[InkedMarie]

Hi Tom,
First, thanks for adopting this senior gal! I would not feed that food. No offense to your vet but they get very little nutrition education.
Years back, we adopted a senior dog who was obese. She should have weighed about 25lbs but was 43.7. We used Wellness Core reduced fat & she lost the weight. For snacks, you can use some of her kibble from her daily ration, fresh green beans, we use The Honest kitchen quickies but they’re costly.ni think Buddy biscuit itty Bitties and Charlee Bear treats are low calorie.
What supplements are you using? I’ve used Joint Mobility Plus (from SwansonVitamins.com), green lipped mussel, salmon oil, Liquid Gold K9 and salmon oil for ours with bad joints.

[Tom L]

We recently acquired an overweight (78#) 12 year old Labrador with severe joint disease who can have limited walks and exercise due to bones rubbing on bones. This is a loving female who loves to eat and likes snacks and treats. Our vet recommended feeding her Science Diet Senior Food 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup at night along with supplements.
She hasn’t lost any weight and is always looking for snacks. We are concerned that this is the correct food for our overweight dog. Ideally, we would like to give her 3 small servings a day. Tom L.

[Carol M]

Hi Nancy,

Yes, it is unbelievable how much fluid she gets – 2 liters in a week, that’s about a half a gallon! That’s why we do “the procedure” twice a week; don’t think she’d be able to breathe otherwise.

My dog is about 30# – the vet recommended 1000mg (2 pills) 3x a day. I use Nature’s Plus brand, there’s a health food store nearby that carries it (couldn’t find it at some of the larger stores like Whole Foods). I tried going up to 1500mg 3x a day for a few months but didn’t notice any difference in the amount of fluid so I went back to 1000mg. Don’t know that it actually does anything but I’m not going to stop in case it does.

Haven’t tried Metamucil; that was the nutritionist’s suggestion as she read that a high fiber diet helps with chylothorax. Don’t know what the dosage would be though, need to ask vet.

There are no restrictions on activity because of the port itself; it’s all contained and can only be accessed by needle (looks like a lump on her side). Vet said to just treat her like a normal dog. She is less active when she’s filling up with fluid so she restricts herself. After we drain her, she goes (on her own) to her crate for about 20 minutes or so to rest. I don’t let her run around right after just as a precaution.

The specialist vet doesn’t carry Royal Canin but my regular vet does. The PetSmart here carries it & probably Petco does too; your vet would have to write a prescription for them to fill it. I feed the dry and mix in some canned with it. I just ordered a case of canned from Petflow (www.petflow.com) – price is about the same ($61 for 24 cans) but they deliver it (free shipping for orders over $49) and you can set it up to auto ship (and get 20% off the first order for auto ship). You’d probably want to get a few cans and/or dry to see if your dog likes it before ordering that much though…maybe another local vet carries it.

She eats quite a bit actually – close to a cup of dry with maybe 1/4 – 1/3 can mixed in twice a day. The other dogs get 1/2 cup in the morning & 1 cup at night of their dry food. Her appetite is good and she’s not gained or lost weight (other than after surgery).

I kind of jokingly asked the nutritionist if giving her boneless chicken breast would help with the protein loss. She said it couldn’t hurt, just be sure to boil it and skim off any fat – I trimmed all the fat & other yuck off and then boiled it in no-fat chicken broth and have been adding some to her food but just in the last week or so. When she had the surgery she wasn’t eating so I boiled chicken & rice for her and hand fed her and that worked. Then mixed it with the dog food until it was all dog food.

I tried giving her frozen green beans as a treat and that worked for a while…then she caught on that the others were getting real treats. So, I’m giving all of them Pupcorn treats (found at Fred’s or PetSmart has their own brand) as it’s 3% or lower fat and supposedly healthy. She’s not a chewer and not crazy about toys. Wonder if maybe a Kong or similar filled with something low fat would work for your dog?

Hope that helps – do check with the vet though before you do anything. Carol

[Barbara]

I did not realize that this information was in DFA before I originally posted. I know now to search for recalls by brand name. You can also just search the word recalls on the DFA homepage.
/dog-food-recall/dogswell-withdraws-dog-cat-jerky-treats
It appears that some of the packages state made in the USA but I understand from reading comments that you need to find out where the ingredients are sourced from by contacting the manufacturer. Sounds like a lot of jerky-type treats have ingredients sourced from China!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by Barbara.

[texasniteowl]

I thought I would come back with a brief update since it has been a while!

After the Orijen we went to Acana Singles…the Lamb and Apple and he did very well on that. We finished the 13lb medium bag. Now we are still on Acana but trying the Duck flavor and we are still doing well. We did a cold turkey switch from Lamb to Duck with no problem.

