[crazy4cats]

Oh boy, Sam D-
I hope you know what you have gotten yourself in to with this question. Put on your hard helmet! Lol! It seems to be a emotional controversial topic. But, I’m with you. I feel the same way. I still have a box of it left from my bargain trials from Pet Flow I got a while back. I mix it in by dogs kibble a couple days a week. They feel the same way too. They look at me like, “where’s the meat” as well. I think it looks and smells like soup mix too. We don’t hate it and their poops are actually good the next day after eating, but something just doesn’t feel quite right. BDog has used her boxes to make yummy treats for her dog. I’m not sure that I will buy again as it is really expensive for them to be so so about it. Many love to feed their dogs The Honest Kitchen and it does have a pretty good reputation, but I don’t think its for us either. Good luck!

[Naturella]

Oleanderz – I think it is great that you still care so much about your pup’s health, even while away at college. Earthborn Holistic GF are great foods, good choice on that one. You can also have your mom rotate foods and this will allow you to take advantage of online deals for other great foods such as Annamaet, Dr. Tim’s, Victor – all very affordable also.

As for dog boxes, I have not tried them myself, but they look like a fun thing, full of surprises, and new things she can try! As long as she doesn’t have any food allergies, then dog boxes are a great way to experiment with new treats and toys! I think the BarkBox has allergy-friendly options too.

[Dog_Obsessed]

I like to use chick pea/garbanzo bean flour when making dog treats. It has a similar consistency to wheat flour. Also, using more wet ingredients than dry could help the treats be less dry.

[Gloria K]

My thought? I maybe wrong but making a young puppy work for his food when he’s very hungry just seems kind of well, cruel to me. Again I may be wrong but if a hungry puppy wants to eat he should be able to eat. He could become very frustrated if the food doesn’t come out fast enough. Don’t beat me up over this it’s just my humble opinion but that’s how I feel. I’m not one for gimmicks and creative games when it comes to feeding dogs.
I have no objection to the Kong for treats- my Mickey loves his Kong. But when he wants to eat he wants to eat.

[Gloria K]

As you already know I make all of my dogs food and treats I have a problem and hoping someone knows the answer. The first two or three times I made treats I used wheat flour. The biscuits and cookies came out perfect just like regular cookies do. However I noticed my dog developed a very red rash on the inside of his thighs. I wondered if it could have been a wheat allergy so I stopped using wheat and started using coconut and rice flours instead. About a week later the rash went away. Two or three weeks later I gave him a wheat flour cookie just to see what would happen and the rash came back so looks like he may indeed have a wheat allergy.
The biscuits and cookies that I make him now are very dry. I’ve cut back on the amount of rice and coconut flour as someone suggested using 1/4 to 1/3 cup to the recipe calling for one cup of wheat or whole wheat flour. Has anyone used these flours and if so do you have the same problem with dryness that I have? Is there a solution to this? What am I doing wrong and what can I do to fix it?

[lovemypuppy]

I wouldn’t say I’m educated, but I’m getting there thanks to sites like this! 🙂 Good point! Knowing what my finicky pup will eat is tricky since it won’t necessarily be the same as another’s finicky pup.

After speaking with some local dog peeps, I decided to switch her to raw with only one protein source (Primal Duck Formula). She doesn’t like most treats but has never turned her nose up to freeze dried meats, including duck.

I’m hoping she likes the new food and transitions well with little GI upset. I’m also hoping the single protein source will aid in sorting out her potential allergies (environmental or food). Once she is settled for a bit, I will start rotating her food … seems like a great idea all the way around.

We are so excited to have our first ever puppy-dog! She is the cutest thing ever and brings so much joy to our family!~ Thanks for the link and food recommendations!

[Naturella]

Oh, and also – tails were wagging at all times as far as Bruno and Snowy, and they just wanted to investigate, get to know, and maybe play with Astro. But with his “dad”‘s behavior, no wonder the dog was nervous – loud, demanding voice, tension in his alpha – the poor dog must have thought he was in a danger situation and he will always think that when there are other dogs around if that’s how his alpha is acting. So he will never be calm and social with other dogs… Makes me sad for him.

