[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 10 years, 11 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 10 years, 11 months ago by Dog_Obsessed.

[Peggy]

I was at the pet store this afternoon to get Tebow a few toys and came across these treats.

#1 – Nature’s Recipe Pure Essentials Limited Ingredient Treats.
Salmon and Potato recipe
Ingredients: Whole wheat, salmon, salmon meal, canola oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), molasses, potato flour, sweet potato, natural flavor, sugar, citric acid (used as a preservative), rosemary extract

Note: I’m not real happy that Salmon is not the first ingredient.

#2 – Americal Kennel Club (AKC) Natural Dog Treats, Made with real chicken
Ingredients: Chicken, Pea Flour, Water sufficient for processing, Glycerin, Barley Flour, Barley, Rice, Oat Flour, Gelatin, Pea Fiber, Chicken Cartilage, Salmon Oil, Brewers Yeast, Phosphoric Acid, Salt, Natural Smoke Flavor, Lecithin, Minerals (Zinc Propionate, Calcium Propionate), Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Acai Berry, Pomegranate Extract, Preserved with mixed Tocopherols, Natural Flavor.

#3 – Newman’s Own Cheese Flavor Natural and Organic Dog Treats
Ingredients: Cheese: Organic Barley Flour, Ground Chicken, Organic Carrots, Organic Apples, Rolled Oats, Chicken Fat (Preserved Naturally with Mixed Tocopherols and Lecithin), Natural Cheddar Cheese Powder, Rosemary Extract.

Opinions please?

[Naturella]

@Peggy, you’re very welcome! I am not by any means the epitome of healthy dog eating, but I try to keep his diet varied and healthy on a budget! 🙂 Hence the dang near stockpile of kibble in my bathroom cabinets! LoL.

Bruno will eat ANY fruit or vegetable, raw or cooked, lol! Glad your pups at least eat the ones you mentioned cooked. I forgot, peanut butter is also loved by Bruno but he only gets it in homemade doggie treats or doggie ice-cream. 🙂

As for flax seed meal, I would just buy the cheaper one to be honest. I keep mine in a glass jar in the fridge for storage to prolong shelf life.

[Peggy]

Thanks so much for the insight and tips Naturella.

Unfortunately, I tried both dogs on Blue Buffalo, and neither one of them could tolerate it. In fact Tebow was gaining weight at a rapid pace. Now that they’re both on Pure Balance, the gain seems to have stopped and LadyBug has lost 1 lb (if my scale is correct).

LadyBug is getting 1 cup of kibble each meal (the recommended amt is 2 1/2 – 3 cups per day) + a 1/2 can of wet food. Neither of them gets many treats at all, and we’ve eliminated Milk Bones (didn’t know they were 35 cal’s per treat!).

Neither of them can hardly wait to get on the leash and go for a walk. LB brings me her leash. But the icy sidewalks make that an impossible task.

[Naturella]

Oh, and Peggy, you could do the same for LadyBug as well! My roommate’s dog used to be on Science Diet for a long time, and was about 65-70 lbs or so and she is a lab-mix maybe, or a Carolina Dog (American Dingo) mix. He put her on Nulo and reduced her food intake from 3 cups to either 1.5 or 2 cups of dry/day (he doesn’t add anything to it, except for a couple Yummy Chummies fish-based treats/day). Now she is on Blue Buffalo Wilderness Red Meat something, and she’s looking great! Much better than when she was on the SD. Nulo and BB Wilderness and both better formulas than SD and though the calories were reduced some, she was getting better nutrition. She’s lost some weight, coat looks better, and she overall looks healthier. So, better food in the right amounts does miracles. I believe it! 🙂

[Naturella]

Hello, Peggy! Let me jump in just really quick and say that I also have a small terrier mix named Bruno. We think he is a Jack Russell-Rat Terrier, but who knows… He was found in some bushes near a house, so we sometimes say he’s a Bush Terrier, lol.