I am still not giving him a powder supplement, but he is getting “active culture” greek yogurt. His poo overall has been good…mostly normal…except for the day after obedience class usually when he gets a few more treats than normal!

I want to identify 1 or 2 more foods that he does OK with so that I have a 3-4 food rotation. We may try a bag of Nature’s Variety Instinct LID next as an option. Then not sure on a 4th. I may try the Orijen Adult again just to confirm whether it was the food or just the timing that caused him to not do really great on it. But we may just stick with foods in the 30-35% protein range.

[InkedMarie]

To me, it sounds like you’re babying him. He only wants you to hand feed him because you have. Marilyn is right. Put the food town, leave for 15 min, pick up. No treats, nothing til the next meal.

[Dori]

Hi Akari and all. As I mentioned, I donate food, treats, supplies once a week. Four times a year I make a nice size monetary donation to my local shelters and human societies. Unfortunately, though I’d love to donate time with the dogs I really can’t because I’m allergic to them. I always call when I’m on my way and one of the volunteers comes out to take my donations. I wish I could spend time with the dogs, but I do what I can.

[Akari_32]

Hey guys! I have a request for you all 🙂

I would like to see how many times we can all donate (food, treats, supplies, money, time, anything!) to our local shelters in just two weeks. Dig through your stashes, find some coupons in your local papers and online, rally up your friends and family, open up your hearts, and help out those in need!

All I would like to see is a head count. You don’t have to share what you donated, just that you did.

Who’s up for it?!

I’ve got my first run ready for tomorrow, and after another couple couponing trips, I should have some more here soon 🙂

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/CECFD415-9AF0-4A3A-98DD-D40B8F7B093F_zpskuwyacv2.jpg

[Marilyn E]

I’ve been feeding Darwin’s for 2 years and am very pleased with the quality. (darwinspet.com). I have a standing monthly order, and it arrives by UPS. They send return labels so you can ship the boxes back, which is Eco friendly. If I don’t get around to taking them to UPS, I just leave them out on the next delivery day and the driver takes them. Darwin’s has 2 lines of food, one is free range, no hormones or antibiotics; the other is human grade, USDA inspected. Darwin’s is an complete diet–includes veggies, organ meats, ground bone.
To answer the other part of your question: I supplement the raw with probiotics, coconut oil, omega 3s, and Spirulina-Astizanthan (Mercola Healthy Pets online). I do feed treats cuz I don’t know how you train without it, but if I don’t use meat leftovers, I use high quality treats, such as freeze-dried liver, Real Meat brand dog treats, or ZiwiPeak dehydrated raw food.

[Cotons mom]

Could a few of you tell me the names of websites that I can order raw frozen off of please. I want to stay within the 4 or 5 star food. I don’t want to have to order huge amounts because I like to rotate brands and protein. Also how would I know if there was something else that I need to give to my 1 y/o cottons in addition to the food. We don’t give treats. How do you all feel about adding fresh beans/veges to their food?

[Barbara]

Thanks Hound Dog Mom for the suggestions. I had not noticed that the Dogswell treats did not have a “made in the USA” until after I posted. I really liked the sound of the limited ingredients so it is too bad they are manufactured in China :(. I did know about jerky-type treats that are manufactured in China having major issues and that dogs have died and others had become seriously ill in the last few years. I wish it was easier to tell where a product is made when you are checking on-line. Last year I returned an unopened bag of Cadet Duck jerky dog treats that I had been giving to my dogs for over a year because I did not want to take any chances. I don’t understand why Costco still carries them. I think I will also look into Alaskan Salmon treats that have been recommended in the forum.
Thank you for your help.

[Barbara]

Thanks Hound Dog Mom for the suggestions. I had not noticed that the Dogswell treats did not have a “made in the USA” until after I posted. I really liked the sound of the limited ingredients so it is too bad they are manufactured in China :(. I did know about jerky-type treats that are manufactured in China having major issues and that dogs have died and others had become seriously ill in the last few years. I wish it was easier to tell where a product is made when you are checking on-line. Last year I returned an unopened bag of Cadet Duck jerky dog treats that I had been giving to my dogs for over a year because I did not want to take any chances. I don’t understand why Costco still carries them. I think I will also look into Alaskan Salmon treats that have been recommended in the forum.
Thank you for your help.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Barbara –

Strictly in terms of ingredients the Dogswell jerky treats appear to be a great treat. Unfortunately, Dogswell’s jerky treats are manufactured in China. Just in case you weren’t aware, there have been major issues with jerky-type treats that are manufactured in China over the past few years. Many dogs have died and many more have gotten seriously ill. Here’s some information on the situation. Dogswell was actually one of the companies that had to recall treats because they tested positive for an antibiotic that is illegal for use in food animals in the United States – more information on the recall here. If you’re looking for safe jerky treat with joint support I’d recommend checking out Bixbi or Earth Animal.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[Barbara]

I was curious what anyone thought of Dogswell Happy Hips Duck Breast, Salmon or Chicken Breast Dog Treats?? They appear to have only the protein ingredient plus Vitamin E Supplement, Glucosamine Hydrochloride & Chondroitin Sulfate. I saw them on Chewy.com. Thanks for any input.

