[Margaret G]

I’m new so I’m sure you have heard this but…I haven’t used store bought treats for some time. i bought a cheap dehydrator and I make my own. I do chicken breasts, apples, sweet potatoes and the dogs love them. (Beef liver works well, if you have the stomach for it!!) I just have to be careful of the calories, especially with my husband. He’ll give them handfuls at a time!! I too grind our meats whenever I can. I always do ground beef-after the “pink slime” controversy!!!

[pugmomsandy]

I’ve used Duck & Turkey Raw Boost food and their Raw Boost treats and Boost topper powder supplement in Lamb and Beef. I actually avoid chicken products in general. I have pugs and they basically like 99.9% of all things edible. You might try the chicken flavor first since that’s what your dog is currently eating and then eventually add in other varieties.

[Gloria K]

Dori, I was just about to post about the recall. This kind of proves our point doesn’t it?
This is exactly why, for the past 15 years I grind my own beef and chicken for my own consumption. No one has ever recalled my beef, chicken, dog food or dog treats LOL

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Gloria K.

[Dori]

Hater & Molly’s Mom, and D.O. Glad you both posted as I did. They are treats, not their meals and dogs do just fine with them as a crunchy treat. So I don’t know why some dogs are able to digest most, if not all, of their foods but I believe that that may be another issue entirely. As I said, I give these type of things to the girls in lieu of store bought treats. I also cannot make treats at home because most of them that I have seen include something that Katie cannot have.

Oh…..here we go again. Just got an email on another dog treat recall: Big Bark Dog Treats due to Salmonella.

That’s exactly what I’m talking about. No store bought treats at my house for my dogs.

[Gloria K]

Dori, I feed my dog cooked green beans, carrots and sometimes pieces of cooked squash and he gets just as excited over those as he does cookies with cranberries, blueberries, apples, mashed banana etc. Just say the word “treat” and he goes berserk. And as I mentioned I make all of his food including his treats. They’re so easy to make, takes so little time to make dozens of them and much much cheaper than buying crap made in China.

[Dori]

Gloria, I give my dogs raw fruits and veggies as treats. It entertains them and they’re happy. I don’t particularly care how much nutrition they receive from them. Very rarely do I find huge pieces of carrots or any raw veggies I give them so I don’t know. As I’ve said often, I don’t feed commercial raw treats (too many recalls, also Katie has too many food issues). Sometimes I do cook them, sometimes I puree them if I want them to get the most nutrition out of them. Mostly they like the crunch factor of raw. It makes them happy.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Well, sometimes you need treats on the go – such as at dog parks or in training classes. I don’t know about you but I personally don’t want to carry raw meat around in my pocket. Also, feeding raw veggies is pretty pointless since dogs can’t efficiently digest them in the raw state. Last time my dog got a hold of a raw carrot stick it came out the exact same way it came in.

[Mary L]

Real food! I dont understand the question really. Organic raw cheese, raw free range meat, organic carrots, tomatoes, romaine lettuce… Why does anyone buy dog treats?

[crazy4cats]

Check out http://www.dogaware.com. They have a few good articles on probiotics and digestive issues. It is a great website! I am using Proflora right now with my pups. It is a soft chew and they eat them like treats. They are made by Pet Health Solutions and are available on http://www.healthypets.com. They have 9 strains and also a prebiotic. Vetri-Science also makes a similar one. I Also like Swanson’s Ultra Soil-Based Organisms. It has about 14 strains of microorganisms and also has digestive enzymes. It is a human supplement and is very nicely priced. There are so many. You just have to jump in and give one a try. I like to rotate supplements with my pets. Good luck!

[Kimi_forever]

I just got a bag of blue buffalo wilderness trail treats duck flavor wild bits in the mail today from chewy.com on accident instead of my freeze dried sojo’s treats, they obviously are taking great care of replacing the mistake but i dont know what to do with these treats now that i’ve read this thread. i always knew BB was whack but jeeze. They told me to just donate these to the local animal shelter instead of send them back but i dont know if i even want to do give these to a raccoon after this. I’m thinking about just throwing them away.