Anyway, Bruno is now getting close to 2 years old and at 14.5 lbs as of September. The vet said this is a good weight for him, perhaps up to 15 lbs would be fine, but not much more. In the summer we were both very active and he ate 3/4 cup of dry plus about 1/4 cup of watery (soupy) THK and other various mixers per day. I feed him souped-up dry at all times. The foods he was having in the summer (and now) are all above 400 kcal/cup. Because we were exercising basically twice a day, he ate about a full cup calorie-wise. He burned a lot though.

Now in winter, we are not so active (though we should be, shame on me, shame, shame, shame…) and he is down to 1/2 cup 400-something kcal dry plus the additives at the same amounts. His figure hasn’t changed, I watch for his tummy to stay tucked, and for me to be able to feel his ribs easily. However, in late Fall, I had to figure out that I was supposed to reduce his food because I started noticing his waist getting less visible from above. So I reduced the food some. He did act like he wasn’t getting enough food, but by keeping feeding times as regular as possible, he was never truly starved, he got the nutrition he needed. For me, the hardest was when he would lick his empty food bowl over and over hoping food would magically appear. I would then take his food dish away until dinner time. But now that’s how he sometimes reminds me it’s dinner time, if I slip up and forget to give it on time, lol. I find it adorable.

But for Tebow, I would definitely suggest that you reduce to at most 1/2 cup dry and 1/2 tub wet, split between two feedings. Feed like that for 2 weeks and see how it goes. Don’t cave. It is for his own good, and he will live a longer and happier life with you. Also, for treats, you can give some celery bits – they are almost negative calories. Cucumbers are good too as they are mostly water. This way you won’t have to feel bad taking more kibble away if you give any real treats. Don’t overdo the celery and cucumber either though, lol. And when the weather permits, do the walks. They will also help. Eventually Tebow may get to a point to physically require 3/4 cup or even 1 cup of dry calorie-wise (as Dori said, based on activity level, etc.), but not now.

Another note (sorry for the novel here). I also kind of take care food-wise of the dog of the family I babysit for and that poor Shitzu-Maltese mix was being severely overfed, I mean, they would just put kibble in the bowl all the way up and let her eat however much she wanted. She thankfully doesn’t eat till she throws up but had no limits on food intake, and looked like she could lose some weight herself. I don’t know how much she weighs, but she looks to be about Bruno’s size, and her tummy was pudgy and sagging, and her ribs were there, but harder to feel. So I put her on 1/2 cup of dry (400-something kcal/cup), and a teaspoon of coconut oil/day, with warm water, and she’s been doing great, looking like she’s on her way to being fitter. I am happy and grateful that the family trusts me to do this for their dog and it makes me happy to have switched her to better food and to be working on her health.

So it does work, do not worry about starving your dog. We are also always here to help with any questions you may have! Keep us posted on Tebow’s progress! 🙂

[Dori]

Hi weezerweeks. Thought I’d jump on in the conversation since all three of my girls of teeny tiny also. Lola 5 lbs., Katie 6 lbs. and Hannah 7 lbs. Have you ever given thought to feeding commercial raw foods to your yorkie. I know that commercial raw foods are way more expensive than kibble but you don’t feed kibble at all. You feed canned foods which aren’t typically cheap. Since you’re only feeding a 7 lb. yorkie the frozen food would last you a good long while in the freezer. Just take out the night before what you would feed him for the next day in the fridge to defrost. All three of my dogs were a little on the chunkier side before I went to commercial raw diets. Since feeding commercial raw diets (3 years now) they have all thinned out to their present weights and maintain that weight all the time. I also give them organic (when possible) fruits and veggies as their treats. It doesn’t seem to change their weight at all and Hannah is a real couch potato. Hannah, my 7 lb. 15 1/2 year old Maltese, is hypothyroid and has been for probably half her life if not more and her thyroid level always tests normal. The diets are high in protein, fairly high in fat and very low in carbs. Some people think that because the fat % is so high they will get fat, or have all sorts of medical issues, pancreatitis, etc. etc. In actuality, the opposite is true. As to the fat content in foods. I have said this so many times I need to make a recording…..It is not the amount of fat in their food (or ours for that matter) it is the quality of the fat in the food. Your dog will lose the weight, stay at a nice lean weight, will not act like he’s hungry or starving day in and day out. I can’t say enough good things about the commercial raw dog foods. They have made a world of difference in all areas for my three dogs.

