturally, this is the daily enrichment treat with the right functional ingredients for the job. For the raw feeder, this is the shelf-stable training-pouch option that matches the daily bowl's standard. For the trainer, this is one of the most aromatic and food-drive-responsive treats available in the natural category.
Nothing added. Nothing needed. Just the heart.
