[Dog_Obsessed]

Okay, thanks! I wouldn’t want to feed a dog solely on cat food, but treats aren’t food anyway.

Edit: Oops, that sounded strange. I meant to say: treats aren’t supposed to be a complete diet.

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

[crazy4cats]

Yes, in my opinion, it is fine to give dogs cat food or treats. The biggest difference usually is that the cats’ are usually a little higher in fat and hopefully protein. So as long as a little more fat will not cause any issues, go for it!

[Dog_Obsessed]

Is it okay to give dog’s cat treats? I remember jake’s mom mentioned doing it recently. It seems kind of counterintuitive, but I don’t really see what the problem is as long as the treats don’t contain catnip or anything like that. Cat treats tend to be smaller and lower in calories than dog treats, and tend to come in smaller packages too.

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

[Akari_32]

I don’t usually buy from PetFlow unless they have a good sale on treats i want (God knows I can get dog food much cheaper locally lol) and there’s free shipping. I couldn’t resist all the crazy prices they had yesterday. 50 cents for a bag of cat treats, and a buck for a bag of chews?? Heck yeah!

Everything I bought is brand new everyone. I will let you know how it all goes. I really hope Bentley likes the tracheas, because I have three 8oz bags coming LOL

[crazy4cats]

Pet flow really has some good deals! They send me at least one email a day tempting me. Lol! Have you fed the tracheas before? I bought a couple at Petco or Petsmart and my dogs stools were pretty loose the next day. The tracheas seemed a little greasy. Are they always that way? I’d like to know your opinion on the Halo treats also.

Thanks for the update! 🙂

[Akari_32]

Got all kinds of goodies today off of PetFlow today!

2x Nature’s Own USA Beef Filet Healthy Cow Chew $0.99 each
2x Redbarn Grain Free Chicken Cat Treats $0.49 each
2x Halo Spots Chew Natural Edible Yummy Pumpkin Dental Dog Treat $0.99 each
2x Halo Spots Chew Natural Edible Minty Fresh Dental Dog Treat $0.99 each
3x Heartland Premium Dry Roasted Beef Trachea Dog Treats $0.99 each!
3x Pet Botanics Whole Grain Beef with Bacon Recipe Food Roll $0.19 each!!
2x Omega Paw Meow Merlot Cat Treats $0.49 each
2x Pet N Shape Beef Shin Bone $0.99 each
2x Pet N Shape Super Big Foot $0.99 each

Cost me a whopping $15.40 LOL Considering those bags of trachea’s cost like $16 a piece normally, and I bought three, I’d say I did pretty good! If you all hurry, there may be some good stuff left. They are having a crazy clearance event going on.

I also got two bags of DentaSticks and two cans of Fancy Feast for $0.96. The DentaSticks were on sale for BOGO, and I had a BOGO coupon, and the Fancy Feast was $0.60 a can, and I had a BOGO coupon. All in all, even though the Fancy Feast wasn’t on sale, I did pretty good today! Can’t wait to get my PetFlow goodies!

[Hound Dog Mom]

Orijen is the only brand of freeze-dried that I’ve actually tried to rehydrate and feed to my dogs as a meal and I agree it rehydrates horribly. I do like the ingredients though. Generally I just feed freeze-dred as treats and don’t rehydrate, the brands I use most often are Stella & Chewy’s, Primal and Nature’s Variety Instinct.

[Jeffrey]

Hi All,

I wanted to post a happy update. We’ve been using Annamaet Grain-Free Salcha Poulet Formula for 4 months now and have had excellent results. I really had no idea how poorly our pup was feeling until we changed foods.

She went from not wanting or walk or play to being happy again. We are back to walking 1.5 miles a day and she is anxious to play several times a day. Not just that, the play sessions have extended since she’s been on this food. When she was unwell, we’d toss the ball 3 times and she was done. Now she is like a machine and goes on and on, with a nice bounce in her step.

One word of advice, don’t supplement the dogs diet with human treats. It will defeat all of your efforts. I found this out the hard way. I thought she was all better so I started giving her various table scraps and we had a large setback. Lesson learned.

Thanks again for the helpful advice and recommendations.

Jeffrey

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

[jakes mom]

Instead of breaking up treats I sometimes use cat treats for my beagle/basset mix. Works for a small to medium sized dog but I guess would be too tiny for a bigger guy. They usually have 2 or 3 cals per treat and come in various sizes/shapes, soft or crunchy. My cats are picky so it’s a good use for the treats they decide they don’t like anymore.

[DogFoodie]

My dogs go crazy for Vital Essentials freeze dried tripe treats. A bag of them is fairly expensive, but there are gobs in each bag.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Jerry –

There’s nothing really wrong with the Blue Buffalo Health Bars, they’re definitely a big step up from treats like Milk Bones, but they aren’t exactly “healthy” despite the name. They’re really high in carbs. While they’d certainly be fine for an occasional treat, if it were me I’d search for a more protein rich treat. I like to give my dogs freeze-dried raw “complete” foods (e.g. Stella & Chewy’s, Nature’s Variety Instinct, Primal, etc.) which typically come in small medallions or nuggets, air-dried ZiwiPeak (also a complete food) or “jerky” type treats with a high meat content from reputable companies (e.g. Etta Says, Bixbi, The Real Meat Co., etc.). I wouldn’t give raw carrots as treats, most dogs don’t need the extra carbs in their diets and raw vegetables are digested very poorly by dogs.