And on wellness, i know i’ve heard good things about them from people on this forum. But ive read on another forum that someone contacted them and was told that they don’t even use human grade ingredients anymore, that they use pet grade — which depending on how you feel could mean a lot, and it does to me. I emailed wellness to try and confirm this and was met with silence/no reply so i wrote them off my list of foods. Not to mention that when i tried a bag of wellness core for my dog she had terrible diarehha and would wake me up in the middle of the night 3-4 times at all different hours crying in the crate and then would run to door as fast as she could and run outside and have completely liquid poo’s. I asked chewy.com to exchange the bag of core with a bag of the Fromm that she had no problems with and they did…I’ve also heard that nature’s variety uses denatured pet grade ingredients as well, and i was not able to get a straight answer out of their rep in an email as to whether nature’s variety used pet or human grade, they just said “we strive to source the best ingredients for you pet blah blah blah our ingedients meet or exceed the standards of the pet food industry blah blah blah” totally circumventing my question, petcurean did the same thing when i asked them. I personally don’t trust a company who can’t clearly verify that they use USDA inspected (or the equivalent) and passed meat and that their other ingredients are human grade. Sojo’s is made in a pet food facility and has no problem clearly articulating that they use human ingredients, same with merrick, orijen, fromm, and others. but after seeing some stuff on susan thixton’s site about merrick i’m no longer as hot on them either (not new news, old news)….

I dunno if i should give these treats to my aunt who feeds beneful to their dog, give them to a shelter, or just throw them away in hopes of not making anyone sick…jeeze

[MIKE B]

Sorry for the long history, but the situation is complicated; I’ll stick to info that seems essential to this mystery.

Our 15.5 year old lab/setter mix has been on a raw food diet for about the last 14 years, since being diagnosed with mild hip disp. For all these years, he has eaten his nightly dinner with joy, mostly frozen raw chicken on the bone, lots of leg quarters, drumsticks, backs. Breakfast has also always been an eagerly awaited treat, a mix of ground turkey, tuna, fish oil, eggs yokes, and ground veggies (brocc, carrots, and other) and apples w/out seeds. I’m probably forgetting something, but you get the idea.

His regular blood work has also delivered exemplary results from a doc sympathetic to but not knowledgeable about raw feeding.

As recently as this last summer we were needing to feed him a bit less to keep his weight down (approx. 60 lbs) because the warm weather really slows him down. He has always gotten two walks a day, totaling about 3-4 miles, off leash, though as he slowed down it was sometimes tough to get in 2 miles a day in 2 walks.

Then we tried some laser therapy on an arthritic wrist, which didn’t help, so we tried adding Tramadol to help w/ the arthritis. He has been getting daily Rimadyl, also, for probably the last year or more.

The Tramadol seemed to help, but he really hated the taste, and soon even hiding them in his morning breakfast wasn’t good enough, so we put them in fish oil capsules, until he detected the hated pills and stopped eating the fish oil caps that came with his breakfast.

Since the pills helped, we decided to hide the pills in very small Lean Treats, which did the trick, but soon after he started losing interest in breakfast and eventually his nightly chicken on the bone. He still ate, but seemed less enthused.

Now things get really complicated. To combat a growing problem with nightly incontinence, we started giving him testosterone shots. The results have been phenomenal. The shots not only got the incontinence under control, but they, along with cold weather, have him walking with great enthusiasm, speed, and vigor, so now we’re up to 4 or more miles a day between the two walks. Great news.

Except that even as he was getting much more exercise, his appetite has been greatly reduced. He still eats both breakfast and dinner as described above, but he will typically only eat a half portion, which has lead to significant weight loss.

When his ribs began to show we started trying different meats including beef and liver with some but not enough improvement. Finally, about a week ago, in desperation we did three things: 1) we started making silky balls for him as a supplement, and sure enough, he likes them; 2) we started adding canned dog food to his breakfast and 3) we started giving him some Iams dry dog food AFTER he ate as much of his chicken on the bone as he was willing to eat.

The latest is that he seems less and less interested in his raw food breakfast even when mixed with canned dog food, and while he can still be coaxed into downing a couple of raw drumsticks for dinner most (but not all) nights, he loves the silky balls and his kibble.

At this point I need another bag of dog food but I hate using the stuff and would rather see him back on a BARF diet, but if he won’t eat enough of it, well, he’s got to eat! At 15.5 years old, I’m tempted to say, okay, whatever you’ll eat, pal, that’s fine, but if anyone has experience with a situation like this I’d love to hear some suggestions.

In particular, I’d like to know a) are changes in taste common to older dogs, as they can be in people?,; b) does anybody recognize in the story above a causal explanation? (we have our own theories, but I’ll reserve them for now); c) does anybody have suggestions for how to get him back to enthusiastic BARFing?

Thank you.

[Kathleen C]

Thank you Bobby dog. I already remove some kibble from his food and also use the kibble as treats, along with green beans, carrots and a salmon Zuke’s soft treat he loves. I need a more substantial type like the Zuke’s…it’s very small and I know they have something that looks more like a bar that’s also low fat, I just can’t find it right now. I wanted a much lower fat Milk Bone type treat…goes further since it’s easy to break up. Thank you for the two suggestions. I will look into both.