[Dori]

Hi Peggy. Just read your post on how much your dogs ate this morning. I don’t know how much Ladybug,your Lab/Shep, mix weighs but I will state that’s a heck of a lot of food for Tebow, your JRT, ( if he’s suppose to weigh 20 lbs.). You’re giving him way more than 1/2 cup per meal if you are also adding a tub of food even if it is small. Is it possible that you’re not taking into account the amount of calories in the tub (wet) food your adding to their meals? You mentioned that you will start giving him 3/4 cup daily but you don’t mention anything about reducing the wet food also? Foods with gravy have a lot of basically wasted calories. I’m glad you’re adding wet foods as they are much better for your dog than dry, I’m just saying that you have to take all the calories that you feed into account for the entire day (that includes any treats you’re giving them) and divide all calories into two meals.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Don’t feel bad. It’s easy to make that mistake. I think you stated at one point the Tebow’s ideal weight was around 20 pounds. According to the Dog Food Calculator, for weight loss he requires about 366 calories per day. According to the Walmart Q and A, Pure Balance Chicken and Rice has 336 calories per cup. I can’t find the calories in the stews, does it say on the package? Depending on how many calories he’s getting from wet food, you could try feeding him a little less than one cup dry per day. Adjust the food if he is gaining or not losing weight. Also, remember to subtract food if he gets a lot of treats. Good luck!

[Susan]

Hi Laura, you could try the Artemis weight management, there’s also Canine Caviar “Special needs” the fat is 9%,the Protein-18% fiber-5% it has less ingredients then the Artemis…..a few dogs in the Yahoo group called dogpancreatitis eat the Canine Caviar special needs kibble, you can join the Yahoo group called “dogpancreatitis” & ask what foods people are feeding, a few eat boiled turkey or boiled chicken with some pumkin & beans also use green beans as treats to lose weight also walking is good to lose some weight…. start off slow then after 1 month start to speed the walking up a bit, so she starts to burn calories…or throw a ball in the park….. I throw the ball up the hallway… Patch doesn’t play ball in the park, he only plays ball if its another dogs ball…

[DogFoodie]

Take another look at the NVI LIDs. There’s actually not a chicken formula, so you were probably looking at their regular NVI formulas.

Here is the NVI LID dry, canned and treats page at Chewy.com: http://www.chewy.com/s?dept=all&query=dog+nature%27s+variety+instinct+limited+ingredient&nav-submit-button.x=0&nav-submit-button.y=0

[Faerie d]

Also note – this confirms you did the right thing by switching to better quality nutrition. Treats for good dog people! More on nutrition at HealMyPet.com

[Balsey Dean D]

No kidding! Reading these posts here should never happen. I love my dog and after getting a few little bags of these Canine treats for Christmas for my dog, wow, still amazed. The problem is that dogs will love these treats, mine did. I won’t buy any of these treats or any treats for that matter. Petsmart is listed here selling these treats, I wanted to leave the Corporate office a message about this thread, they don’t have an email, why are they hiding? Here is their phone number though, good luck! http://www.petsmart.com/helpdeskcategory/-helpdesk_category_cmp_20121219_174730;pgid=bRZky3Uq7YZSRpWB6nh5Lmz30000ytFlsr0f;sid=Jt0s3F_-sZMp3AtJz-Zt2G30T3S1pDZXv6X1iKZm?article=cmp_20121115_172158

[Dori]

Hi Cheryl. I have fed OC Raw from time to time. Yes, it’s difficult to find. One of my not too local stores will order it for me but it’s just a pain so I don’t feed it to frequently. Girls like it and they do well on it.