[Dog_Obsessed]

I logged onto my email and had a strange set of emails coming from the Homemade Dog Treats thread . There were email alerts from BCnut’s and Dori’s posts yesterday that are no longer visible on the thread, then there were email alerts from what appeared to be posts by a troll with user’s personal information, then there was a post from Dori asking what was going on, all of which are visible in my email but not on the thread. This is scary, what is going on?!

[Akari_32]

Hope everyone had an awesome day! We got up, made egg sammiches for breakfast, opened presents, went to one grandmas for another round of presents and visiting, then did early dinner at the other grandmas.

The dogs loved destroying the wrapping paper on their gifts and eating the treats I spiked them all with, and yesterday we had an explodey-leak problem at my friends condo, so we did not get to the store for the big dogs bones. However, I had a partial bag of those frozen Natures Variety Raw Bites and took some ham trimmings and sweet potato skins from dinner and made them a yummy meal. The kitty loved his Natural Balance fish-stuff, but could care less about opening them lol

Mom got me *both* the new Pokemon games (Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire!), some candy, a wall mount for my TV that lives at the foot of my bed on the floor because I have no where for it go with out a wall mount, some other random things (gift cards, AUX cord for my car radio, and so on), my assorted grandmas got me Pokemon Blue for the GameBoy Color I found at Goodwill for 10 bucks, a Magic Bullet, assorted gift cards, and a yummy smelling, beach-themed candle 😀

I got mom a new oven mit, Maleficent on BluRay, and a Baymax toy, because who doesn’t love Baymax?? I never know what to get this chick, and she gets upset that I spend money on her. She likes motorcycle and baseball and golf stuff– all things I know nothing about. She was very happy to see her new oven mit and Baymax toy, though lol She also got lots of Teavana tea and goodies, and she’s been wired up on hot tea all day LOL

It was great spending the whole day with a good chunck of my family, and considering I asked for litterally nothing, I made out pretty good! LOL Omega Ruby is awesome! I haven’t played the original in forever because I don’t have a system to play it on. And Blue is fantastic!! Makes me feel old lol The game isn’t much younger than I am!

I’m finishing my day up snuggled up on the couch with a Ginger Burrito (wrapped in my new blanket!!!) on my chest :3 Merry Christmas guys!

[InkedMarie]

Merry Christmas, everyone! We are simple up here. I don’t bake anything. We’ll get some cookies from my sister but my days of making them are over. For Christmas day, we’ll have it at my sons. It was my idea for simple: everyone bring a dish & a dessert. We are bringing a layered taco salad and Kahlua cake. Paper plates.

I’ll make the cake today, take a bunch of things over to our sons, 4 pm Christmas Eve mass then pizza &’Christmas movies tonight. The dogs each get a stuffie &. Box of treats to share.

[Akari_32]

Oh boy, this’ll be fun lol

Haley and Dweezle: Natural Balance Ultra Small Breed. Only got it because it was $1 a pound after coupons– I’m not very happy with, so after the two bags I have are gone, I’ll not buy it again. However, they like it. But they like anything, regardless of how eatable it is lol They also each get a salmon oil pill in their food. Next will be Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health Senior and Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health Adult, mixed 2:1. These dogs are 60 and 130 lbs, btw LOL after that will probably be Ideal Balance puppy, then Wellness Core Puppy and Small Breed mixed, then who knows. I have a good sized stash to chose from. I try to keep it interesting.

Bentley: SSLL mix, with coconut oil (won’t eat the mix plain, the little brat!) and a nice de-boned raw turkey leg. He gets a random pick of turkey or chicken (bought whole and cut up and separated into white meat, dark meat, and bone-in meat), ground pork, or beef or chicken hearts every day.

Ginger: half Wellness Small Breed Simple Salmon and Potato, and half Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health Healthy Weight. She’ll be moving to Purina Veterinary Diet Joint Mobility when I have the money in my account to order it, her Wellness Simple was running out, so I’ll put it off a bit longer, so she’s not switching arounf too much. Her stomach just can’t handle it. Nothing Purina is my first choice except for a very select few of the canned cat foods due to cost, but I’m at my wits end at what I can do to help her poor old joints, and not break the bank (not that there’s much of a bank to break at this point…). I can get it less than what the same size bag of Wellness is, so it’s worth a shot. Her treats today was a half of an Amoxicillin pill in the morning and tonight. She eats it like it’s the most delicious thing she’s ever tasted, so I just let her think that LOL

Usually they all get some form of Zukes or Pet Botanics treats, but no one got any of those today, except the cat, who did high-fives, shakes, and up’s for his G-Zees treats :p He also got 3oz Wild Kitty raw cat food mix (made with chicken) for breakfast, and a 5.5 oz can of Friskies Ocean Whitefish as a very special treat. I don’t do fish or any other Friskies other than two flavors of Special Diet for him very often, but I’ll grab something fish based every now and then for something that isn’t turkey, chicken or beef. Gotta have something different when your crazy mommy limits you to very specific flavors from very specific brands lol I’ve also been giving Bentley a few pieces of Natures Variety Instinct Raw as a treat a few times a day. He loves to eat the little pieces still frozen. I think he likes the texture, and the fact that it’s red meat, something I can’t afford for his rotation very often. Innova Prime Red Meat used to be his favorite kibble before we realized he had carb allergies and before Innova got bought out.