[Bobby dog]

Kimi:
IMO unless your dog has a health issue or you feed an over abundance of treats, as long as it’s a healthy food I wouldn’t be too concerned with the fat content. I believe everything in moderation is important for any dog, but each dog has different thresholds for anything they are exposed to. The ideal fat to protein ratio would be individual to your dog.

I pay attention to the fat % in all of my dog’s food and treats since he gained a little weight this year; fats have twice the calories of protein. I want the majority of his calories coming from protein not fat. I reduced the fat in his diet and increased his physical activity to take care of this health issue. For Bobby’s diet I like fat to protein ratios to average 50% or less. I rarely buy treats because I make my own, when I do it’s FD foods or treats. I like the convenience and that there are no other ingredients in them other than meat.

If you want to figure out fat to protein ratios divide the fat% by the protein% and multiply by 100.

[Kimi_forever]

personally i dont know if i even feel safe leaving my dog with a kong alone, particuarly if its a strong chewer. i’ve seen some pittbulls decimate the black x-strength kongs and take off chunks of rubber that they could definitely choke on if not supervised.

That being said i use bully sticks for my dog as i dont have to worry about teeth cracks, and they are edible. i dont completely understand the logic of putting them in vicegrips, i’m not saying that is wrong i just dont understand it and would always be open to an explanation of why this was a good idea. one treat i just recently tried that i liked alot but it depends on your dog is the turkey feet from bestbullysticks.com …if you have a dog that doesnt fully chew their treats and gulps do not get these, if you want to leave your dog alone do not get them, but other then wanting to leave your dog unsupervised with one i think they fit most of your criteria and are HUGE and great for large dogs that fully chew their treats but again i cant emphasize enough they have to be supervised, but meet the rest of your criteria and are a great treat for large dogs as they are huge…I have an 85lb akita who was 35lbs at four months and over 60 at 5 months and she did great with their turkey feet, she fully consumed the whole thing and it lasted her about an hour, but with a more powerful chewer that was 100lbs+ i only give it 30 minutes, but still a good price for what you get…i also recommend bestbullysticks.com jumbo and monster bully sticks to you, they have the jumbo in stock right now, but again i do not suggest leaving your dog alone with these or any treat, even a kong….

[Kimi_forever]

I’ve heard some not so great things about them which disappointed me as i wanted to try some of their treats as they seemed interesting and i was particularly intrigued by their use of buffalo over beef as i personally feel buffalo is a superior protein source to beef. I would not personally trust meat from india, even if it is human grade. But then again i wont feed weruva to my dog because its made in thailand, but some people see no problem in this because its done at a human food processing plant, so if trusting india is a judgement call on your part i say no but someone else might say different.

One other thing to keep in mind about this company is that i learned evangers does the canning for their canned foods back when i was thinking of using their canned food as a topper for my dog. And like i saw one regular poster here say, “if they dont see the problem with having evangers can their food then i have a problem with that and i dont trust their judgement on any product they make given this”. I mean if these people don’t think doing business with evangers is a problem then where do they draw the line? i personally would return whatever i had from this company asap, but thats just me and i’m very picky and there arent many brands i approve of, so it’s really your call…

EDIT: one other thing about this company that i saw someone who reviewed their products point out which i felt was a good point. is that they focus their marketing a lot on unsubstantiated claims such as the food is good at fighting cancer instead of focusing on what is actually good about the food and why it’s a superior product. i just think they are shady all the way around and use a lot of clever marketing to sell products instead of focusing on quality…

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Kimi_forever.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Kimi_forever.

[Kimi_forever]

I wanted to edit my last post instead of post again but it wont let me for some reason.

In any event, i only have an old dehydrator and it’s made of plastic and i’ve been trying to stay away from using plastic for food reasons as much as possible, particuarly when heat is involved because of the chemicals in plastic. and purchasing a new metal dehydrator just to make jerky treats is a pretty big investment, i still might do it eventually but i wont be doing it soon. On the freeze dried treats i read in another thread that you have to be careful because the fat content is too high in some of them. Does anyone know what an ideal fat content would be on freeze dried meat treats? I saw one person recomend the stella and chewy carnavore kisses, but imho those are outrageously priced and also it seems they stopped carrying them at chewy.com because i just tried to find them and this is where i do my pet food shopping so they dont seem to be an option. the most economical ones i found were sojo’s lamb/beef/turkey ones and the turkey had by far the highest protein content of the three and grandma lucy’s pork singles freeze dried, the sojo’s you can get for 7.50ish for 4oz and the gma lucy’s are 8.07 for 4oz. thats the best deals i could find for freeze dried, i tried feeding her ziwipeak air dried food as treats but she doesnt really like them anymore then her regular kibble she loves freeze dried though. i was just wondering if these more economical freeze dried treats were the ones i should stay away from. i saw someone in another thread suggest buying them from the more highly rated brands, and sojo’s only has like 3.5 stars and grandma lucy’s rating depends on the recipe so i was wondering if these ones are the not good ones or what levels i should look for as far as fat in these treats. i’m willing to pay more for good ones but also am on budget and have a large dog so i cant afford to pay 12$+ for like 2oz…