Commercial raws don’t have to contain fruits and veggies to be complete foods. Some raw feeders don’t even believe that dogs need fruits or veggies. I prefer my girls have them in their diet but as I give them all fruits, and veggies as treats and I feed a rotation diet, I’m not a stickler about whether they are included in the meal or not. Eventually with a rotation diet it all works out.

By the way, how are Millie and Pepper doing with raw??

• This reply was modified 10 years, 11 months ago by Dori.

[InkedMarie]

No idea why this is in the dog treats forum but I will address a few issues. It’s possible I am reading this wrong because a lot of it makes no sense, at least to me. I don’t know if you aren’t English or what.

* IF you are saying it is only irresponsible breeders, you are partially wrong, it’s also irresponsible owners. I assume you mean that dogs don’t have a loving home to go to.

* where did you see data that jrt’s are more apt to be put down than any other dog? I would challenge that. I’d guess that pitbull terriers more so than jrt’s.

* you’re correct, some rescuers & some breeders are honest. Unfortunately, a lot are not. As you said, dog rescue is voluntary & some are just out for the money. “Any dog ever lost cause”….what?

* microchips are good but only if the owner pays the money to register the chip.

* breed….adopt a dog true to you…play……race…what in the heck are you trying to say? No one should adopt a dog then breed it. It’s extremly doubtful you’d find a dog of breeding parentage at a rescue. Possibly from a breeder but if a dog is good enough to breed, I doubt it would be up for adoption.

[Akari_32]

We went shopping for a new harness today! Mom paid for it, even though she doesn’t know it yet ;P

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/493B9A27-DDAC-409D-A4C0-0D26A09AC749_zpsy29snp92.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/8963C608-8BF3-4EBB-A864-9FB5C33DDB67_zpswaer7rt7.jpg

It’s a little loose, but I may leave it that way. I was looking at how her old harness fit over the tumor on the front of her chest (not the one visible in the picture) and that one is defiantly getting larger because the center strap was tighter than is was when the harness first went on (it was still plenty loose, though). So, as long as she doesn’t slip out of this harness at the size it’s at, I’ll leave it how it is. Hopefully she doesn’t cough and hack with this new harness. She was doing better once I loosened the old hardness, but still did a little bit.

And yet an other twist to all this dog drama, Ginger pooped in the house the other night because mom refuses to feed her in her cage and leave her there until she barks to go outside to poop (she still doesn’t really ask to go out unless she’s in her cage), and mom started tweaking out that there were worms in her poop (actually, she’s convinced it was Bentley, but I know it wasn’t– he asks to go out several times before resorting to going in the house, and he hasn’t poopped in the house in ages, he’d rather pee all over the living room and make as large of a mess as possible out of spite. Not to mention it was too big to be Bentleys).

Anyways, after a bit of shopping around, I settled on as broad of a spectrum dewormer I could find for a decent price and dished out $13 for two Sentry HC Worm X Plus pills, which treats two kinds of tapeworms, two kinds of roundworms, and three kinds of hookworms. After some reaserch, any worms that are visible in the stool are usually tapeworms, and one kind of tapeworm is passed through fleas, which are a big problem in this area, due to low income pet owners, outdoor cats, and it being Florida in general.

What I can’t decide is that if she’s had them since before she got here, or if it’s a relatively recent development caused by her favorite game, pick-up-random-poop-on-walks-and-run-away-with-it-(and-try-to-swallow-it-before-the-human-gets-me!). Either way, I’m not sure if I should treat Bentley as well. He’s on HeartGuard, which does certain worms, but not tapeworms. I don’t want to mix the ingredients with out knowing what mixes well and what doesn’t, and I don’t want to give it to him if he doesn’t need it (though I don’t think worming when not needed causes any harm?).