Just a side note on the Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health forumlas: I’m extremely happy with all of them. Typically, even in the rest of the Wellness line, senior and diet foods are just complete crap, but these are comparable to other puppy and adult grain inclusive foods. They have good protein (close to 30%), and low fat (which is what my three old farts need), and are still high calorie (high 400’s!). Would definitely recommend either of these to anyone with a dog that needs a low fat diet, or to any owner who likes to feed lower fat diet food, small or large breed. It’s pretty decently priced, too, especially if you have coupons 😉

[Naturella]

Today Bruno had 1/4 + 1/8th cup of Castor & Pollux Ultramix GF Duck and Sweet Potato, with 1/2 of a pouch of some new local food – Have Dogs – as a topper. It is chicken-based, with chicken, fish oil, bone meal, vitamin E, and egg. Normally on Tuesday he gets yoghurt or kefir on his kibble but he really didn’t like the plain non-fat one I got by mistake (I normally get plain full-fat yoghurt), so he wouldn’t eat it at all last week. For dinner he had same Castor & Pollux with 1 tsp. THK Keen. We just got on Castor & Pollux from Back to Basics Open Range, and next kibble up will be Wysong Nurture with Quail. Treats we use right now for training are are Fromm Pork and Pea and TOTW Southwest Canyon from sample baggies, and also Annamaet Manitok and Canidae Pure Bison and Sweet Potato as grand rewards or when he is simply irresistible. He didn’t have any of those today, but he did have 1 chicken heart and a piece of chicken liver as I had bought some and I was portioning them out, so I just HAD to give him some while they were still fresh and not yet frozen up. He gulped them immediately.

Tomorrow Bruno will have same kibble with raw egg as a topper for breakfast and BDN Tripe Supreme as a topper for dinner. Bruno’s menu is pretty predictable and set, written out even to help hubby if I’m not home. I will post a picture of it too. On occasion I do vary it though, like I will for Christmas and like I did on Thanksgiving. And I have several cans that are not penciled in his menu, just so I can spice things up. RMBs for him are usually chicken/pork/beef neck pieces.

I also, like Dori, feed Bruno nothing after 7pm or 8pm latest. He doesn’t eat breakfast until 9-10am or so. On occasion he fasts himself for 24hrs or so, if he decides he doesn’t like the yoghurt I have gotten, lol, or if he is just too full or something. He is decent with food and always happy to eat, as his meals are controlled so that he’s lean, healthy, and enjoys some variety.

I also have some Etta Says chews laying around, but the deer one gave him diarrhea, so I am cautious and want to be sure his tummy will be fully good when I give him another of the chews. I also only give him 1/2 at a time of those, and 1/2 of the biscuits (Annamaet and Canidae) when he does get them. From the kibble treats (Fromm and TOTW) he gets about 1/8th cup of either one when we do training or play puzzle games, which is about every other day. He can chew on his antler freely anytime, all day if he wants, and I also just got him a stingray tail chew, which may be a bit hard for him to get through as it is thicker than his usual ones, but he has unlimited access to it too. Other things we give on a whim are bully sticks, cow/lamb ears, pig snouts, chicken/duck feet, Himalayan Chews, fish skins, and the like.

[Naturella]

Today Bruno had 1/4 + 1/8th cup of Castor & Pollux Ultramix GF Duck and Sweet Potato, with 1/2 of a pouch of some new local food – Have Dogs – as a topper. It is chicken-based, with chicken, fish oil, bone meal, vitamin E, and egg. Normally on Tuesday he gets yoghurt or kefir on his kibble but he really didn’t like the plain non-fat one I got by mistake (I normally get plain full-fat yoghurt), so he wouldn’t eat it at all last week. For dinner he had same Castor & Pollux with 1 tsp. THK Keen. We just got on Castor & Pollux from Back to Basics Open Range, and next kibble up will be Wysong Nurture with Quail. Treats we use right now for training are are Fromm Pork and Pea and TOTW Southwest Canyon from sample baggies, and also Annamaet Manitok and Canidae Pure Bison and Sweet Potato as grand rewards or when he is simply irresistible. He didn’t have any of those today, but he did have 1 chicken heart and a piece of chicken liver as I had bought some and I was portioning them out, so I just HAD to give him some while they were still fresh and not yet frozen up. He gulped them immediately.