[Gloria K]

Kim I take the bully stick away from Mickey when it gets down to about a half-inch or slightly less. He chews so intensely that I’m afraid he’s going to choke and he’s a small dog so I am concerned about that. Trying to get that last inch away from him is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I almost have to sit on him and shove my hand into his mouth. He fights me all he’s got LOL. He’s so funny.
Just a note about the biscuit and treats recipes. The sweet potato sticks are one of his very favorite things and they’re so very easy to make… if you have a dehydrator even better. Most of the recipes call for wheat or whole wheat flour but I substitute coconut flour or rice flour. Those flours are much more absorbent than wheat flour so go easy on the measurements. One cup of wheat flour is about 1/3 cup coconut or rice flour.

[Linda J]

Gloria..could you send me the link to your pintrest dog food and treats also
Thanks

[Kimi_forever]

That seems like a good idea. i thought about possibly making my own biscuits, but i didnt have a good recipe, if i were to find one though i’d prefer if it were grain free — the only thing is it seems like it would be hard to add meat into the biscuits at home. Also making my own jerky sounds much more reasonable then buying the freeze dried treats. i have an old dehydrator maybe i could give it a try, something i never thought of…thanks for your tips…

—
And on the bully sticks, i noticed some people saying they take the bully stick away from their dog when it gets down to the last inch or so. i did this with my akita when she was a puppy and growing because i was worried about her choking on the last piece. but now that she’s 85lbs she has just been consuming the whole thing, she works it down to about half inch and then swallows the rest. she seems big enough now that her swallowing the little piece left at the end doesnt hurt her, but could i be incorrect in this? Should i take away the last little piece from her because it’s a possible choking hazard or should i just let her finish it off? Like i said she chews them down pretty far and the nub she leaves is very small, about half to 3/4 inch (definitely less then an inch) so i thought it was okay now that she’s big but i just worried when i read some people taking the ends away because i used to do the same thing as a puppy.

—
thanks for your tips and help everyone, this place is always so helpful when i need dog food advice!

[Gloria K]

I make all of my dogs food and all of his treats. There are dozens of recipes using natural ingredients for making dog biscuits and they only take about four or five ingredients at best.. they’re very easy to make and they make dozens at a time. Why not do that? If you have a Pinterest account search my name because I have a great Board of dog food and treats. If you want I will private message you my Pinterest URL.
As for the bully sticks I buy the same brand you do. I did some research and discovered that they were considered one of the top brands. We get beef from Brazil for our own consumption so I don’t know if there would be a problem with that. I doubt it. If it’s good enough for us, I guess it’s good enough for the dog. My dog loves them so much and can go through one in about less than an hour. He weighs 12 pounds by the way.

[Kimi_forever]

I just saw this topic and thought i’d ask a few questions to see if anyone had any input on my treat selection because i feel comfortable with the main diet i am providing just not sure if i am doing the right thing treat wise.

I feed my dog biscuit treats, i try to buy them from quality brands and they are not cheap. but is it bad to feed dogs biscuit type treats? i’ve tried fromm gf biscuits, merrick kitchen bites, brothers complete gf, honest kitchen nuzzles, nutrisource gf, sojo’s gf, wellness gf, and nature’s variety instinct…They are not cheap but are much more affordable then the Orijen freeze dried treats i got for free from chewy.com with my last bag of orijen. I am just wondering if these biscuits are bad treats to give my dog along with her orijen kibble. i give about 4-5 biscuits a day, i know they dont have much meat in them but she loves them so much i continue to buy them for her. would i be better off buying more expensive freeze dried treats like orijen offers in the long run or is it okay to give a premium biscuit like the ones mentioned as a small treat every day? I only ask because my dog is an akita and 85lbs at only 10 months old and even with cheaper freeze dried treats like sojo’s and grandma lucy’s makes it would still be extremely more expensive to buy them, as sojo’s and grandma lucy’s pork freeze dried on chewy.com cost like 3x as much as high end biscuits for equal weight. i just want to know if i’m feeding my dog improperly by trying to save a little cash on her treats….