I just noticed I cannot tell the country of origin of these proteins and the packaging does not state made in the USA so I am now skeptical of the source.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by Barbara.

[Jenny Rellick]

I am very concerned about the calories from treats. I budget an average of 50 calories in treats per day for my dog, Leo, a 50 pound Australian Cattle Dog. If I had a smaller dog, I would be even more restrictive. If the treat had equal nutrition to his food, I could simply reduce my dog’s meal calories on days with high treat calories, but I have not found a treat that is an Editor’s Choice dog food substitute. I classify treats as empty calories, even though some may have some nutritional value.

Another consideration is whether the treat serves the functions of a treat. I use treats for 5 purposes:
1. Drop that and chew on this–I use a cow leg marrow bone or an elk antler for this treat because Leo can express his nerves, annoyance, or stir-craziness with it for hours. He will drop the electrical plug, frozen food container, or plastic bag for these treats.
2. The potty treat. I give Leo a tiny 3-calorie treat for behaving and going potty in the right place in a reasonable time. He gets 6 per day usually.
3. The dental treat recommended by veterinary dentists. These are large, high calorie. and very expensive. I only give him 2 per week, which is less than the recommended amount, because of the calories. He won’t let me brush his teeth.
4. The cute dog treat. A treat for when I give in to his eyes begging or when he is being very good. This is different from the potty treat because it is not as automatic–I make him obey commands to get it– and it has to be more valuable to to Leo than the potty treat. These must be 5 calories or less.
5. Lastly, Leo needs a treat he would do ANYTH ING to get. In an emergency, I can use it to get Leo to come back if he runs out the door (after figuring out that it is not 100% latched and opening it himself!) In Leo’s opinion, the dental treat is the treat of the gods. He will run to me, faster than a bullet for it.

When it comes to the elk antler and cow bone, I am concerned that it is from a safe source and is stored and processed safely. He does so much work on them that he probably burns more calories than he consumes, so I am not worried about the calories in that case. My dog’s food is grain-free, but because the treats are regarded as empty calories in Leo’s diet and are given in small amount’s, I allow them to contain grains. If I were to use a treat as a food equivalent, I would need it to be grain free because Leo has food intolerances.
I hope this list of attributes helps the treat committee in their mission. I think most dog parents would agree with many of these criteria.

[Debbie S]

First off let me say that I feed my Pomeranian Wellness Core Reduced Fat (Dry) and Wellness Core Grain Free Weight Maintenance (canned) and only USA made low calorie treats. The poor thing is a pound or two overweight so until she loses that she will continue on this. (thankfully she loves it).
My question is for my flesh & blood kids dogs. I don’t agree with the way they do things but there isn’t much I can do about it. They live in the country and the dogs live outside. They have a male black Lab, a female German Shepard mix and a male combination of the two. They can’t afford a high quality food and are currently feeding a Pedigree product. They’ve just asked me what is wrong with it (since a current recall) so I told them. Now I have the task of finding a decent inexpensive food for their three dogs. They have two small children under the age of five and both adults work so they don’t have time to cook for the dogs (rarely do for themselves) so anything that takes time is out of the question. I can relate with those of you that think they shouldn’t be allowed to have pets but the problem is that they DO. Can anyone refer me to a product that would be better than what they are getting now that could be bought at Walmart, Pet Smart or Petco?

[Genevieve K]

I want to go completely grain-free. I have a few specialty stores around that carry the higher-end foods. Petsmart now carries Wellness but does Wellness make a grain-free puppy food? I hesitate to deviate from the Large Breed Puppy foods because I know, as a puppy, he has different needs than an adult. Yes, there are All Life Stages formulas but I’m not confident those would meet his nutritional needs.

We’ve been giving him coconut oil this week. He LOVES it. I’m also hitting the butcher today and hoping they have some rabbit – have them grind one up, bones and all. I’ve not fed him raw before but, at this point, I”m desperate. I know I shouldn’t change everything at once because that makes it harder to identify the allergen but if he’s getting mainly meat and veggies with some supplements like coconut oil and maybe some calcium (unsure about that), I’d like to think he’d do ok with more limited ingredients. (OMG, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower are the best treats on earth for my dogs.)

