[neezerfan]

I’ve had my rescue dog for about 5 weeks now. His vet exam was excellent, bloodwork, fecal, urinalysis, dental all good. Vet said he needs to gain weight. He was 12 lbs 5 weeks ago, should be 13-14. So I used the dog food calculator on this site and have been feeding him enough calories for a highly active 13 lb dog plus giving lots of treats. I weighed him yesterday, 11 lbs! I realize it’s a different scale so could be some discrepancy so I’m going to the vet this week to weigh him there, but I’m trying to get him to gain and he ends up losing? WTH? He is very active, he’s a jumper, pacer and runs a lot with my other dog. My current rotation is Farmina kibble (it’s a winner!), Darwin’s, NV Instinct frozen raw, Whole Earth Farms, Nature’s Logic and By Nature canned. I know Darwin’s can be a little on the lower calorie side so I’m making allowances for that. His poops are a much bigger volume than my other dog’s are. My poor guy is so skinny! His ribs are prominent.
My plan is to order Abady’s granular to add into his food, maybe make some satin balls when I get the time. But here’s my question: do you think he’s more likely to gain if I add in more carbs? What he’s getting now is high protein, do you think that’s just not working for him for the weight gain. If more carbs are the answer, I’d rather give him home prepared additions to his food.
TIA for any advice!

[Naturella]

Carlyn, I see. Yeah, I have given my roommate’s dog a few kibbles of Bruno’s food here and there as a training treat and it took her a minute to eat them, which is so odd, cause it is a much better food (I use Victor GF mixed kibbles and Nature’s Variety Instinct Rabbit – all from samples – as training treats for Bruno, as well as his actual kibble, which right now is Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch with Victor Yukon Salmon and Vets Choice Holistic Health Extension Original). So eventually she ate it, but yeah, I try to not give too much because I am not sure how she would be. She has eaten SD her whole life, switching between the chicken and lamb as protein (at least there has been SOME rotation), and he gives her some chewy fish-based treats (yay fish!), so she has been exposed to that too, so I think she is ok with having a tiny kibble here and there as a treat, especially because her particular SD formula is 3.5 stars, so not terribly bad (Earthborn Holistic CC is 4.5, Holistic Health Extension Original is 4, and the Victor GFs and the Nature’s Variety Instinct are 5, but are all mixed, so it evens out to like 4.5-ish). And I think the lab pup should be ok with a kibble here and there too.

But, I do agree animals sometimes tend to go for the lower-quality food – it took the roommate’s dog forever to try a kibble of Bru’s better food, and I have caught him eating her SD Lamb&Rice a few times, that idiot… So yeah, it probably is like “yummy fast food” to them, idk… lol

[Shasta220]

I probably won’t give the pup more than maybe a few Kibbles of my food as training rewards (even though they buy a different flavor of PPP and are giving me several bags for treats), as I’ve heard some horrid stories of dogs who went from a 2 star food to a 4-5 star and got terribly sick. I may drop a bug of this site in their ears though…

Too funny about Bru Bru! I wonder if dogs sometimes like the cheaper stuff the way people often like hot dogs and McDonalds… Like my cat even! She’s a picky lil thing, and I’ve barely been able to get her consistently eating Felidae, CS, and NB canned. I had a can of dirt-cheap food (it was in the pantry from several years ago. Before I knew anything about animal nutrition, mom used it to put our 17yr old cat’s meds in) out for something (NOT for the cat!). I turned around, and Maddy was pigging out on it….did I forget to mention her bowl was freshly filled with Felidae? *face palm*

[USA]

Hi Guys and Gals

A few years ago when it became clear that there was a problem with the Chinese Jerky I started to make my own jerky treats. I use only free-range chicken for my chicken jerky and wild caught fish for my fish jerkies. My treats have only one ingredient, meat fish or poultry. I use fresh meats from local supermarkets like Whole Foods so all of my treats are human edible. I gently dehydrate the meats to make jerky. I vary the drying times so I can make a more chewy treat or a crunchy treat.

Since dogs are designed to eat a diet high in meat and low in carbs plus they absolutely love jerky treats I wish you guys would make your dog’s treats with more meat and less carbs. You don’t need to use flour or a lot of starches if you make jerky type treats. You can use whole meats, fruits and vegetables or you can grind up mixtures of meat and veggies or fruits and dehydrate them. You can make them in an oven at the lowest temperature or you can use a dehydrator. Veggies and fruits will add antioxidants and vitamins while meat will supply the needed protein and fat.

Even though I call them treats the jerky I make is designed for a carnivore like a dog and since dogs absolutely love meat based treats it is a win win situation!

[Tammy M]

My Pompoo has lost her hair since eating Blue Buffalo dog food & treats. Has anyone else had this problem?

[Akari_32]

I don’t think he liked the taste of the raw chicken. He doesn’t really like those Temptation treats, but I can still get him to eat them when he’s hungry, and he was hungry when I tried the chicken wing with him. He took the bit off my finger, and got this “what is this stuff??” kinda grossed out look on his face LOL I don’t think he likes the chicken broth either.