Tomorrow Bruno will have same kibble with raw egg as a topper for breakfast and BDN Tripe Supreme as a topper for dinner. Bruno’s menu is pretty predictable and set, written out even to help hubby if I’m not home. I will post a picture of it too. On occasion I do vary it though, like I will for Christmas and like I did on Thanksgiving. And I have several cans that are not penciled in his menu, just so I can spice things up. RMBs for him are usually chicken/pork/beef neck pieces.

[URL=http://s1352.photobucket.com/user/aninova/media/Bruno2014-2015Menu_zps6ccc6e19.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q644/aninova/Bruno2014-2015Menu_zps6ccc6e19.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://s1352.photobucket.com/user/aninova/media/BrunoWeeklyToppers_zpsdfd1a9be.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q644/aninova/BrunoWeeklyToppers_zpsdfd1a9be.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

I also, like Dori, feed Bruno nothing after 7pm or 8pm latest. He doesn’t eat breakfast until 9-10am or so. On occasion he fasts himself for 24hrs or so, if he decides he doesn’t like the yoghurt I have gotten, lol, or if he is just too full or something. He is decent with food and always happy to eat, as his meals are controlled so that he’s lean, healthy, and enjoys some variety.

I also have some Etta Says chews laying around, but the deer one gave him diarrhea, so I am cautious and want to be sure his tummy will be fully good when I give him another of the chews. I also only give him 1/2 at a time of those, and 1/2 of the biscuits (Annamaet and Canidae) when he does get them. From the kibble treats (Fromm and TOTW) he gets about 1/8th cup of either one when we do training or play puzzle games, which is about every other day. He can chew on his antler freely anytime, all day if he wants, and I also just got him a stingray tail chew, which may be a bit hard for him to get through as it is thicker than his usual ones, but he has unlimited access to it too. Other things we give on a whim are bully sticks, cow/lamb ears, pig snouts, chicken/duck feet, Himalayan Chews, fish skins, and the like.

[theBCnut]

Except for treats, I feed once a day. My dogs don’t usually like to eat twice, except when we have had a really busy day. Then all bets are off. I know someone who feeds his dogs big chunks of meat and only feeds every 3-4 days, that’s what I’m not comfortable with.

The forum is not Disqus. Colon, closed parenthesis has worked here for a long time now, but I haven’t tried colon, capital P, or colon, capital D, or colon, closed parenthesis. I think I’ll try that now. 🙁 Oh, you can also use the dash for a nose, but it still gives you the same smiley, and I don’t know if you can use the semicolon for a wink. 😉 We’ll see.

ETA: Yes, you can.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 12 months ago by theBCnut.

[Hater and Molly’s Mom]

Both of my girls have a stocking full. My senior dog doesn’t play with toys so she doesn’t get them but Molly does. I have some NVI treats and some Healthy Dogma treats as well in them.

[Dog_Obsessed]

While I’m opposed to the idea of coloring, a little non-artificial coloring in treats I only give once and a while (I’ve actually only used them once) doesn’t bother me too much.

And about not giving your dogs food after dinner, there is actually new scientific evidence saying that could be a good idea. I heard about a study saying that rats that were fed high-fat food but only had food put out for them at night, when they were active, didn’t gain weight. However, other rats that were getting the same amount of the same food but always had access to it gained weight and developed health problems.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 12 months ago by Dog_Obsessed.

[Dori]

About the Etta Says chews? No one minds the caramel coloring? Just wondering.

Oh by the way, the girls had THK Zeal for breakfast. Dehydrated apple was the afternoon treat and for dinner they’ll be having Primal Pronto Raw Beef. Probably some dehydrated veggie a little later on after dinner. I don’t normally give them treats too late at night because I like their digestive systems to get a rest before the next days breakfast. I know it’s not really the way one is supposed to fast their dogs but it’s my way and it seems to work okay for them.

[aquariangt]

Dani: Earthborn Primitive Natural with Lomi Lomi Tiki Dog
Liesl: Fromm Sm Breed Gold with Lomi Lomi Tiki Dog. Liesl can’t have peas so she eats grain inclusives and gets more topped than Dani does.

They both had a Sam’s Yam when I left for work. I have A bag of Simply Sojos Lamb and The Honest Kitchen Quickies that I’m using for training right now, so they got a couple on their walk, and will again on their next walk. Dani will also get 15ish minutes of some agi practice that will have some treats involved as well. I do a decent amount of training so I use low calorie treats with low fillers.

Dinner will be the same kibble but topped with The Honest Kitchen Embark.

Next bags for each: Fromm Pork and Pea for Dani, and Pork and Applesauce for Liesl

[Dog_Obsessed]

I give my dog treats. Most of the treats are store-bought mostly or all meat treats, though I sometimes make homemade treats, (recipe ideas here: /forums/topic/has-anyone-made-homemade-dog-treats/) or buy treats with more carbs that I think of as “junk food.” If I have given her a lot of treats, such as for training, then I reduce her food appropriately. I wouldn’t really recommend Milk Bones or Busy Bones (I assume you mean the Purina ones), because they are mostly grain fillers. For ideas on what to look for in a dog treat, check out this topic: /forums/topic/your-most-recommended-dog-treats/

As for treats contributing to weight gain, that could certainly be possible. From what I understand treats should not make up more than 10% of the overall diet. It can help to break treats into tiny pieces for training, or use lower calorie treats.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 12 months ago by Dog_Obsessed.