Again, he’s a large breed and I want to make sure he gets what he needs to be healthy and strong as an adult. This makes me so sad, especially when there is so little, yet so much, information (all conflicting) out there on large breed foods and puppy needs.

[InkedMarie]

I have to check that one put, USA Treats. Us humans use Garden of Life Primal Defense Ultra.

[milly w]

In training your pet, it is important to have treats which will encourage good behavior. It is not a must to buy dog treats as they can be made at home. Homemade dog treats are not as difficult to make as most people would think. The secret is making the treats something that is healthy for your dog and delicious enough to keep them looking forward to the treat. The good part of making the dog treats at home is that you will have the opportunity to choose the recipe and make the contents as flexible as possible. Some of the ingredients that can be included in making the treats can be beef, rice, chicken, and lamb.

Ingredients for making the dog treats

The ingredients part should not be taken lightly because they will determine just how helpful the treats will be to your pet. If you buy dog treats and take a look at the ingredients, you will notice that they are things that you can eat yourself. Using the ingredients list on the processed dog treats you can create your own DIY treats for your dog especially with ingredients such as whole grains, kelp, beans and meat products.

Calories used

Calories are important for dogs as they are for humans. This means that when you are making the treats for your dog at home, you should pay attention to the calories. It is important that when you make the treats, you control the amount of calories because too much can lead to weight issues. A lot of dogs are overweight and this greatly affects their activity throughout the day. Check the amount of calories in all the ingredients you use in making the treats.

Treat Texture

The texture of the dog treats is something that most people do not pay attention to. Is the treat you are making hard or soft? Harder treats are better for average dogs and are beneficial in cleaning the dog’s teeth. Puppies and older dogs might have a difficult time chewing through the hard treats and thus you should consider making softer treats for them.

Recipes

It is important to have different recipes using the healthy ingredients that you choose for the treats. The alteration of the recipes will give your dog a different taste and avoid monotony of flavors. As long as the ingredients are safe for your pet, you can mix a few to ensure that the dog has a wide range of options. Keep in mind that you need to monitor the amount of calories to avoid any weight issues which might compromise their health and limit their activity.

Personalize the Treats

All dogs are not the same in terms of nutritional needs. This is why you should find out the needs of your dogs in relation to their age, health, and size. The treats should therefore address all the nutritional needs of your pet without causing any health issues. Check with the vet to understand better what your dog needs nutritionally to stay healthy and active.

[USA]

Hi Dori and Cyndi, you are both very welcome!

Dori

Please clean the trays and interior of the dehydrator before first use. Then make a dry run to further insure that any thing offensive is gone. First try the highest temp and see how they are after 10 hours. Then adjust time and temp to your preferences. I slice the meats to about 1/8 of an inch and I would recommend you go no thicker than a 1/4 of an inch. Once you hit a 1/4 of an inch the outside of the treats will cook faster than the inside and it could take longer than 12 hours to make a treat that doesn’t go bad without any preservatives. Of course you feed raw so making a softer treat with more moisture in it is always an option for you.

Cyndi

Organ meats can be pretty odiferous and tripe could cause your neighbors to send you nasty letters. But some people don’t mind at all. Fish is pretty high up on the stinky list too!

[Dori]

USA Treats. I’m very very excited. I just ordered the five tray stainless steel dehydrator from Amazon that you gave the http. to. Cannot wait to get it. I’ll be dehydrating real soon. I thought about getting the 10 tray but I thought that’s pretty much over kill with the size of my three girls. As always, thank you thank you thank you USA. Can always count on you for help as I do with others. Great group here on DFA.

[USA]

Hi sue

The oven doesn’t work as well but I think you are on to something! Dori (or anyone else) should probably make some treats in the oven first while they find out if making jerky is something they are going to stick with. Once you are making jerky regularly and want to go to the next level of quality and/or volume than the investment in a dehydrator seems more justified.

For an oven you would put it on the lowest heat and leave the door slightly ajar for better air circulation. For jerky that will last a long time without preservative you would cook until it it pretty hard and breaks easily into smaller pieces. For a raw fed dog like Dori’s you could cook it less because the dog is used to dealing with bacteria but you would only make a couple of days worth at a time (it will spoil) unless you freeze it.

You must remove any external fat from the neat before you slice it (no thicker than 1/4 inch) because fat goes rancid fast no matter how long you cook the jerky.

Hi Melissaandcrew

I am fearful of using anything other than 100% stainless steel for dehydrating foods. Plastics even if they are “food safe” and “BPA free” scare me.