I don’t think its the bowl or even the pump that bothers him, I think its just the fact that its water that puts him off. He was very interested and checking it out when I plugged it back in tonight, and watched intently as the pump started working and poured water. As soon as the water started flowing, he stalked off. Not without turning around a few steps later to see if it was still spewing out water and if it was coming after him lol

I am still adding water to his food, yes. What makes me think that he doesn’t like the chicken water is that I made his food just like I normally do, only I added a cube of broth instead of some of the water. Mixed it all up like normal once the cube was melted, and he snubbed it. There is a tiny bit more liquid than usual, but its not *that* bad! Most of the food is submersed, and like last time, he won’t touch it if its under the broth. We’ll see how it go through out the night. He still has a little more than half a can to eat tonight, so I dunno what I’ll do about that if he doesn’t eat whats out.

I don’t know whats normal for him! When we got him, he was peeing in about the same amount, but less often, and there was blood in it. After his treatment, was peeing A LOT. Like 4 or 5 balls, larger than my fist, a day. Then I changed his litter the other day, and he’s back to small pee’s, but there are a good amount of them. Like I said before, I can’t tell you if theres blood in there or not because this crap is brown. The whole laundry room smells like cat pee since changing to this walnut stuff. Lots of people complain about that. So I can’t say if its the litter not doing its job in deodorizing that makes mom think his pee smells stronger, or if it does actually smell stronger. I am getting rid of this litter little by little, every night after I scoop, I add in some tidy cats to replace it. Never ever again! I’ll call the vet in the morning and see what they think I should do.

[Akari_32]

I tore a piece off and he ate it. Didn’t seem too please about it, though. I would have let him keep playing with it, but he kept dragging it in my room, which has carpet. I also didn’t want him to get it up on my bed.

I just took the whole thing apart and washed it, so I took one of his metal bowls, added two cubes and some water, and locked him in the room with it. He took a lick, and flipped out, and got a disgusted look on his face. I’m not sure if it was just too hot (I melted the cubes with hot water, making it kind of warm), or if he doesn’t like it at all. I did drop some food in the middle of the bowl, and anything that is above the water line, he will eat it, but he will not go in after it. I may have to just go for fish water…. He did eat the treat off the fountain last night, though, so thats a good thing! I’m gunna keep trying to bribe him with food and treats before going for fish water.

On that note, is there something I can add to his food to make him actually want to drink water? Like, I know lots of salt makes you thirsty. But I’m pretty sure dumping salt into pet food isn’t the best idea lol

Do you guys think I should take him to the vet? Like I said, he pees often, unlike when he was treated the first time, but its in small amounts, like 2.5-3 inches balls. I’m wondering if its just from his new grazing tendencies and my adding more and more water to his food when I put it down, and when he leaves a half empty bowl. I can’t ever breath worth a crap, but mom says his pee does smell bad like it did when he had a UTI last time, so I dunno….

[Akari_32]

Hey guys!

To answer your chicken wing questions, it went pretty bad LOL He didn’t really know what to do with it, so he went with the drag-and-throw-it-around-and-play-with-it option. So after a few minutes I took it away, rinsed off and threw it in the crock pot with the rest of them.

I ended up with a lot more broth than I thought I would have, but it’s not like it won’t get used lol I went out and bought him a fountain bowl (30 damn dollars later, which made me have to borrow gas money from my savings account), and have tried EVERYTHING to get him to drink from it, but he won’t! I tried showing him the bowl, tried dipping my finger in there and rubbing it on his nose, tried bribing him with treats in and around the bowl. Even tried just shoving his face in it (probably not the best route LOL). I’m to the point now were just want to lock him up with nothing but the bowl (and his litter box), spike the bowl with a few more cubes of broth, and that’s all he gets the whole day until he decides to drink it. Any one have any other ideas? I left him with a treat stuck on the spout that flows down into the bowl. If he wants that treat, he has to get in that bowl and get it, and he has to get a taste of that water.

He’s still peeing in small amounts, but it’s back up to the volume where it it usually it. Looks more like he’s passing the same amount of pee, just in smaller batches. I suppose it’s back to the vet Friday morning? I don’t have another $100 dollars! D: it’s not my fault this cat is a retard…. <.<

[Naturella]

I don’t know that Victor is GMO-free, but I love it nonetheless. I got some samples from them and Bruno has been loving all of them except the Yukon Salmon one, which he still eats mixed in with his Earthborn Coastal Catch and Vets Choice Holistic Health Extension Original. We use the other Victor Grain-free samples as treats and he all about them. Can’t wait to feed the Ultra Pro mixed with Back to Basics next year! 🙂

[theBCnut]

Hi Dori

I feed half kibble since the squeamish people in my house could have to feed sometimes, so I don’t worry about upping the protein. Between the raw I feed and the freeze dried, I think mine get about 15-20% carbs, which is a very good level for mine. IDK how much carb is in the raw you feed or what kind of fiber yours need. That would play a part in whether or not it would actually be important for you to keep up with feeding fruits and veggies for treats. Mine get a fruit and veggie mix added to some of their raw and some of it already has some fruits and veggies added, but I really limit my dogs carbs because Micah starts having issues pretty quickly if he gets too much. Angel gets even less, she is basically on an anticancer raw, which means she gets next to no kibble and gets lots of antioxidants and supergreens.