So anyways, if anyone has any insights to offer before I give one of these to Ginger, please do so! I would greatly appreciate it. Now, please excuse me while I bash my face against a wall…. -_-

[Akari_32]

I’ve tried all that keeping his paws clean after going out and it never helped. Here in FL it’s pretty much a losing battle if there’s an environmental allergy involved. I am about to take out chicken from his diet and see how that helps. He’s got about a month of pork in the freezer. Should be long enough off poultry to see if he improves any at all.

As far as treats, that’s a hard battle with mom. I’ve got her limited to three treats a day, and I’ve got them on Zukes, the little tiny ones the size of a pencil eraser. Moms the kind of person that means well, but is behind the times on the fact that there is more knowledge on pet nutrition and health care these days. All four dogs have her *trained* on where the treats are, and she loves to give them treats. So I do my best to create a happy medium in the treat field. She’s more of the just-feed-it-some-food-and-move-along type. We had some issues between the two of us when I first brought Bentley home with her just wanting to feed him Puppy Chow, and me getting free/cheap Innova (right before the first buy out, when they were still good). Thankfully she does see that all of his skin issues are diet related, but we are still working on the treat front of that. Even she compliments how much better he looks now that I’ve figured out carbs were such a problem with him. It’s a slow process with her LOL

Since we’re on the topic of fish, i just found out that the Publix I work at has whole smelt, that are like 4-5 inches long. They’re frozen in what’s probably a 2 lb bag. If they are plain, would this be a good something to add to his diet? Can they be whole, scales, bones and all?

[Dori]

Akari. I’m so glad Bentley is doing better with his skin issues. He’ll continue to get better. If his paws are still itchy I would suggest what BC has stated in other posts and that is that you keep some sort of container….rubbermaid rectangular type or any brand for that matter, right outside the door you taken him in and out of and rinse his paws in the water just before bringing him back in the house. Keep a towel inside the door to dry his feet. That should help if it’s due to environmental issues.

Just another thought. Don’t forget to remove carbs from his treats. We so often forget that most store bought treats are full of carbs and other inflammatory ingredients. Which is another thought….try to remove all inflammatory ingredients from anything he eats. Some are white potatoes, tomatoes (all night shade plants). Rice is another pro inflammatory ingredient. Every little bit that you can remove from his diet is going to help. Some commercial raw foods contain white potatoes which is an ingredient that, if your dog isn’t allergic to, you don’t think to remove. Just google inflammatory foods, fruits and veggies. I’ve had to do that because of Hannah’s arthritis so Katie benefited from the removal of inflammatory ingredients which wreak havoc on the allergy prone animal and human.

[Dori]

Cheryl, thanks for your kind words. I’m hardly an expert on raw feeding or animal nutrition I can only relate my experiences with my dogs.

I don’t feed kibble and I don’t feed canned. The only canned I was somewhat ok with is Weruva but it contains caraggeean (can never spell that word) and it’s also made in Thailand. A very good trusted by most company that makes raw and dehydrated is Vital Essentials. Vital Essentials sells (as treats I believe or at least that’s how I’ve fed them) a bag of tripe. That’s a way you could go if you wanted to introduce some tripe into their diet. I don’t use commercial treats (too many carbs and ingredients that allergy girl, Katie, can’t have and I also just don’t trust them with all the recalls out there) so I’m always on the look out for something I can give them as a dry quick treat for training purposes. The dogs love them and they have not caused any gastro upset either.

A sardine every day is imo way too much! Only two or three times a week is more than sufficient. That’s probably why Pepper was no longer doing well with the sardines. You can go back to feeding her sardines if you want to but maybe a couple of times a week, not every day.

If Millie is already eating a freeze dried food and doing well with it then she should have no problem with raw at all. Freeze dried is raw. I would certainly switch her as soon as possible to the raw and get her off kibble. You can then feed both dogs the same foods.

Cheryl, you are not asking too many questions and you are certainly no bother. We all started where you’re at now. It takes a while to get the hang of it. Anyway, we are all still asking questions as we should be otherwise how else would we continue to learn.