[Dori]

Hi BRT. I had a dog once that always bit her nails. I didn’t give it much thought really. I just thought, well people bite their nails so why not dogs. The vet at the time had no suggestions as he’d never had a dog that bit their nails. Anyway, long story short. For other reasons I switched my dogs to grain free, corn free, white potato free, soy free, poultry (all fowl) free. Of course, any and all issues cleared up but it wasn’t until a long time later that it occurred to me that that dog I hadn’t seen her bite her nails in the longest time. So I looked at all her nails and sure enough, she had stopped.

As to the anal glands. That’s also an allergy issue. I went on line to check out the Wellness Bars that you give them and they contain grains so maybe give them something else instead. Carrots, string beans, a little apple (without the skin), fresh veggies and fruits are great for treats. That’s what I give all my dogs.

If it were me I would make sure to feed a grain free, also free of all the things I mentioned above. No more Wellness Bars. Also as to the aggression. There is some theory that was out there in the universe somewhere (Melissa knows about these theories lol) that white potatoes may feed aggression in some dogs. Is it true???? Who knows???? But it’s worth a shot. You never know.

A lot of what you’re saying really sounds like it’s being fueled by intolerances to what he’s eating. Definitely. Same for the nail biting. Food intolerance and stress. Food intolerances also may one stressful. This I know to be true because I myself have food intolerances and when I start getting really stressed or just downright unpleasant to be around I can almost always track it back to something I ate that I shouldn’t have.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi Dori- I have a cheap, 5 drawer plastic tray model somewhere in my attic. I take it out perhaps5 times a year and dehydrate meat for the dogs as treats, which I then keep in my freezer. I lack patience and think it takes too long, but others that have seen it run think they are great..so go figure, lol. Would I buy another one? Yes, because I like to dehydrate pure chicken breast pieces and have them on hand for dogs with digestive upset.

[Wayne G]

Thank you all for your caring response, this has been difficult for my family and we are in the process of investigating the cause of this poisoining. An autopsy was performed and the state is still in the process of completing their examination. If the state can come back with something conclusive the vet will have the treats analyzed to detemine if they are tainted. From what I understand this will be a difficult process if the autopsy results do not identify something specific.

[Dori]

Hi BRT. Sorry to hear about your troubles with your Maltese . When did this behavior change happen? Also, what foods and treats do you give him? I think we need more details like that before we can offer assistance.

[Susan]

Gee the dehydrators are dear, what about the old fashion way, in the oven on very low heat or doesn’t that work as good USA Dog Treats..

[Dori]

Hi all. I’m thinking of getting a food dehydrator to dehydrate for the dogs their raw treats. Would love to know your thoughts. Also, do you have one, are you happy with it? Wish you’d bought a different brand, if so which one? What do you dehydrate in yours? Pros and cons please. As always, a great big thank you for going on this ride with me as I continue my research and education on better nutrition for my canines on what I call DFA University.

[Cyndi]

Wayne G, I am so sorry for your loss too!! I am sitting here crying after reading this. As I said a few comments up, I used to feed these to my doberman, who died 3 years ago this Saturday, all the time. I still, to this day, can only guess what he died from. He went downhill over the period of 6 or 7 months though and the vet couldn’t figure out what was going on with him. I ended up having to put him down. I firmly believe it was a combination of the crap food I fed him, because I didn’t know any better, and now these treats, and vaccinations and toxic flea crap! Sorry for my rant, but stories like yours just really hit home. 🙁

Again, I am so sorry for your loss! It sure the hell isn’t an easy thing to go thru, losing your beloved pet that way. 🙁 My heart aches for you and your family as well. May your boy rest in peace.

[Wayne G]

I purchased a bag of Canine Carry Out bacon treats from WalMart 2 weeks ago. I fed my dog 3 treats late in the afternoon. By evening my friend collapsed and could not walk. I took him to the Veterinarian, they ran blood tests and said his liver was severely damaged, they suspected he had been exposed to a toxic substance. He passed away two days later.
The veterinarian said this was the second dog that had died in the same manner both within a week of each other. I just recieved a call from him confirming that the family of the first dog that died had fed these same treats just before the dog collapsed.
Both dogs were healthy and in the prime of their lives, both had been fed these treats and the only thing in their stomach contents were these treats.

[aimee]

Hi USA Dog Treats,

To clarify, I have no idea which foods do and do not meet AAFCO’s profile. Additionally, in no way did I mean for my inquiry to denigrate all of Hound Dog Mom’s work in any way.

I am questioning the nutritional information that companies pass on to the consumer. In conversation with several companies Customer Service departments I find their response to show lack of understanding of basic math in regards to nutrition.

I’m not sure where the problem lies but it makes me very nervous and I don’t feel comfortable feeding foods from companies whose information doesn’t “add up”

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Charles –

Non-raw treats definitely should not cause an issue with a raw fed dog. My dogs eat raw but receive all kinds of treats from cooked “human food” to biscuits and dehydrated meat-based treats. No issues ever.

