My dog will only eat a treat shaped like a cat...:)

Back in the bad old days, before animal convenience foods were invented, our house dogs survived on what we left, (which wasn't much) boiled veg peelings, stale bread, plus horse meat, whale meat, or offals if available.
Funny thing was, they were lean, mean, and unlike many dogs today, exceedingly healthy.
Most of todays dog troubles are from overfeeding, and processed foods.
JMTC

I do not own a dog but have in the past.

I've told dog owners that if I am reincarnated I want to come back as a Villagers dog.
Just in case, I do not want any bows or costumes. A stroller-come now. Oh and as to the rain. You have a weather report on the radio. You do not smell good when you get wet.

I can guarantee you that while people will tell you logically shape doesn’t matter, it does sub consciously. It can also be the tie breaker when all else is equal. Look at your own sales for answers, what proportion are dog type shapes? Just look at the dog biscuits at the grocery store...they spend millions to tell them that answer.

My dog is small (12 pounds). I look for healthy, lower calorie ingredients without additives. Your treat seems to have a chocolate chip in the center. You will find that many people do not feed their dogs any chocolate. They sure look tasty.

I agreed with Bjean on the shape but I do care about the size. Dachshunds are prone to gain weight. I avoid buying hard treats because they are hard to cut in half. I prefer soft treats so I can split in half for my two doxies.

Neither my dog or I care about what treats look like, I care what's in them, he doesn't even care about that. He's a big dog, I got give two little dog treats at bedtime. No dyes. All natural. I make him treats sometimes, they aren't pretty.

Ingredients
 

Good ingredients and hold together well in your pocket and not be messy. The dog goes by smell.

Nope, the shape doesn't matter as long as the treat is healthy and good for him.

I buy either beef or calf liver and dehydrate in my oven for treats. They get crunchy and my 2 dogs and all the neighborhood doggies love them also!
Store treats are so processed ☹️

I do wonder why you are asking. You should know what sells and what does not.
You are selling to people not to dogs. I expect milk bones are far less expensive than what you are selling. You are not the only one making these things. You really should visit competitors, see what they are doing, see what they charge. I know nothing about what you are doing. Perhaps, there are faster ways to do what you are doing.

An idea for you. I'm sure you can find one. I had a plastic rack for drying fruit. At the time, I had a small garden and tons of raspberries and strawberries. A microwave is far faster,
less expensive to run and does not heat up your kitchen in the summer. You find used microwaves everywhere so you could buy one for this use only.

Simple solution to cutting hard stuff. I used it on pills. You buy a pair of pruning sheers
of the anvil type. I have one I bought new years ago. For your dog? Up to you, you can just clean a used one.

I only give my dogs freeze-dried meat treats that are small in size. I would think most owners would steer clear of grains because of the calories and sugar/starch easily fattening the dog. You consider buying a Harvest Right (brand) freeze drier and going this route instead.

Oh yes I remember...I had a sick dog from Blue Buffalo canned food...it was a real eye opener. We feed raw or dehydrated human grade food and also lots of fresh good appropriate foods to our dogs as well...we cooked our own for quite a while as well...good for you and your dog.