I’m a Virgo. Perfectionist would be a kind description of me and, I too, suffer from migraines. I’ve had them since I was 10 years old. Hereditary I believe because my mother always had them. Anyway, ask all the questions you’d like. If I can’t answer any, I’m sure others will. Eventually you’ll be the one answering posters questions. That’s how it works around here. Learn and pay it forward.

[Gloria K]

Danita, I have a terrific board on Pinterest titled DOG FOOD AND TREATS. Look me up on Pinterest and take a look. Great recipes for treats and biscuits

[Susan]

Hi, ur best to feed 1 protein that he has never eaten before & 1 carb do this for 3weeks & see if the itch starts to stop, if it does then add a new food wait 2 weeks to see if he starts to scratch if not then he can eat that food, start to add another food,
I knew within 2 days when I added a new food to his Elimination diet Patch would start to scratch his ears shake his head with sweet potatoes, so I stopped the sweet Potatoes & went back to just the chicken & pumkin when he stopped shaking his head & scratching his ear which was 2 days I added potatoes they gave him a rash all over his chest & bad diarrhoea..
do not give any treats nothing else except the food that’s in his elimination diet…once you work out what is causing his itch you can then find a kibble without these ingredients..

With vet diets they are a starting point the dog doesn’t stay on them you fed the vet diet for 4-6 weeks to see if all the scratching stops Royal Canine has a Elmination diet its Gluten free & I think its called Select Protein PV or they also have their Hypoallergengenic…once the dog stops scratching without any drugs & just on the vet diet kibble you can add 1 new food & see if he starts to scratch…I suppose the vet diets are balanced so while doing the elimination diet ur dog is getting everything he needs for the 2 months…

[Dog_Obsessed]

I know onions are toxic to dogs, but it takes quite a bit of it to harm a dog. Still, if you can do it without the onion, it would probably be better, because I have heard it can have an accumulative effect.

On a similar note, I have noticed that almost all commercial broths have onions in them. It is usually pretty low in the ingredients, but I don’t know how much they really put in there. I want to use low-sodium chicken or beef broth to make dog treats, but I am afraid of the onion and I can’t find one without it. Does anyone know if this would be harmful?

[Kristin C]

Hi Cheryl – I am not familiar with those supplements, but have you ever looked into green tripe? It provides probiotics and digestive enzymes. It’s incredibly stinky! I feed it to my dogs in their food sometimes and give them tripe treats regularly.

[Melissa P]

It seems treats and food with ingredients sourced from China have major quality control and safety issues.
Is there a list of companies that do not use ingredients from China? i know alot of companies produce food in the U.S. but they get ingredients from China. I’m especially curious about the Kirkland brand dog and cat food.

[Dori]

Hi Cheryl. I’ve been in Atlanta for 13 years now and still consider NYC home. I sometimes feel like I went on vacation and couldn’t find my way back home. lol We left the North East because we were so sick and tired of the cold weather. Well, I just took a look at the thermometer on my patio while I was out with my three girls and it is 17 degrees. I don’t know kind of global warming this is suppose to be but it’s had the opposite effect in Atlanta.

On cooking the veggies. If I’ve cooked veggies for our dinner then I’ll give them some cooked. Fruits I give raw. Most of the time I give the girls the fruits and veggies raw because I don’t give them for their nutritional value I give them to the girls as treats. I don’t feed any commercial treats whatsoever. Too many recalls with too many treats. I don’t give bones as I said, I certainly would never give them raw hide stuff, most commercial treats include some sort of grain or gluten and I feed grain free. So I give fruits and veggies and don’t have any concern whether they come out the same way that they went in. They’re happy chomping on what they think are treats and I feel it’s better than taking a chance on store bought treats. As to fruits and veggies, it’s also what happens to be in the fridge or on the counter. They love little bits of bananas so if I’m eating a banana I share it with them. Mostly me, little for them.

As to THK and more pooping, my three dogs did initially poop more often at the beginning and then eventually it tapered off and now they only go twice a day regardless of what they’ve been fed. Initially on THK their poops were pretty big too compared to their raw foods but then that went back to normal size also. My girls love THK and also lick their bowls clean to the point that they shine. Glad your girls like it too. It always makes me happy to feed them foods that not only do they love, but do so well on.