[Peggy]

Another question… do you feed your dog(s) treats? Ours have come to expect one every time they go outside to do their business. I’m not sure how we got into this habit but I’m sure it has contributed to weight gain as well.

We usually treat them with a Milk Bone.
Also they love those Busy Bones.

[Dog_Obsessed]

We talk so much about dog food in general, and many of us rotate foods. I thought it would be cool to have a place where we just talk about what we are currently feeding our dogs, and what treats/chews they’ve had today. I got this idea from the raw food section of the Dogster forums, where there was a similar topic.

Mine: Lily is currently eating Nulo Turkey and Sweet Potato kibble, and we rotate wet food toppers. The current topper is Nulo Lamb and Chickpeas wet food. I’m happy to report that Lily is doing great with rotation. She can change toppers cold turkey with no problem, though I sometimes add a little Perfect Form just in case. We are still being careful with kibble, so we usually give her about a week to transition.

What about you? What did your dog(s) eat today?

[Dori]

Mark A. Good for you for making your own jerky for your dog. I’ve started doing this recently this year as it’s the safest way to give dogs treats. There are always so many recalls and jerky seems to head the list of recalls. You can also freeze dry meats other than poultry and fruits and veggies. You’re absolutely right in that it is so easy to make. Few things are easier than freeze drying for your dogs.

[Mark A]

I started making my own chicken jerky from boneless, skinless breasts on sale for under $2/lb in the grocery store. My dog loves it like nothing else. It’s easy to make and much less expensive than store bought treats.

[Andy B]

Thanks for your help. I called Darwins. They make a raw diet. They told me I can use everything they have except the duck, due to it having sweet potato. I’m learning a lot about dog nutrition after countless hours on the computer. I’d love to feed both my bostons a raw diet but it’s very expensive so I would need to use a 50/50 mix of raw and a good quality kibble. However my dog is extremely allergic to certain foods. I had a blood test done due to him having three seizures. I was feeding him at the time “natural balance” sweet potato and fish formula which had peas also in it. His treats were old mother hubbard peanut. That’s when he started having seizures at night. I had the vet do the allergy test and he’s exGood! I’m glad I did test. I wonder with everything we were feeding him if he was going in aniphilctic shock ( sorry don’t know spell) peas listed as the fourth or fifth ingredient. It seems I can’t find a kibble without peas, & Orijen is the only one having it toward the middle of there ingredients.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Lol yeah. It actually had a few treats in it, which I took out and then rinsed the thing. I already gave it back to her with another two treats in it, and she spent a full 20 minutes or so trying to work them out. She got one out and little nibbles of the other. Her Goodie Bone and her regular Kong are both puppy versions, left over from when I was fostering senior dogs and wanted something softer on their teeth. I think the different Kongs for different life stages is purely marketing hype, and Lily has barely made a dent in either toy, so I think this “off-label use” is okay.

[Carol W]

Hi. I’m new here, so I hope I haven’t jumped in in the wrong place, but I also have a question about healthy dog treats. I’ve fed beef Rollover as a treat for years, but every once in a while I notice a chemical smell coming from it, almost like gasoline. Obviously, this can’t be a good thing!!! Does anyone have experience with Rollover? It has a 3 star rating in the reviews section of this website, but as I said – the “gasoline” odor has to be a very bad sign!!

[aimee]

Hi C4C,

Glad to hear that your cat is doing better. What a scary incident that you sure don’t want to repeat.

I’ve come to view urinary blockages as a multi factorial problem. Sometimes blockages are composed of mucoid matrix without any crystals, so be cautious on not having tunnel vision in regards to struvite. You can find good information on OSU indoor pet site which used to be indoor cat initiative.

The old adage “the solution to pollution is dilution” applies here. Crystal formation is a factor not only of pH but concentration of components that make up the crystal. Because pH can fluctuate throughout the day I think striving for a dilute urine is as important if not more important along with watching mineral content of the diet. I’d be willing to sacrifice a bit in the pH department to get a dilute urine. Moist foods can help along with extra water mixed into the food, flavored water “treats” providing multiple water sources and knowing what your cat likes. Some cat like “staler” water and others absolutely fresh!

pH varies with dietary factors, management factors and likely individual cat factors. Evaluating what goes in is important but I think close monitoring of what comes out is even more important. Veterinary diets are formulated to hit certain pH and concentration milestones. Some of the veterinary diets rely on salt to drive thirst. But I don’t think this “guarantees” that when fed to “your” cat the appropriate pH and concentration are achieved. Investing in a pH meter and refractometer to test urine at home is a good investment.

How often the cat eats also plays a role in urine pH. After eating the urine will become basic due to what is called the “alkaline tide”. This is noted in the cat more so than in the dog. The generation of HCL in the stomach releases bicarb in the blood which alkalizes the urine. Multiple 4-6 small meals a day are preferable to 1 or 2. I can see that there could be a bit of a trade off here. With a dry diet the cat is free to and often does eat multiple small meals a day with moist diet the food can’t be left out for hours and people usually don’t feed 4-6 times a day. If this results in the cat eating a larger amount less often the alkaline tide could result in a higher urine pH for many hours during the day despite a diet that would be otherwise be acidifying.