Some things you may want to try which would be closer in resemblance to a fresh raw diet would be air-dried (like ZiwiPeak which BTW works great as training treats) or freeze-dried raw (my dogs like Wysong, Stella & Chewy’s, Primal, Orijen, Nature’s Variety Instinct and Vital Essentials).

[Melissaandcrew]

Charles…you could try dehydrated treats.

[charles h]

Hi all,

I’m struggling to think of any raw food treats to feed to my dog when training. I know off the shelf foods mixed with raw food can cause serious digestive issues so did not want to mix this. Just not a fan of carrying around raw food when out and about with her…

Any ideas would be great..

Thanks,

Charles

[Mike Sagman]

USA Dog Treats,

AAFCO currently has NO nutritional profile specifically for large breed puppy foods. However, the National Research Council does indeed specify unique guidelines designed to address the energy content of these kinds of foods as those calories relate to each recipe’s calcium content.

HDM (on her own) generously posted a detailed list of some of her own recommendations for commercial large breed puppy foods. Her work was scientifically based and required a significant amount of personal effort. This completely voluntary project included the creation of spreadsheets, phone calls to manufacturers as well as online research.

That research even included reliable references posted for your benefit as well as the benefit of others. So, frankly, I find your criticism of her efforts here surprising and unwelcome.

In summary, a knowledgeable veterinary expert, HDM and I have been working diligently on an important project — including the development of costly software — to help our readers verify claims made by manufacturers regarding the nutritional adequacy of their products specifically for large breed puppies.

[Gail W]

1. Quality similar to food
2. Manufacturing standards similar to their food
3. Easy to give as a training treat or as a high value reward

Like other posters, I want treats that have similar quality as their food. We went with Orijen puppy because they comply with Canadian & EU standards. For high value rewards, we use Orijen Freeze Dried Wild Boar. Those treats don’t break apart all that well, so for puppy training treats, we are trying Sojo Good Dog bones. In the bag, there are very few broken pieces and little dust. They break in thirds or in half very easily for our young Yorkies.

[Charla H]

I like to have a variety of treats for my dog, Spike.

I like to feed him healthy, actual food that I could eat as a treat. He LOVES apple slices, cucumber slices, cherries and carrots. We frequent the farmers’ market, and some of the farmers treat him to bites of produce. He’s a picky eater — he turns up his nose at the homemade dog biscuit booth — he’d rather have a nice vegetable treat or even a bit of cheese from one of the creameries. And he LOVES popcorn.

The meat producers at the farmer’s market also sell dog bones. I buy beef, pork, lamb and bison bones for Spike as treats. I freeze them and give them to him outside on hit days — like a doggy popsicle.

I also give him Mingua Beef Jerky. It’s made by a family in my hometown, and it’s for people. I stay away from the spicy varieties. He loves his beef jerky!

There are also some freeze-dried liver bits that he loves. I am out of them now and can’t remember the name (if they change their packaging, I’m in trouble because I know them by their blue bag.) But they are just freeze-dried beef liver. They are about the size of regular dog kibble.

He also gets some treats to clean his teeth, freshen his breath and for his coat/skin.

For small training treats, I buy a small bag of dog food that is a different brand than his daily food. I can use lots of treats in training because I literally exchange the exact amount, whatever part that might be, from the food in his bowl. As long as the treat food is as good a quality as the dish food, you’re good on nutrition and safe on calories.

I also use the food treat exchange for socialization. I’ll take it in a treat pack on my belt and let kids at the market or whomever, offer him a treat, or give him a treat when he gets on the elevator, or whatever. He eats small bites, so he can be treated fifty times without a noticeable change (at least to him) in his food bowl.

Clearly, he is spoiled rotten. No, he doesn’t get all of these treats in one day! But he’s still rather spoiled.

[Nancy C]

Hi Pugsmom: My intro box of BigDogNatural just arrived yesterday. Their customer service is wonderful. My Question to you since you have experience: I’m transitioning my 10 yr old Golden to Raw. Historically she can eat anything anytime. The Homeopathic vet I talked to yesterday highly recommends this food and Darwin’s for raw dogs. Says he uses both (rotates) with his 6 dogs with great results.
The Customer Service urged me yesterday to feed it Cold Turkey – not to mix with kibble due to the length of time kibble requires to get digested. (That seems so severe esp for an older dog) but their rep was very clear about not mixing bec could cause gas and stomach upset. She said with the tripe and fermented veggies the dog will do FINE on it alone. The plan is to move to Darwin’s next. My Darwins arrived yesterday too. The vet yesterday said he thinks BDN will be more readily welcomed by the gut than even the Darwins, due to the fermentation and the tripe. But he really likes Darwins as well.
In her video Karen Becker suggests NOT mixing kibble with raw but to feed kibble and offer the raw separately as treats during the day, increasing the treats and reducing the kibble gradually.
The BDN woman said if I still feed kibble should feed it separately as a meal without raw, and feed the raw as a separate meal.
Any insights/ suggestions FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE will be welcome.
Thank you.