Kristin C. I tried Steve’s Real Food for Dogs once and I didn’t care for it. I didn’t like the consistency. I also didn’t care much for what was coming out of them either and they very rarely if ever have loose stools so that was another issue. It’s been a long time since I fed it and eventually gave the rest of the food away. I used to be big on trying different brands and seeing how the girls did. I now have a pretty big variety that they eat with no issues at all but as we went through the trial and error period my local shelter adored me. I was over there all the time dropping food off. One of my girls has a lot of food sensitivities, intolerances and a couple of out and out allergies so the process took me quite a while. That’s actually what led me to feed commercial raw. As long as I always remember to check all ingredients (companies do from time to time decide to make some formula change), Katie no longer has any food issues.

[Dori]

Hi Cheryl. As far as poultry bones, they are risky and NOT to be fed if they are cooked. Raw they say is just fine. I don’t give my three toy dogs any bones to eat. Their too small ( 5, 6 & 7 lbs.) and I’m too afraid of them choking on something. Of course, if you choose to do so, please be sure that you stay with your dogs the entire time they are chomping down the bones so you know they are safe. You have to also know your dogs. Are they gulpers and likely to try to swallow large pieces or are they slow chewers with all foods. That’s an important thing to know. Mine are all gulpers. I swear I don’t think they chew anything other than raw carrots that I give them as treats. Most everything else they are like vacuum cleaners. As Bobby dog said don’t give weight bearing bones. You can also feed ribs…beef, pork, whatever.

I feed my girls commercial raw foods for most of their two meals a day. I add different other ingredients to their meals and they get organic fruits and veggies. I hardly ever cook for my husband and myself so I can’t see myself whipping up meals for my dogs. I’m a believer that raw food is best for my dogs. I have seen a world of difference in these three since I switched to raw three years ago. I don’t feed the prey model because I couldn’t possibly hand over a whole animal or whatever and watch them eat it. I haven’t got the stomach for it I guess. No doubt, they’d be fine with it maybe but I wouldn’t be. I’m quite OCD about my three little girls (some would say neurotic…I’m proud of that) health be it physical or nutritionally. So I hear your concerns. I should also mention that I rotate their foods between different brands and within those brands. One of my girls has a lot of food sensitivities so no fowl of any sort. I feed them twice a day and I also rotate with each meal. I’ve been doing this with them for a long time so they have no issues eating different foods for different meals. It did take about 3 or 4 months I think before I was able to do that though. I hope anything I’ve said has helped and I think Bobby dog has given you some great advice as she always does.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 11 months ago by Dori.

[Mitchell T]

I did. i spoke to the groomer herself and she said she encounters this often. She said it takes about 4-6 sessions with h er for them to get back into the trusting stage, which I hope is the case because it breaks my heart that my dog that’s been groomed all his life is afraid of the very thing he used to love the most when he got in the car, thinking he was getting groomed (or going to any place with dog treats).

I use all Chris Christensen products, including the Gold Series brushes and combs. I also notices the protein spray didn’t help 🙂 but I figured it couldn’t hurt either.

I hope it works out, it’s no fun having so few choices, I much preferred living in Fairfax, many choices for all kinds of stuff, including groomers.

Thanks for the info and kind words, these situations are never easy and I can’t just talk to my dogs and let them know it’ll be OK.

[Akari_32]

When you have a dog that has been through what she has (not to mention being all hormonal), there is a certain degree of understanding body language and behavior that needs happen.

I would begin, perhaps under the guidance of a trainer, by instructing your boyfriend to simply not look at her, talk to her, or acknowledge her in any way. She is uncomfortable about your boyfriend for some reason. It could be his disability, it could be the fact that she’s possibly been mistreated by men, or that she’s afraid of a male presence for the safety of her pups. She needs to understand that they can both be in the same room and he’s not going to harm her.

