[Dog_Obsessed]

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

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

[Kristin C]

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

[Akari_32]

Did you end up buying anything? Lol

I got my order from PetFlow today! I’m very impressed with everything!

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/9355C584-6C86-4372-85BC-79F765DBF4BB_zpsmkf6xbif.jpg

Just so you can get an idea on how big those cows feet are, we have 1 ft tiles… LOL The three bags of tracheas, I’m super happy with. They are all much bigger than 3 inches each, and there are 6 in one bag, and 7 in two of the bags. Can’t wait to try them out on Bentley.

I’m glad I only paid a couple cents a piece for the Pet Botanic rolls because they are SMALL. They’ll go in Haley and Dweezles food later for a nice treat.

The Halo chews and beef filets are a hit with Ginger and Bentley, as are the cows feet with Haley and Dweezle. And I can’t wait to see how the cat likes his treats. Over all, very happy with everything. For less than $1 a piece, who wouldn’t be!

[Melissa P]

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

[Dori]

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

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

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

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

[Dori]

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

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

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

[Dori]

I know it won’t be for a while, but please let me know how the new groomer works out for him. I’m glad you spoke to her and she’s given you some hope that things will eventually get back to normal. Since it was a one time thing it may not even take that many sessions before he enjoys getting groomed again and, of course, getting the treats.

Good luck!

[Mitchell T]

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

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

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

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

[Mom2Cavs]

I order from Chewy’s all the time. I have to get my Wellness Simple from them as no one locally carries it. This last order I put in two small bags of Annamaet, the Salcha and Aqualuk. The Wellness Simple has a great expiry date, over a year out. The Salcha has a great date, at least a year out, but the Aqualuk is only good till April of this year! I didn’t want to use it first, but I may have to…..could send it back but that’s a pain, too. I wanted to continue with the Simple for awhile because they usually eat Simple Small Breed, which is Salmon, and I ordered the regular Simple Turkey to see if they’d eat it (larger kibble size) and if they did well on it. I think I’m just gonna do the Simple Turkery and either use the Aqualuk as treats or give it to a friend of mine that I always give kibble to….very disappointed with it’s date. Chewy’s is usually fantastic, but maybe all their Aqualuk had that date? Maybe it’s not as popular as the Salcha or Manitok.

[Karen J]

Because of the appearance of Struvite Crystals, I changed Trixie’s diet to Canidae and/or Wellness Casserole, grain free. Organic chicken jerky treats from Maine and some freeze dried and organic grain free treats. No urination in the house and no crystals, new vets and more tests.

We’re walking and hiking more and she was hungry I realized so I gave her 3 meals today (the sticky diarrhea started yesterday) , 2 little Wellness casseroles and Evo kibble(grain free) mixed with Canidae grain free.

This started yesterday, before I realized she might be hungrier so maybe she ate something in the yard that she shouldn’t have.

Also found a new vet. Yesterday and today diarrhea, sticky, smelly have to put her in the sink and wash her little tush, now she is wary of me poor baby used baby wipes on her too.

She’s on D-Mannose, Vit C, and Glucosamine delivered via cream cheese. What to do about the diarrhea that won’t even drop off to the ground. It’s very gooey.

[Akari_32]

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

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

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

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

[Bobby dog]

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

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

[Dori]

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

[DogFoodie]

Hi Ezra,

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

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

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

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

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

[crazy4cats]

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

[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, 12 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, 12 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!

[Dog_Obsessed]

I just put some Ice Pups in the freezer to be used as treats or quickie toppers. Lily seemed to like the stuff as a liquid, so hopefully they’ll be a hit. 😀

[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.

[Dog_Obsessed]

One question about both the Ice Pups and the Winter Warmer Broths, I can’t find the nutritional adequacy statement for either. I assume their just treats/toppers, and the Ice Pups are too high fat to be a meal, but it was strange that I can’t find the statement.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Liz,
It breaks my heart to hear your story,
A few pieces of advice-do you live in a town or city? Is there a veterinary teaching hospital that isn’t too far away?
Why, If you don’t mind me asking and if you know wasn’t an ultrasound suggested 1st an MRI seems like the last step not the first.
In my experience with my schnauzer, when i got her 3 yrs ago her teeth & gums were so bad and infected I cried when I saw them,no one ever cared for them and it was a disaster, I still say to this day 3 yrs later this is why her immune system is so bad. But I am getting off topic.
My Pepper has mild mitral valve prolapse, what I would do is ask to have an ultrasound done find out what grade the murmur is I-IV ( i think it may be grade 1-4 not 5 ) then go from there, ultrasounds are not cheap, but they are less costly and less invasive to Qtips-all they do is shave her tummy a bit, put jelly & pass the thingy(sorry forgot what’s it called) along the heart area. Then & only then with a detailed explanation get an MRI done. I can’t put Pepper under anymore because of her age and her pulmonary hypertension,so I use a product called Oravet that I get on Amazon( I can tell you more about that if you decide not to do the dental) Also ask if a course of antibiotics might help her-to get the infection under control-if she has a bad infection & there is bleeding you don’t want her to get sepsis, or a bad infection circulating through her entire body
I hate to say this but someone wants your money-you must be very forthright and question,question everything-if i told you how many vets I have taken my angel to how many disagreements i have had your jaw would drop.
I look at it like this-I have her for a reason, she came into my life for a reason I am her caretaker ,advocate , guardian & I will fight for her to get the best that is possible.
I shouldn’t say this but vets are in it for the money (most vets are)-they can size a person up in seconds & see who treats there pets as pets or as a fur-kids as a child with 4 legs, and then the bleeding starts. Stay strong.
Please keep me updated, I will offer any help I can, because believe me in the last 3 yrs I feel like I have been through so much with my baby girl.
Good luck.