And any attempts on my side to just get the dogs together, make them sit, or do something at the same time for treats so that they have a positive experience around each other never worked as Astro doesn’t know how to do tricks – either attention-span is low; he was never taught; or is not food-motivated, or all of the above – he is fed mostly from the table while his owners eat, so he knows he will get the good stuff then, so he doesn’t really do treats. So he would just wander off by his owners. Meh…

[crazy4cats]

Hi Patrick and D_O-
I am using soft chew probiotics called ProFlora by PHS right now. I like them because I can easily feed them to my dogs without hiding in food or “masking” them in peanut butter or something. I have also used similar chews made by Vetri-Science. They think they are treats. I do have golden labs, however. They think everything is a treat. Lol! I give them in the evening a few hours after their dinner and they seem to work well. No stinky gas in the family room! They have 8 or 9 strains of probiotics and a prebiotic as well. Not sure if the chews are as effective, but they have been good for us so far. I buy them from Amazon or Healthy Pets websites. I find that Healthypets.com has some of the best prices on supplements. Hope this helps.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Okay. So this is going to be looong. Sorry in advance. Basically, today we took Lily to the vet because she had been scooting some the last few days. Since her anal glands had been slightly inflamed/discolored before, her vet wanted to actually see her instead of just having the tech do it. In short, they were not pretty. (not that I actually saw them.) The fluid was discolored, which the vet thought might be pus, (hey, I warned you) and there was an area near the anal glands that was inflamed. The vet prescribed a 20 day course of an antibiotic/anti-inflammatory med, and said we should schedule a follow up appointment for when that’s over. I was not thrilled about this, but it might be necessary. I’m planning to give her some yogurt to counter the antibiotic.

The vet said she thought this was a symptom of food allergies. I was afraid that she would prescribe a prescription diet, but luckily she actually knows a thing or two about dog nutrition, and suggested an elimination diet. Basically, she thinks that after she is done with the antibiotics, we should put her on a protein that she has never had before for 6-8 weeks, and then slowly introduce other foods. I pretty much know the drill for this from being on DFA. 🙂 She also suggested home-cooking, but I’m afraid we just don’t really have time for that on a regular basis. I have a bag of Nature’s Logic Venison, and while she has never had Venison in food, she has had it in treats. Is it still okay to use as an elimination protein?

Sooo…Basically I just want to know what you guys think about all of this, and if you have any ideas. I was thinking about giving her a anal gland supplement such as Glandex, but if it is food allergies then I feel like that would be just masking the symptoms rather than solving the problem. Is it still a good idea? Thanks!

Also, an update on Lily’s leg, she is still doing well and not limping much. We’re just crossing our fingers that she stays that way. 😀

[Jodi E]

My airedale swallowed a Full Moon chicken meatball and ended up having over $2000.00 dollars worth surgery & 2 weeks of intensive post-op care.
She swallowed the treat whole, it lodged in her small intestine & started to swell with fluid, causing a small bowel obstruction. Luckily I caught it right away & she’s alive & well…BUT…I wrote the company hoping to get the product recalled. The other day I received a check for $14.00 dollars and a “Thank you for your patronage” note. WTH?!!! Thats an insult! VERY poor customer service and horrible dog treats that could kill your dog.
DO NOT PURCHASE THIS PRODUCT!

[Lyndel M]

Try buying a dehydrater. They are great. You can dehydrate your own raw treats for you dog. You can puree vegetables or fruits and spread out on a dehydrating sheet, then roll into balls or small pieces and stuff into stuffable chew toys. You can also dehydrate fresh meats, raw meatloaf, fish etc. I also make stock from organ meats and bones (no salt) and freeze into kongs as well as adding fruit, veggies or meats into the liquid and freeze into kongs in summer. Goats cheese which is lactose free is good as is quinoa cookies broken up. I also make meat pastes which I stuff along those stuffable chew toys that have groves along the sides, so they can lick it out and get interested in what’s on the inside. Hope these suggestions help, mind you, they are not my own, they are an accumulation of what I have gathered from my own research.

[Margaret G]

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

[pugmomsandy]

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

[Gloria K]

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

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

[Dori]

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

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

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

[Hater and Molly’s Mom]

I give my girls raw carrots all the time as treats. They have never had a problem digesting them. I check their stools and never see any pieces of carrot in it.

[Cristi C]

Cole, did you get my message about my cat’s problem, now solved? Did you try removing him from ALL grains and feeding him only a meat-based food that was made in the USA? No rice, no barley, and so on? (And did you make sure he has no contact with peanuts or peanut
butter as well?) No treats or anything that aren’t fully guaranteed to be 100% grain free?