On another topic, i see many people mentioning giving their dogs bully sticks, and i give them to my dog when i can because they tend to be very expensive, but she loves them so i try to keep some around. I just was curious if anyone used or knew if my source of bullysticks was a quality source. I am currently getting them from bestbullysticks.com , they have nice thick bully sticks for lower price then i’ve seen anywhere: you can get a standard size one for 1.39 (cheaper in bulk) or i just got some jumbo ones (which are huge btw) for 2.19 per stick (cheaper in bulk as well). My question is if these are quality bully sticks and a quality company to trust for my pet, if anyone knows of them or has used them in the past. They say they are made from free range grass fed beef, however the beef comes from brazil unless you buy the made in usa ones for more expensive, and one of my concerns is the origin of the beef used. I have bought the made in usa ones from them in the past but they are much thinner then the brazilian ones when you compare them from what is supposed to be the same size, and much less filled and they are also more expensive. So you pay more for much less when you get the american ones, and since my dog is a large breed and will likely be 95lbs when she is done growing i can’t have thin bully sticks i need thick ones and i need them at a decent price. Does anyone know if bully sticks from brazil should not be trusted? Or where you can get USA made ones that are thick and not priced 3 dollars+ a stick? Any feed back on that site or tips on quality thick bullies for reasonable prices would be very much appreciated…

[Bobby dog]

Kathleen C:
If you are just looking for a low cal/fat treat and your dog has no specific health issues like Rick’s dog take a look at freeze dried treats. You can buy them on-line and in pet stores. I use Stella & Chewy Carnivore Kisses and Stewart’s Pro-Treats. If your dog has weight issues remove some food from his meals to compensate for the extra calories. If the calories are not written on the labels contact the company for the amount. Several posters also use kibble for treats adjusting the meals they feed accordingly to compensate for calories. Aquariangt also suggested The Honest Kitchen treats. I don’t know of any low cal treats that are large in size, normally the larger the treat the more calories.

http://stewartpet.com/our-products/treats/pro-treat-freeze-dried-treats/
http://www.stellaandchewys.com/dog-kisses.php

[Dog_Obsessed]

Tonight I opened a can of Wellness CORE Venison, Beef, and Lamb. It was devoured as usual (That is, the something like 2 teaspoons I use for a topper!) I also got my Chewy order today, which contain some poop bags (irrelevant), some Wellness cat treats, some Yaky Charms (Doggy popcorn made out of Himalayan cheese), and a supergreen supplement by Ark Naturals. I am going to double-check with the vet that it is okay to use the supplement for daily use. I haven’t tried the treats yet, because I have an open bag of THK Pecks and Superior Farms Venison Itty Bitties, but I will update when we’ve tried them!

[Dori]

Hi Rick. For treats I give my girls small cut up pieces of fruits and veggies. I don’t give any commercial treats whatsoever. You can give your dog all sorts of berries, bananas, peaches, and other fruits. As for veggies…well there are just so many. Carrots, green beans, broccoli, cucumbers, celery, etc. The list is long for both. You can also google what fruits and vegetables are appropriate for dogs. Of course do not ever feed onions, raisins, grapes. With fruits make sure you never give them the pits and with apples do not feed the core or any of the seeds. I try to make sure fruits and veggies are organic but that’s not always possible in the winter months. Sometimes the organic just looks kinda yucky so I go with the regular. I don’t given them any of the skins (typically have pesticide residues on them) so I peel them. Hope any of these suggestions help. I’m not particularly into cooking (did that for too many years to be bothered with it now) so I’m not inclined to cook or bake treats.

[aquariangt]

I use these chicken breast strips

http://www.boulderdogfoodcompany.com/canine-treats/chicken/chicken-breast-strips

They are also pretty high value, so work well for training. The honest kitchen treats are pretty low fat as well, though I don’t particularly like the pecks and smooches-they take my dogs a long time to chew, so ok for an around the house treat, but I don’t like them for training. I love the quickies though! they are super low calorie

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by aquariangt.

[Rick S]

My 11 year old wheaten terrier recently contracted pancreatitis and was put on a special low fat diet.My vet said that all treats henceforth should be low fat meaning under 5% or lower preferably 3% or lower of crude fat. The misleading statement on most packages is”not less than” a certain percentile which tells me nothing as opposed to “not more than” which would be a much better guide.Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.Thanks!

[Dori]

Dog Obsessed. When I wanted samples of Nature’s Logic I called their customer service line and asked for samples of their grain free kibbles. They sent me two to three bags of each of their proteins.

Always ask your local small dog food stores for samples. They always have samples of some foods. The small “boutique” type dog food stores typically will be carrying foods you would want to feed. They don’t normally carry the foods that you would find in Petsmart or Petco or stores like that. Those large stores may also have samples to give away also, I don’t know. I don’t shop in either store. I used to not shop at them because they sold animals. I’m glad to know they now only have adoptions. They are now due to get rid of all jerky or treats from China. They’re going in the right direction. I would like them now to stop selling dog and cat toys made in China. This is becoming another issue that is making dogs (don’t know about cats as I don’t believe they chew on their toys) sick.