I personally don’t think the answer to struvite and urinary blockages can be found solely in added methionine to a diet without looking at the entire picture. Methionine is metabolized in the body and the sulfur excreted as sulfuric acid hence it is acidifying to the urine. But since minerals in the diet and feeding practices also influence pH I don’t think all the eggs should be put in one basket per say. Methionine can cause GI upset, and hemolytic anemia( large doses).

If you can achieve a dilute mildly acidic urine by adding methionine to a base diet that otherwise wasn’t reaching those parameters than great but be open to finding what works in your cat.

[Kayla]

I finally made the treats….and he wasn’t to fond of them! He ate it but…didn’t really like them too much! :/ One picky dog! lol!

[nilockhart]

Susan, I would love to have the recipe for the Oatmeal Apple cookies you feed/fed Patch. We have an 11 1/2 year old English Bulldog (Memphis) with IBS for about the last year and kidney failure (diagnosed from an ultra sound and monthly blood work which has been holding pretty steady for awhile). He has also suffered with horrible skin allergies for about the last 8 years, and we’ve had several allergy tests done on him which aren’t worth the money you pay. Memphis has tried Royal Canin potato/venison for about a year, then Purina E/N (both at the suggestion of our vet) for quite some time, with Purina Gentle Snackers for treats. He did great for a while, but then he started with constant diarrhea and vomiting, and for the last 6-8 months “gagging” like he’s choking on spit, and even vomiting large amounts of thick spit, so our vet suggested 10 mg Pepcid every morning. I’ve been cooking a mixture of rice, boneless, skinless chicken breast and little mixed veggies for him for quite some time (again, at the suggestion of our vet), but he’s still having serious problems, with terrible bouts of diarrhea off and on (mainly on). We recently weened him to ground turkey breast (99% fat free) instead of the chicken because our groomer thought it could be the chicken, still no improvement. Memphis is still not doing well. He takes Metronidazole off and on when he has blood in his feces, but that has to be the worst medicine ever invented. He is lethargic and barely eats the entire 10 days he’s on it. Then, he’s only good for another 2 or so weeks again before we have another horrible bout of diarrhea. He also takes 5-7 units of Pro-Pectalin (probiotic) 2x a day when he’s sick, which does wonders for him, but we’re supposed to stop when his diarrhea stops (usually 2 days). I’m strongly considering (a) a new vet, (b) leaving him on about 5 cc’s of probiotics every day, (c) switching his food to Canine Caviar or Victor’s Ultra Pro, and (d) wondering whether he has an allergy to rice or corn. We realize he’s on the older end for an English Bulldog, but if it wasn’t for the stupid diarrhea, he is fairly healthy, even for only having one functioning kidney! We just want the diarrhea to stop; our poor little guy has to be miserable!!! Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[LabsRawesome]

Hi Sadie’s Mom, Hydraplenish really helped my Labs joint problems. She went from hobbling around to running again. Here’s a site with free shipping. https://www.pureformulas.com/hydraplenish-60-vegetarian-capsules-by-natures-way.html Trinity takes them with no problem, but if your dog doesn’t like taking pills you can open and mix the powder in with canned. Another option is pill pockets, you can buy them at Walmart. If you haven’t heard of them, they’re treats with a hollow center, that hold pills.

[Dori]

Dog Obsessed. I’ve been giving Hannah glucosamine/chondroitin for a number of years twice a day two hours after both her meals. I give her her Denamarin (both for her liver and as an anti-inflammatory) one to one and a half hours BEFORE her p.m. meal. A number of months back I started adding a glucosamine/chondroitin at bedtime since I knew she hadn’t had anything to eat in a number of hours. I don’t give any treats of any sort after 9:00 pm (I feel their guts need a little resting time instead of constantly having to digest food). She’s been doing very well with three times a day. If you’re only giving once a day then you can start on the twice a day and see how your dog does. If you’re going to add the bed time one then I would wait on that one for a while to make sure your dog isn’t getting loose stools or diarrhea. I introduce supplements very slowly and once I realize they’re doing well, then I up the supplements. And so on and so on.

[Sadie’s Mom]

@ Dog Obsessed Have you used a glucosamine supplement before? I’m looking into GNC Ultra Mega Superfood Complex Plus Joint Health Dog Formula. I like it because it’s a powder formula and relatively inexpensive. After being on steroids for so long my dog refuses to take any pills and is picky about chewables because she doesn’t do crunchy treats. I was think a powder would be easy to mix into her food, especially if I add a tablespoon of wet in with it.

[Gloria K]

My dog loves anything hard and crunchy-the harder and crunchier the more he likes them. He also loves the Zuke’s mini treats peanut butter flavor. I put four or five of those in his Kong and he plays with it for an hour getting them all out. He loves them.