Once they are both ok with this, have him begin to offer her treats, again with no talking or acknowledging of any kind. Just have him drop a treat every now and then. Work it up to him giving her the treats dirrectly, and then to him gently petting her while she takes the treat. Do not allow him to lean over her, or touch her face. If he is to approach her, have him approch her from the side, and always, no matter what, make slow and deliberate moves around her until she understands that no one is going to hurt her.

She’s afraid of him for some reason, and the goal is to desensitize her and teach her that he is not going to harm her. I would also suggest that if you, or someone you trust to properly handle the dog, are not around to take charge of a potentially dangerous situation, that she be crated or kept in a seperate room from him. If you are not comfortably with her being around him while she pregant, I would recommend having someone foster her until her pups are born and weened, and she is spayed. Hormonal and fearful dogs are more likely to act on instinct rather than training and conditioning. And being fearful or nervous yourself around such a dog does not help the situation. You guys are doing a good thing by taking her in, but don’t get in over your head and make matters worse by not properly dealing with aggressive and fearful behaviors.

[Bobby dog]

Thanks Aimee, I have Balance IT bookmarked as well. If I remember correctly, I think they even make one that is formulated for both cats and dogs. I still need to take the time to research making home cooked meals.

I hang on to certain things for unknown reasons too. lol I have been using the boxes I have left of THK for making dog treats. I bought 4 or 5 boxes to use as a topper when Petflow had a deal on them a while ago. Bobby ended up not liking THK much. After I fed the first box I forgot I had them until I got an e-mail from THK with recipes for making treats.

[Dori]

Wow Dog Foodie. I checked out the Rayne site out of curiosity. I don’t need anything like that but always interested to learn about new and different sites. Those are some expensive foods and treats.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Ezra,

Glad you posted over here. I was just trying to reply to you on the review side, but was having trouble.

A couple of things…, it’s odd to me that the fish oil supplement your vet recommended used peppermint as a carrier. I can certainly sympathize with your fish woes. You mentioned that your pup also has environmental allergies, but that the fish oil might have made it much worse. While you have things pretty well controlled, I think would I’d try adding fish oil to his food and see what happens. If he reacts, stop and you’ll have your answer about the fish oil. I’ve been using Ovega-3 and Springtime Naturals Skin and Coat Oil. Both are vegeterian and I’d recommend both.

The change in bowel movements could be the result of the increase in peas. Is he gassy at all? I believe, the other varieties of NVI LID, have a bit less pea protein. I really would encourage you to try one of those. I would also recommend adding a digestive enzyme to his food – I had great luck with Swanson’s BioCore, which works great at digesting carbs. Canine Caviar Lamb and Pearl Millet is fish free as is Canidae Pure Sky, which is a duck based food. Canidae is also a Diamond product if that concerns you. Addiction Viva La Venison is also fish free and uses potato as a binder. As we talked about on the other side, Acana Duck and Bartlett Pear (not Singles) and Lamb and Apple (not Singles) would both be good fish free choices, also.

I know you said you feed other proteins for treats, but I really think it’s important to rotate proteins in kibble, too. Even though NVI LID Duck is far and away my dogs best food, I’m constantly looking for others to rotate it with. I rotate brands with varying proteins and binders. I’d encourage you to rotate varieties of ZiwiPeak that you use also.

I think you also said that transitioning him from one food to another food takes a long time. That’s OK, he’ll adjust, the important thing is to keep rotating. If he’s not used to switching, he doesn’t have optional gut health; keep rotating and he’ll improve.

[crazy4cats]

I knew what you meant! How I understand it is; that it’s fine to feed dogs cat food or treats as long as higher fat and calories are tolerated by the dog. But, not to feed cats dog food for a prolonged period as it does not contain enough taurine for a cat to thrive. A little bit is not going to do any harm. I will use canned cat food as a topper for my dogs if the cats won’t eat it. My dogs will pretty much eat (unfortunately) anything!