[DogFoodie]

Melissa,

You did post in the thread that Sue mentioned; however, your posts were very specifically in response to the original poster and your conversation was regarding phenobarbital and weight gain. No mention of jerky treats whatsoever.

/forums/topic/eats-little-food-gains-lots-weight/

[Melissaandcrew]

Never had a conversation about jerky treats with you-feel free to post a link to this liver jerky conversation we had.

[Naturella]

The lady I babysit for – I also kind of took over her dog too, and I have successfully switched the dog (Snowy, female, 4 y.o. Shitzu mix) off of Kibbles ‘N’ Crap (sorry, I keep misspelling that – “Bits”). Too bad she already has 3 bumps on her lower ribs, that may be fatty formations, or something else, but I hope for the lesser evil… :/

I weaned her off with the help of Nutro Max, Simply Nourish, Whole Earth Farms, and Earthborn Grain Free in samples over 2 weeks, and I ordered the family 3 LiveFrees and a Wysong and they came in Tuesday. Next week she can start on those (she still has some WEF and Earthborn to finish up over the weekend). I am pumped that I can now take advantage of deals and not break my husband’s ban on dog food for our Bruno, cause we’re stacked full, lol. Snowy is, however, set till the end of the year, so Black Friday sales is when I will shop for her next! 😉

And, I still have some LiveFree Salmon and Wysong for Bruno from the first time they did the deal – the last I sneaked in before I really really stopped! 🙂 I really really like the Wysong and so does Bru Bru (we begged for some samples and graciously got them). 🙂

In fact… Here are the companies that have graciously sent me samples upon request:
Annamaet – GF foods samples and a full-size bag of GF Manitok treats.
Wysong – samples of foods and samples of treats.
Canidae – a whole 4-lb bag of Canidae Pure Sea and a full-size bag of GF Bison treats.
Nature’s Variety Instinct – a one-time voucher for a free product of your choice (includes 4lb bag of dry dog food or 5lb bag of dry cat food, and some canned/raw options).
Nulo – coupons only.

I had also contacted TOTW, Farmina, Fromm, Merrick, Victor – those sent no samples, but rather stressed on their money-back guarantees (Merrick and Fromm), and TOTW said to get samples from local retailers, and Victor said to just buy samples on their website. Farmina never responded. The search continues though! 🙂

• This reply was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by Naturella.

[pugmomsandy]

Cons: it’s the most expensive! Some brands might not hydrate as well as others.

Pros: shelf stable, easy to travel with, doggie daycare will serve it as opposed to frozen raw food, light weight, can be used as treats

[Akari_32]

Glad they liked it! I guess it doesn’t ship for about 5 days after ordering, so I’ll probably need to get Bentley some Pure Balance 95% to tide him over. Guess I’ll do that tomorrow. He’s already used to eating raw treats, so I think he’ll be ok switching to all raw in a relatively short time. Fingers crossed I get my mix soon! I can’t wait to see how he does on it :3

[Jenny]

Hi friends,

Has anyone tried Okinawan Happy Dogs Brain and Memory Support Food Mix or any products from Okinawan Happy Dogs?

Here’s the link to the product: http://www.okinawanhappydogs.com/products/brain-memory-support (it looks very promising and is all-natural, gluten-free, GMO-Free, and no artificial preservatives or coloring added! Too good to be true?)

The company seems fairly new so I haven’t found any consumer reviews online… from the company’s website Okinawan Happy Dogs is “a division of Everyday Wellness Corporation, a US manufacturer of dietary supplements specializing in natural herbal nutrition for humans and pets.” But other than that, zero info.

To give you some background details: My dog is a 16-year-old toy poodle who is battling CDS (Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome) as well a reappearing mammary gland tumor and also developing a slight heart murmur (she’s a fighter!). She eats Earthborn Hollistic dry food, but has been losing her appetite recently and only wags her tail for her favorite treats, Dr. Becker’s Bites Grain Free Liver Treats.

If your dog is also fighting CDS, can you please share/recommend any products that have worked effectively for your dog?