Anyway, call Nature’s Logic Customer Service Dept. Call all of them that you want for that matter. Typically they are happy to send them out to you. Nature’s Logic didn’t charge me for samples or for shipping.

[Naturella]

All yummy stuff, everyone!

Bruno’s menu today was 1/8 cup of Castor & Pollux Ultramix GF and 1/8 cup of Wysong Nurture with Quail (transitioning to it now), topped with 1 tsp of Sojo’s Beef – all that was for breakfast, and dinner was a raw chicken neck. Mid-day snack was 1/2 of a six-inch Etta Says deer chew (hoping for no loose stool from it) and a few Wellness CORE puppy kibbles as treats. I took him to the dog park today and he got nice and muddy, so when we got home, he got the full service – pawdicure, brushing, and bath by yours truly. He got the chew as a reward for enduring the “torture” and the kibble-treats for a bit of training. 🙂

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Naturella.

[Naturella]

I have received samples from the following awesome companies:
Annamaet (samples of the GF formulas plus a full-size bag of treats)
Dr. Tim’s (sample of one formula and literature)
Canidae (a whole bag of PURE Sea plus full-size bag of treats)
Wysong (samples and literature)
Brothers Complete (had to purchase the samples, BUT they doubled my order either by mistake or just because for free)
Victor (had to purchase the samples, I ordered more than the limit, but they honored my order)
Big Dog Natural (had to purchase the sample)

Companies that did not send me samples when I contacted them:
Nulo (sent me coupons instead)
Fromm (said they have money-back guarantee, so if I buy it and Bruno doesn’t like it or whatever, I’d get my money back)
Merrick/Castor&Pollux/Whole Earth Farms (said they have money-back guarantee, so if I buy it and Bruno doesn’t like it or whatever, I’d get my money back)
TOTW (said my local store should give me samples)

My local store, however, offers free samples ALLLLLL the TIIIIME, and I have obtained samples of Fromm, Victor, Merric, Wild Calling, TOTW, NVI, Stella and Chewy’s (RAW! FREE sample starter bag! WHAT?! 😀 ) and more.

I love all the samples I have as I use them to spice Bruno’s menu up and I use them as training treats. 🙂

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Kristin –

I’m not sure if there will end up being a recommended treats list. Going over users’ posts it became clear that people look for very different criteria when searching for treats. It’s hard to say which treats are safe to give dogs unsupervised because, technically, a dog could probably choke on anything and it also varies based upon the dog’s chewing style. If you worry about your dog choking I’d recommend avoiding things like rawhide, bully sticks, pig ears, dental chews, etc. while you’re not home. A safe and healthy (and yummy!) treat to make that will keep your dog busy while you’re away would be to stuff a kong with canned food or layer it with kibble and canned pumpkin and freeze it. It will take longer for your dog to eat if it’s frozen. Making “konsicles” like this is also pretty cheap to do – unlike many of the dental chews and natural chews on the market that can be quite expensive. If you want to keep your dog’s breath in check, I’d recommend regularly brushing it’s teeth – dogs really should have their teeth brushed at least 3 times per week.

[Peggy]

My dogs are doing very well on the Pure Balance Duck & sweet potato treats. I also have a bag of the PB Crunchy Caramel Apple treats, but LadyBug does not like those as well.

[Terry G]

A neighbor gave me treats for my dog from a company named “Alaska’s Bakery”, (it is named after the founder’s dog who is named “Alaska”). The treats are called “Pet Stay” peanut butter treats. They claim to be organic, made in America & veterinarian approved. I never feed her anything until I research it. Has anyone heard of this company or these treats? Thank-you!!

[Cheryl F]

Hello everyone. I bought a box of these treats for my dogs recently as i has some “points” to redeem with petfooddirect.com and they looked to be a good treat for my pooches I havent given any of them out as i saw nowhere on the packaging where they are made. I searched online and to my dismay i saw some recalls for this company for dog food. This did not bode well.

So i called their customer service center in Norvo, CA. They told me that the jerky comes from India. They have exclusive righs to the beef from their supplier there. That its human grade beef, and its processing is done under the supervision of a vet.

Has anyone here had any issues with this product, or heard differently? I feeel a little better about the product now, but im still hesitant to feed. I can return it as it was kindof expensive but wanted to check with this group first. Thoughts?