[John T]

Something is going on with Blue Buffalo. They have over 852 complaints of sick dogs, just take a look > http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/blue_buffalo.html?page=3
It seem a supplier company was sold, and subpar ingredients such as carrageenan being purchased from China and added to Blue Buffalo food. Please pay attention because this is starting to get big. I was feed my 7 year old Shi Tzu BB treats and had been for years. Over the last 3 months he had continued loose stools, upset stomach and not being himself. The funny thing is after reading all this I removed all BB food and he is back to normal. NO more of this crap, I am making his food!! You just can’t trust any of these dog food companies because they are more concerned about chasing the Benjamin’s!! PLEASE pay attention and get off this poison!!

[John T]

Something is going on with Blue Buffalo. They have over 852 complaints of sick dogs, just take a look > http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/blue_buffalo.html?page=3
It seem a supplier company was sold, and subpar ingredients such as carrageenan being purchased from China and added to Blue Buffalo food. Please pay attention because this is starting to get big. I was feed my 7 year old Shi Tzu BB treats and had been for years. Over the last 3 months he had continued loose stools, upset stomach and not being himself. The funny thing is after reading all this I removed all BB food and he is back to normal. NO more of this crap, I am making his food!! You just can’t trust any of these dog food companies because they are more concerned about chasing the Benjamin’s!! PLEASE pay attention and get off this poison!!

[Sadie’s Mom]

Surprisingly, the first thing I look for in a treat is the texture. My mini dachshund HATES crunchy treats. It’s the strangest thing! The only crunchy/hard things she likes are the rawhide dental chews (Dentley’s brand is the current favorite). I also have to factor in price, as I am a college student living on a tight budget. The best thing I have found are the Zuke’s Mini Naturals. They are soft and squishy, grain free, and low in calories. Sadie likes all of the flavors, but the chicken seems to be her favorite. I’ve been wanting to try the Wellness Petite Treats Soft Mini Bites, but they haven’t been on sale for a good price. The Zuke’s are a better deal because they are less per ounce and last a really long time. I give her 3 or 4 at a time as a normal treat to make her feel better since the other 3 dogs my parents own get small milkbones lol. She also likes the Milkbone Brushing Chews after her evening meal. I give her half a mini bone. I am currently on the hunt for a treat with added glucosamine that is reasonably priced. Any suggestions?

[DogFoodie]

It could be a food intolerance to many different things, Kathleen. Mine reacts the same way to fish (including fish oil), which frequently pops up down the list of ingredients in foods that are other protein based. My friend’s dog reacts the same way to tomatoes. You never know.

I’d suggest closely comparing ingredient panels to help you identify problem ingredients. It can take a while, but his problem ingredients will eventually become evident.

I’d be inclined to try a limited ingredient food for a while to see what happens. If you like NVI, maybe consider their LID’s. My dog with intolerance issues does very well on it. It’s single protein, tapioca, peas and no other fruits or veggies. I just don’t recommend the lamb formula any longer as a recent recipe change significantly reduced the protein and fat and increased the pea protein. Be sure to closely monitor portion size and keep track of treats and toppers, whether canned or fresh, whole foods.

[Kayla]

I am not sure about India either. I just tend to avoid treats that are made or from China because they have had terrible reviews and making the Dog’s sick. I found some USA made treats at Walmart but I am not sure about them. Nudges and Full moon both are made in the USA and sold at Walmart. I guess, I will look at them next time.

There wasn’t a lot of treats in the first bag, (first link)… I will probably finish the bag but I know I won’t buy anymore. I have not tried to give him any of the other one. (second link). In the first link, I do not like how they are really small so I probably won’t finish the bag. They have tiny ones in there and he has a big mouth. :/

[Dog_Obsessed]

The ingredients for these treats are good, but I’m a little worried because the first on especially it is a jerky-like treat. There have been a lot of problems with jerky treats from China, and even if it says “made in the USA” it still could have been sent to China for manufacturing. I have no idea what it is about jerky treats that makes them so much more likely to have issues, but there have been so many problems that I don’t like to risk it.

I just searched and there does not appear to have been an official recall on Denley’s treats, but some people claimed they had made their dogs sick.

[Kayla]

I forgot to go to the store this weekend to get some stuff to make homemade Dog treats for Dexter. I found these treats and wondering if anyone used them and if they are good? The ingredients on one bag just says buffalo and the other just says buffalo tendon.

http://www.petsmart.com/dog/chewy-treats/dentley-s-trade-nature-s-chew-buffalo-strip-dog-treat-zid36-18624/cat-36-catid-100051

http://www.petsmart.com/dog/chewy-treats/dentley-s-trade-nature-s-chew-prime-slice-dog-treat-zid36-18654/cat-36-catid-100051

[R-K]

Hi all, I was asked by a friend to research Welcome Home dog food, which is made by Centinela Feed on the west coast. I’m sure it’s a newer brand but after 30 minutes of looking online I am unable to find ANYTHING about it, other than mentioning it on their own website but with no link to any information. No official website, no dog food advisor, nothing. It’s not their other brand Lotus but rather Welcome Home which only used to make treats but I guess they’ve expanded into dry foods too. Can anyone provide me with any information?