[Janine S]

You should check out KONA treats

[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 11 years 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.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

The Cocotherapy Brand of dried fruit or dried veggies or their cocostars.
these treats are AMAZING! Pricey but worth it.
I found NaturalPetWarehouse.com to have the best prices per bag.

[adria Z]

I bake slices of sweet potatoes and use them as treats

[Dog_Obsessed]

Okay, thanks. I might buy the THK treats and other ones like it sometimes, and just think of them as “junk food” because they are high-carb. They are also super low-calorie though, so that helps.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Since the food I’m feeding is balanced, I agree that that isn’t really what I’m looking to get from treats. Is it any worse than other carbs in treats?

[theBCnut]

Molasses does have some nice minerals in it, but I’m not feeding treats to get minerals.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Probably a tad better than high fructose corn syrup, but essentially sugar nonetheless. I try to avoid treats with any added sweeteners but if the other ingredients are healthy (as I’m sure is the case with the THK treats) and they’re only given on occasion, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Kind of like with people, indulging in some sweets once in awhile never hurt anyone but it wouldn’t be the healthiest thing to do regularly.

[Dog_Obsessed]

What are everyone’s thoughts on treats that contain forms of “natural” sugar such as molasses or maple syrup? It’s probably not as bad as high-fructose corn syrup or just “sugar,” but it is sugar either way. I know the THK cookie treats (Pecks, Smooches, Nuzzles) all contain molasses as the third ingredient.

[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.

[Jerry J]

Any comments on the Blue Buffalo treats known as “Health Bars”?
I also give my 2 mini-schnauzers petite raw carrots as a treat. Thanks.

[Janine S]

My GSD’s love KONA brand treats.

[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?!

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Thank you Neezerfan,
Unfortunately the holistic vet in my area leans more to traditional therapies. So, I don’t go to her.
As for a phone consult with Dr. Becker, I feel given Pepper’s MANY health issues,a phone consult would not do. Pepper would have to be seen by her in person to give an accurate informed diagnosis.
That being said, I may heave to consult her about a low residue diet,because I shiver when the thought of putting her on a vet. diet comes up. I know she can’t survive on sweet potato,pumpkin & ground turkey forever,& I know the premium kibbles no longer are good for her-she can’t digest them.
Even the special coconut treats (dried veggies & dried fruits) she adores -she can’t tolerate any longer, it breaks my heart!!!

[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!

[Dori]

Hi Gloria K. I have the TSM Stainless Steel Food Dehydrator with 5 stainless Steel Shelves. It was recommended to me by USATreats (one of the posters on DFA). It’s available at Amazon.

As to making biscuits and cookies, I’m sorry I can’t answer that question. I only use it as a dehydrator for making jerky and dehydrating fruits and veggies. Hopefully someone else will come on and answer that part of your question.

[Dog_Obsessed]

I once got a sample of Fruitables Skinny Minis treats and they were a HUGE hit! I haven’t gotten a full bag because they aren’t grain-free, but Lily doesn’t really have grain issues as far as I know. Their jerky is grain-free, but I don’t use store-bought jerky treats because of the mysterious problems with jerky from China.

[jakes mom]

I have a turkey neck for Jake and treats for the cats and will throw some catnip around, too. Extra sunflower seed and peanuts for the birds and squirrels in the yard. Jake doesn’t play with toys anymore, if it’s not food he’s not interested. I’m working Christmas so haven’t decided if we’ll have our treats tonite or after work on the 25th. Happy holidays from me and the critters…Jake, Smudge, Dustin, Benjamin, Julie and Teddy!

[Akari_32]

Guys, I’m very proud to that this psycho cat that would look for any excuse to get outside has come a long way. I went to take some trash out, and came back to find the wind had kept the door from closing, and both Bentley and Kitty in the door way, looking out.

My first thought is that if I even so much as spook him, the cat is gunna bolt out past me, and I’ll be chasing both the retards down the street. It only takes a second for the cat to realize I’m back, so once he saw me, I gave him a firm “no!” and stooped down ready to catch him if he bolted. Instead he backed into the house, and walked back inside as I closed the door!

So I scooped him, told him he was a very good boy, and gave him lots of love as we went into the kitchen, and I dumped a handful of his favorite G-Zee’s treats on the floor for him, which he promptly inhaled.

I can’t believe he did not make a run for it as soon as he saw that door left open. OMG, that could have been bad. Ginger, of course, was passed out obliviously on the couch lol

Also, he’s not liking his Authority Kitten food. He doesn’t finish it, and is not very quick to eat it. I guess I’ll give it to my friends cat. Or my aunt. I gave her kitten a can of it for Christmas. I’m sure they haven’t given it to him yet, but I’ll ask and see how he liked it if they did. Two foods on his list of no-no’s. I can’t believe it! Wellness Complete Health canned and Authority Kitten. This is the same cat that eats dust bunnies every time I sweep…

[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]

Merry Christmass, everyone!

For Haley and Dweezle, we also get them huge bones, sometimes raw hides, sometimes big huge pig knuckles. Depends on way we find. I may brave the grocery store for a couple pig knuckles. If not, the pet store will be much less scary, and they’ll just get raw hides LOL That’s what I get for waiting till Christmass eve to shop for them. Bentley and Ginger have some treats and a Fruitables chew each.

The cat has nothing so far. I want to buy him some cat nip, though, for his turbo chaser toy thing (round, with a ball in a track, and a scratching pad in the middle). I also want to buy him toys, but he eats anything small and hard (found that out the hard way, $400 later) and Bentley destroys anything with feathers on it, so that’s rules out 99% of all cat toys LOL He does have a few cans of special food, though. He better like it, that’s all I have to say! He’ll have a great time with the gift bag, at least! Darn cats…

[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.