What’s got us so chirpy, you ask? Why, it’s new Trader Joe’s Chhurpi Puffs Dog Treats, which, according to some of our favorite dogs (okay, fine, our dogs), might just be our best Dog Treats to date! But just what is chhurpi? Glad you asked…

Chhurpi, or durkha, is an extremely hard cheese native to the Himalayas, traditionally made from Yak’s milk or buttermilk (ours is made from a blend of both). The milk gets boiled, then the curds are wrapped in a thin cloth and hung out to dry for several days. Once the cheese is quite firm, it’s sliced into strips or cubes and dried over a fire or in an oven on low heat.

At this point in the process, Chhurpi makes an excellent human snack, but to make its texture extra dog- friendly, our Nepalese supplier takes it a step further by microwaving the chhurpi nuggets. This forces the cheese to “puff ” — kind of like microwave popcorn — and turns it into crunchy, savory treats your pup will be begging for!