[Kayla]

I noticed my Dog loves to chew but he is very picky on his bones and treats. Any ideas? He has one rope bone thing that he loves to tug and play with…and tries to chew on it but I always take it away from him because it has tiny strings on it and I don’t want him actually ingesting it.

I also tried to buy rubber ball and bone toys but he won’t mess with him. Needless to say, his favorite toy is the rope bone thing. His rope is like this one.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/BOODA-Pet-Products-Two-Knot-Rope-Bone-Dog-Toy-in-Red-White-and-Blue/15573238

[Karen J]

I think maybe this belongs in this forum sorry hope I didn’t breach protocol:
first diagnosed by another vet…precursor to crystals, not infections or stones. Fine but that changed. She started have more and more accidents in house.

I researched here in particular but over time it didn’t appear to be enough. Took her to new vet with all info, they didn’t twist my arm to do another urinalysis, I believe more in depth necessary, open to keeping her on d-Monasse, and Vit C not a bad idea to add glucosamin, they gave her an antibiotic. I let them do an X-ray, they didn’t insist, they offered choices, I’ve been through a really sick dog being mis-diagnosed so I pulled out the Credit. $300 now rather than $3000 later – hope I did right.

She was starting have more frequent accidents in the house.

Radiology to rule out stones 1 view, Urinalysis, Cysto, Culture Urine MIC, Clavamox 62.5mg, Medical Waste Free, waived office visit = not cheap. Too much?
She’s on Wellness grain free and Canidae grain free wet food, very little grain free kibble, filtered water and grain free treats.

I’m not not flush with money but would like to prevent problems before they become big. Last vet didn’t seem thorough.

[Dog_Obsessed]

By extras do you mean toppers? If so, so am I. I used some canned pumpkin in the dog treats I made the other day, and I’ve been giving her some pumpkin in her food for the last few days just because I can. She does sometimes have anal gland issues, so that’ll be my excuse. 🙂

Also, I did find out that I can either break or let Lily eat the ends off of the NB chews, and then put it in her Kong. She can get little tastes of it but can’t pull it out completely, so it keeps her busy for a long time. It doesn’t clean her teeth obviously, but I’m not really counting on that at this point.

• This reply was modified 11 years ago by Dog_Obsessed.

[crazy4cats]

I got the large, but not really that large for my dogs. Yeah, they are a,little high in calories. I try to feed a little less than recommended to allow for treats. I’m a softie when it comes to extras.

[Douglas E]

I have read this entire thread as well as similar ones. Look, other than broad brush strokes, animal nutrition has been much ignored for the majority of pet-human history. Heck, the same can be said for HUMAN nutrition. Only within the past 40 years has our nutrition become the topic of serious scientific inquiry. This has been a natural development in thought from deeper insights into cellular biology, biochemistry and immunology. The science of human nutrition is quite new.

How then can we expect to understand other species’ specific nutritional needs? We hardly understand the human organism yet in that regard. If human nutritional science is in its’ infancy, canine nutrition is only embryonic. That research it further complicated by gross breed differences, historically poor food quality diets, congenital and/our genetic weaknesses from severely poor breeding, medical thought that simply treats symptoms and a new problem- canine geriatrics.

A dog in the wild would typically have a life expectancy less than half of our pets’. Nutritional deficiency plays a major part in that mortality. And no, an all raw and only carnivorous diet is not what a dog would get in the wild. While dogs are highly adapted to having a majority of the diet be animal proteins, they have a much greater variety. Even from only consuming prey animals, they will eat the contents of those animals’ intestines and stomach(s) which would include “probiotics,” yeasts (naturally occurring intestinal fauna,) and various vagetation such as primitive grains. Those grains would be partially digested, yes, so raw gains would likely be less digestible. Canines would also eat the high fat organ meats, hair, skin and bone. It is important to note that the high need of calcium, as well as other bone minerals, for dogs is well noted these days. It is necessary nutritionally for Canines to occaisionally consume vegetable, or even mineral, matter. Not only must they do so to enable gut function, they must do so for biological need. Not all needs are met by prey. This is why in the absence of adequate herbivorous prey, dogs will suplement by what pet owners would consider pica.

All that being said (now that I have presented myself in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral the Very Model of a Modern Major General, ) the answers are not simple. But the guidelines are.

1. Use common sense, canine nutrition is imperfect at best
2. Do not presume to be an expert, or that human remedy necessarily applies
3. Do not rely on diet to cure medical conditions that may really be microbial or parastic infections, disease or biological defecit aside from nutrition
4. Realize that isolating an immunological response, whether from allergic reaction or not, is a difficult and time consuming process
5. Use keen observation when using any new food source or additive, including veterinarian recommended treatments. Don’t simply go with the flow thinking that treatment course is the fix-it for sure (OK, preaching to the choir I think there…)
6. Each dog is as different biologically as we are. If it does improve health in some, it may not in others or it may actually be detrimental
7. A business, or product, that is intentionally or negligently harmful will not survive. Caveat Emptor
8. etc. etc. etc…

Here’s hoping great health to all you and all your furry families

D