[Gloria K]

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

[Dori]

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

[Hound Dog Mom]

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

[Mary L]

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

[crazy4cats]

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

[Kimi_forever]

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

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

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

[MIKE B]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you.

[Kathleen C]

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

[Kimi_forever]

the oven idea sounds great, i know my uncle uses a smoker to make his jerky and we had thought about getting a smoker ourselves, but the no investment oven idea sounds awesome. ill research it.

bobby, thanks for clearing that up for me. i also like the conveince of the freeze dried treats and i like that unlike meat in my refrigerator they dont go bad so quickly i’ve made the bag of orijen freeze dried i got last a month by giving her one every now and then with her biscuits. i was worried that maybe ideally i shouldnt be feeding her biscuits full of non meat stuff and mostly potato or tapioca but she loves them so much and my dad loves giving them to her, but i think ive got some good ideas for home made ones now and that ill try to use chickpea flour for so it wont be too bad. i also think i did the right thing probably by purchasing the turkey flavor over the lamb or beef as far as protein to fat ratio so i think i’m on the right track. i dont think i have to worry then because my akita is not over weight but thats some good info you gave about how to take care of an overweight animal. i have an over weight cat that i’m worried about and want to improve her diet. we tried some prescription food from the doctor for her i wish we didnt try, i recently read the article on catinfo.org about prescription foods from vets and it made me want to cringe…

[Bobby dog]

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

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

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

[Janine S]

You can also make home made jerky in your oven. I use a dehydrator but there were instructions on line for using your oven. I have two GSD one of them 110lbs so I know what you are saying about cost and size, making their treats at home saves a lot of money not to mention peace of mind.

[Kimi_forever]

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

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

[Kimi_forever]

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

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

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

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

[Kimi_forever]

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

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

[Gloria K]

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

[Linda J]

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

[Kimi_forever]

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

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

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

[Gloria K]

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

[Janine S]

I would recommend looking up KONA treats, my GSD’s love them and they are very good quality other than that I make them chicken jerky and biscuits at home weekly.

[Kimi_forever]

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

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

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

[Bobby dog]

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

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

[Kathleen C]

No one came forward with some really low cal low fat treats. The Zukes salmon is the only one I can find with fewer than 3 cal per treat, but they are very small. I need a biscuit size one with very low calories. Any suggestions? He already gets veggies, but they too can put weight on.

[Susan]

Hi Cathy, my boy gets the same, the best way to find out what she is allergic too is to do an Elimination diet home cooked, if you don’t want to do your own home cooked elimination diet, then use 1 of the vet diets either Hills z/d or Royal canine Hypoallergenic or the Allergenic… the vet will know which one is best for her to try, they don’t stay on the vet diet for ever, just 2-3 months, once on the vet diet & there’s no scratching or red paws you add 1 new food to her diet, say boiled chicken as a topper & see does she start to scratch & lick her paws. I’d say there’s something either in the Exclusive chicken & rice or if your given other foods like treats that is making her lick her paws…..but once you work out what makes her itch, then you can find a new premium food, best is the Limited ingredient foods…
Patches new vet is starting to think Patch cant eat chicken cause I had to put Patch on the the Hills Low Fat GI Restore wet cause he has gotten real ill this last month & its just Pork & turkey & his red itchy paws have gone away, I’ve restarted him on his vet diet kibble 2 days ago & it has chicken & his paws are red again & he’s been licking them, so maybe try a limited ingredient kibble without any chicken or chicken fat & see how she goes….

[Dog_Obsessed]

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

[Dori]

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

[aquariangt]

I use these chicken breast strips

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

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

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

[Rick S]

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

[Dori]

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

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

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

[E L]

I have another issue with my miniature poodle (~15 lbs.). While I wish a larger kibble size would help clean his teeth, his problem is he swallows the kibble without chewing it. He is healthy, doesn’t vomit, and stools are normal. However I have to believe it would be good for his teeth if he were chewing his food. As for treats to help, he just hides those without eating them. The only thing he will chew on are antlers. Any advice will be appreciated!

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

[Naturella]

All yummy stuff, everyone!

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

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

[Dori]

The girls had Nature’s Logic Raw Venison this morning for breakfast and OC Raw Rabbit for dinner. Some blueberries, raspberries, and bananas mid morning and afternoon as treats.

[Naturella]

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

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

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

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

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Kristin –

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