[crazy4cats]

Hi Kristin S-

I also have two strong chewers. The only thing that I can come up with that I would feel safe leaving my dogs alone with would be a Kong. Someone mentioned this idea a while back. I soak some kibble for a few minutes and pour out most of the water and add a little bit of canned to the wet kibble. Then I stuff it in the Kong and put it in the freezer. By getting the kibble a little soft and wet before freezing, it makes it take a lot longer for my dogs to dig it out. Other types of chews and bones, I would never feel comfortable leaving them alone with. I do put their bullysticks in vice grips before I give it to them. Making me feel a little more at ease. They are getting better about gulping and swallowing their treats. But, I’m still concerned. Good luck!

[Kristin S]

We have two very strong chewers – an adult great dane-shepherd mix that weighs 130lbs and a bullmastiff puppy that weighs 40lbs at 4 months old. Our dogs are our children and we spoil them. I spend A LOT of money to make sure they are healthy and happy. My husband and I both work so we are in need of chew treats that meet the following needs:
1. Safe to eat unsupervised.
2. Long lasting
3. Doesn’t give stinky breath
4. Budget Friendly

We currently use hooves, bully sticks, edible nylabones, rib bones and marrow bones. I would love to know if anyone has additional recommendations. Thanks!

[Kristin S]

Does anyone know if the list has been created yet or still in the making? I’m very excited and anxious to see what is recommended because right now, I just feed a wide assortment of treats to include bully sticks, rib bones, hooves, pig ears, edible nylabones, kongs with peanut butter, etc. Would love to know what is recommended for STRONG chewers.
When considering treats we look for a couple things:
1. treats that are safe to give the dogs unsupervised while we are working.
2. treats that will last a while
3. reasonable treats (that is why i am staying away from the himalayan chews, can’t believe how expensive they are!)
4. treats that don’t give stinky breath!! (this is a big one and haven’t found many that fill this need!)

[Naturella]

Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Puppy is what I’d recommend for now. I fed this to my small terrier mix, he did well on it, and it is rated 4.5 stars. You can also check out the “Coupons” thread that has great advice on scouting deals on dog food.
If you would shop online, websites like: http://www.chewy.com , http://www.petflow.com , http://www.wag.com , http://www.sportdogfood.com have great deals on foods. Brands I would look into are Earthborn Holistic, Victor (small kibble size too), NutriSource (affordable in most areas, but not in the Atlanta, GA area apparently), and other brands.
If you shop at Walmart, Pure Balance would be my go-to.
Also, often, stores like PetCo and PetSmart have great deals with their pet rewards points/perks, whatever they are called, and PetCo has this calendar thing, with a TON of coupons for money off of foods, treats, etc.
Rotating the flavors within a brand and switching brands (over time) is also good for your dog AND it allows you to take advantage of all kinds of deals than sticking with one food only.

But yes, I’d also keep him on puppy/all-life-stages/growth foods for now.

Let us know if you have any more questions!

[Equine-n-Canine]

I just discovered bully sticks at a local pet boutique shop. First, I can’t believe how expensive they are, kind of crazy but my dogs LOVE them. Has anyone used the brand angustreats. Seems to be new on the market possibly. Not finding much info other than trademarks, etc. Currently they get Ferrera Farms.

Thanks!

[crazy4cats]

Hey guys- Have you checked the freezer section where you shop for your dog food? The local feed store in my area carries beef heart and chicken liver treats in their freezer section where they also keep the raw bones. I think the brand is Rogue River or something like that. I add an ounce or so of these treats to my pups’ kibble a couple times per week.

[Gloria K]

If you go to Amazon.com and search thunder treats you will find several types of thunder treats for dogs including the write ups as to what they contain and what they do. In my opinion any treats the dog likes can be a thunder treat. The point is to give him something he associates with pleasure to calm him during a thunderstorm.

[Linda J]

Hi, wanting for everyone, anyone’s opinion …..I got my dog Thunder Treats to calm her down from thunderstorms, she is a lab mix 17 years old, .i adopted both Sugar and Honey ( sisters)from the Humane Shelter…both are still very active with the exception of thunderstorm issues no problems..but I can’t find any info on here about Thunder Treats
Anyone with comments?

[Akari_32]

I only use very food specific products, mainly out of cost necessity. Friskies Special Diet Turkey and Giblets and Speical Diet Beef and Chicken (both super low carb. They make up about 1/2 of the cats diet), Tidy Cats litter, Gingers PVD JM (which is belping her soooo much!), and every so often I’ll buy Purina One canned food for both the cat (only like two flavors) and dogs, Pro Plan dry for the dogs and canned for both, and just a few flavors of Fancy Feast for the cat (can’t remember which ones). I used to have dry One Beyond on my sometimes list, but they’re too expensive now. I’m really not that fond of Purina as a whole, but when you don’t have much money and the animals out number the humans buy about 6 to 1 (including the fish and reptiles lol) you have to be oportunistic lol I do really like Tidy Cats though! :p

*edit* And I guess you could count the Zukes dog and cat treats, since they’re owned by Purina now, last I heard. Lol

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Akari_32.