Thank you so much!
J

P.S. After reading this old post from “banditsmom,” I’m thinking of trying Novifit if I can’t find a natural alternative for my dog: /forums/topic/cognitive-dysfunction

[pugmomsandy]

He-he! That’s just one wall. The closet wall has bags of kibbles and my personal small kitchen equipment and vitamins/supplements. The the third wall has some more foods, boxes of Halo Herbal Dip, other topicals for the fosters, extra dog beds, shampoos, cases of Merrick GI Bones, Ranger Ribs and Flossies. And I keep chicken treats in there too (tubs of Mother Clucker, Chicken Crack and Cluck Yah) and I just put three 7.1 cu ft freezers in that room too to fill with the 8 cases I just ordered from greentripe.com. And here’s the dog freezer in the garage:

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/fulldogfreezer765x1024_zpsb5463b60.jpg

My personal dogs aren’t eating much kibble right now! I have 3 personal pugs and the rest are fosters. Sometimes I have up to 12 pugs total and they usually eat 1 cup of kibble per day with some toppers. Sometimes I give them a whole raw egg fresh from the coop! So to me, it really doesn’t matter too much if BDN is not aafco compliant like Neezerfan.

Here’s a picture of bath day:

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/pugs8pugs_zps0cd62c42.jpg

My awesome Weston 22 grinder:

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/IMG_5170952x1024_zpsec466d4d.jpg

• This reply was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[Schutzhund]

I don’t know if this has been said before but I’ve been using dehydrated offal such as Buffalo lungs, hooves, venison parts etc. For chews deer / elk antlers seem to work best!

The lungs are great for treats because you can break them apart. They get messy and leave dust when you break them so I normally do it in the bag or break them over her food bowl.

[Beth G]

I have 2 dogs, a 6 year old pit/boxer mix and a 2 year old hound mix. Both are spayed female rescues with unknown histories. They have also both had pancreatitis (lucky me!). Neither EVER get table scraps/human food of any kind or even dog treats. We have switched them to eating Wellness Core low fat grain free and measure the amount they get meticulously.

Our pit mix has just come out of treatment for her 2nd bout of pancreatitis. When she is back to eating normally, my husband and I are interested in possibly introducing digestive enzymes to both of their meals.

The vet has not mentioned the use of digestive enzymes, but with both dogs having had repeat episodes I am left wondering what else we can do to support their pancreas and prevent further attacks (the vet says “nothing you can do”, but I don’t know if I believe that).

If anyone has experience or knowledge of using digestive enzymes after pancreatitis I would appreciate hearing! Thank you so much in advance!

[DogFoodie]

Hi BRT,

My dog with food intolerance issues sometimes will have a reaction to a food that slowly creeps us on us. It’s confusing and frustrating.

I still think I’d try another limited ingredient food, my two favorite bands of which are Wellness Simple and Nature’s Variety Instinct LID.

FWIW, one of mine reacts to fish; including fish meal and oil but he also doesn’t tolerate chickpeas, lentils or flax. NVI LID doesn’t contain any of those things out tomato pinnacle, another common problem ingredient. I would definitely consider that your pup’s problem ingredients could be another ingredient, like flax or something else.

If the Natural Balance worked previously, have you compared the ingredients of that to those foods you’ve tried? I just wonder if it could be a combination of problem ingredients beyond primary protein iin foods.

Coconut oil and diluted ACV might both help, but I think right now, I would eliminate supplements (non-prescription) and treats and just focus on finding one food that yours do well on.

One other thing, using kibble doesn’t make you a bad dog mom! I felt the same way, but when it came down to it, I just wanted to know my dog felt good.

[crazy4cats]

Hi-
Yeah, I don’t “jump” around either. I have two 80 pounders! I am planning on using them as treats in their kong or as toppers. I can feed the Wysong to my cats. I’m a sucker for those deals! I needed to order bullysticks anyway. Thanks, again.

[Susan]

Hi Lisa, with Endosope they can only go so far down the esophagus & like my vet said $1000 is alot of money, then she might find nothing, so I never did get an Endoscope done on Patch…I think you have your answer to what’s wrong with Chewy his blood test came back twice with elevated Amylase & lipase levels, looks like he has mild Pancreatitis, it can cause, loss of appetite, depression, intermittent vomiting, diarrhea & anorexia…with the meds that the vet said to trial ur doing the right thing, just see how Chewy does on the Hills Z/d first, then if he’s still vomiting ask about the Hills I/d Gastro or ask can you try the Royal Canin low fat as the fat is only 7% & alot of people have had really good results with their dogs on the R/C Low fat..before you try any meds like prednisolone (steriod)…when u go back to vets, write a little list of all the questions you need to ask cause you forget when your there, well I do, then I think, oh I forgot to ask her this. But hopefully everything will work out on this new food, just watch what he eats & no high fat treats, treats can set things off again, just use his Z/d kibble as a treat for now..