[DogFoodie]

Just jumping in quickly here. Did you happen to see this thread: /forums/topic/your-most-recommended-dog-treats/

You might find some good recommendations here also.

[Bobby dog]

You’re welcome Peggy. IDK, if treats for dogs are anything like the treats I like for myself I always like the bad ones better! lol

If you try the freeze dried treats I think you and the dogs will be happy with them. Even dried fruit or veggies should be satisfying for them.

[Bobby dog]

HMM:
If you are looking at freeze dried food, yes some of them are very high in fat. Most brands only have a few recipes that I would feed due to the fat content. Fat, good or bad, is higher in calories than protein; I want most of his calories to be from protein.

There are allot of other FD treats on the market with nice protein/fat ratios, I just don’t buy that many because I make his treats; he likes his homemade meatballs the best! With small treats I am not too concerned with the fat because I don’t feed that much. Here’s a few that might fit your needs.

Bobby really likes Stella & Chewy’s Carnivore Kisses:
http://www.stellaandchewys.com/dog-kisses.php

He also likes these:
http://stewartpet.com/our-products/treats/pro-treat-freeze-dried-treats/

[Hater and Molly’s Mom]

Bobby Dog, It’s the same with my girls. It’s the ritual, lol! I break my treats in half. They don’t know the difference, lol. I would like to get some freeze dried treats, but aren’t they very high in fat? I’m trying to slim Molly down a few pounds.

[Peggy]

Thanks Bobby_dog I’ll look at that one too.

I don’t feed them treats often, not even every day. But when I do, I want it to be as healthy as the food they’re getting and something they really enjoy. Why bother with a treat at all, otherwise.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Peggy:
IMO you can find good and bad dog treats in any store. I have come across some really cute packaged treats at the boutique stores I shop with ingredients that I don’t need in my food let alone my dog. One of the reasons I make my own. As Marie wrote you need to take as much care choosing treats as you do your dog food.

I don’t like any treats with sugar or molasses, but out of the two I would rather see molasses and for it to be towards the end of the ingredient list. I also like minimal ingredients. If you have to take more than 15 seconds to read the ingredients it’s too many for me. Of the three listed, Newman’s looks decent.

Since you are helping your dog slim down I recommend you consider freeze dried treats or dried vegetables. You can find these type of treats at most pet stores. You can even buy freeze dried food and feed small amounts for treats. Remove some kibble from your overweight dog’s meals to compensate for the added calories from treats. If your dogs are like mine it’s more of the ritual of receiving the treat rather than the amount of the treat. Mine loves to be made over and adding a treat to the attention is just an added bonus. If you are shopping at Petsmart check out these dried veggie and freeze dried treats/dog food:
http://www.petsmart.com/gsi/webstore/WFS/PETNA-PETUS-Site/en_US/-/USD/ViewParametricSearch-Browse?SearchParameter=%26%40QueryTerm%3Dfreeze%2Bdried%2Bdog%26OnlineFlag%3D1%26Pets01%3DDog&PageSize=24&SearchTerm=freeze+dried+dog&_t=Pets01

http://www.petsmart.com/dog/treats-rawhide/simply-nourish-trade-natural-grain-and-wheat-free-dog-chips-zid36-4716/cat-36-catid-100007?_t=pfm%3Dcategory%26pfmvalue%3Dfaceted

If you are shopping at Wal-Mart they have a few healthy selections as well. Can’t remember the brands I saw last time I was there, but here is one:
http://rileysorganics.com/

[InkedMarie]

I only use grainfree treats so none of those work for me. I take as much care choosing treats as I do dog food. The treats we use here are some made by Buddy Biscuits, The Honest Kitchen and SoJo’s. Treats go stale here anyway so we don’t have much here.

[Dog_Obsessed]

1. Also not thrilled that salmon isn’t the first ingredient, but they don’t look too bad. I wouldn’t feed too many but they would be okay.

2. Personally, I like to avoid treats with unspecified glycerin. Here’s more about that: /dog-food-news/chinese-dog-treats-glycerin/ From what I understand, vegetable or other specific glycerin is fine, just the generic ingredient could be an issue, especially if it isn’t USA made.

3. These don’t look too bad, as long as your dogs have no issue with the cheese.

I would wait for other people’s opinions too, but there’s a start. 😀

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Dog_Obsessed.