[Susan]

I forgot to mention Patch smells like yeast my friend said he smells of mold, I said mold, I dont give Patch sugar the only sweet thing Patch eats is Banana a few little pieces, I didnt realise that the Jazz biscuit had sugar in them but he doesnt have them anymore, Ive cut out the carbs No Potatotoes or sweet Potatoes, Patches paws got real bad 3 weeks ago, we’ve had rain on & off for over 2 weeks, I dry his paws after a walk but u cant dry in between his toes that’s where they’re real red & sores are, they look like red blisters.. I put his Apex Antibiotic cream on them & they start to get better, then the other paw starts going red & sore the next day, its like it’s spreading, one day the back paws are bad then next the front paws are bad, I think it could be from walking on the wet grass, but Ive been on the computer & he has been sleeping & all of a sudden he goes mad with the licking his paw, I look & his paw will be red swollen & we have would of went for a walk about 2 hrs before, this is why I dont know is it food or is it the wet..Ive booked an appointment with the vet this afternoon as Ive been trying to treat his paws over the 3 weeks & they get better then it rains then they seem to get sore again, I’ll see what she says, I bought him shoes but he wont walk in them, the poor thing looks like he’s walking on the moon, Its very hard cause I mite feed him & it happens or we go for a walk & it mite happen, maybe it was going to happen & Im blamming the food or the rain, the elmination diet he’s sort of on one now, no treats, no different foods, he’s on a very bland diet low fat diet cause he has Pancreatitis & IBD as well..thats why I made him the Banana cookies, as a treat, I gave one to him 1 hr ago & nothing has happened this time.. YET..

[Dori]

Hi “thenut”. I’m always concerned about giving freeze dried meats or fish as treats. Doesn’t “up” the protein levels. I’m already feeding the dogs pretty high proteins due to the commercial raw feeding. I originally started with the raw fruits and veggies (tiny amounts per day) because of Katie’s (yes I will say it again) allergies but then I started thinking that raw freeze dried treats would add more to their daily protein levels. What do you think on this subject? As always, you are one of the posters that I trust your judgement and experience. Thanks, Patty.

[jakes mom]

BCnut, I just had a couple of general questions. I don’t want to go to completely raw yet but wonder if it would be good to give Jake something raw now and then. Like a piece of chicken for supper instead of his kibble some days, or some stew beef or chix on top of his kibbles. He’s a beagle mix, healthy, 9 years old, 30ish pounds. Can I do the same for the cats? Can I just hand them a small chunk of meat or piece of a wing? And I read something about freezing for 2 weeks. Does everything need to be frozen before feeding?
Thanks!
Akari, not up to your level of course, but I got a bag of Wellness treats and 2 big cans of Core for .98!

[theBCnut]

I see the &amp over in the latest replies column when you hover over the thread title and it gives you just the first few words of someones post. I also see code for quotation marks there. I think its funny that this “&” is an ampersand yet it is in the code to tell the post to show an ampersand. Computers are strange.

I do a lot of training so I give lots of treats. For Micah, I use only single ingredient treats AKA freeze dried meat.

[InkedMarie]

I have a few treats here: couple boxes of THK Beams, one box of THK Wishes and one little tube of their Quickies. They’re all fish, can see sense a theme? LOL, safe for Boone but it’s been probably a couple months since they’ve had one, I think. Mean dog mom, I guess LOL

If I was going to use fruits and veggies, they wouldn’t get them anymore than they get what I have on hand. Ive just never been a big treat giver.

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

[Dori]

Marie. I don’t buy treats for my dogs. Most, if not all, have the same crap the foods have. That’s why I give fruits and veggies. OH! Big slap on the head! I just remembered Boone can’t have fruits and veggies till you figure out his yeasty ear issue.

[Shasta220]

Sue, for your treats, try going back to really basic things. Carrot sticks are good, then one of my recent ones was to combine boiled potatoes, carrots, chicken hearts, and parsley, then bake for about an hour or so. You can bake/dehydrate almost anything, but try to stick to no more than 2-3 ingredients, that way if it makes him act up, you’ll have fewer things to consider.

I agree with the possibility of outdoor allergies, since it seems to be just his paws. I know people who keep baby wipes around, so that might be a good thought as well as the water rinse Dori suggested 🙂

[InkedMarie]

I’d stop the biscuits. Rice, maize, tapioca….all can be problems. I’d offer some ideas for treats to buy but I don’t think you’re in the States, are you?

I must be the only dog owner who’s dogs rarely get treats.

[Dori]

Sue, you really have to cut out all ingredients that I and others have posted. Your dog is obviously has food intolerances and actually they sound more like out right allergies. It really really sounds like allergies and not something else.

Again, try just carrot sticks as a treat for two or three days and see if it makes a difference. Also every time you walk your dog, before bringing him in the house, rinse his feet off incase it’s something his allergic to outside. You can keep a small kitty litter box with some fresh water in it. Rinse his paws (all four) and dry his feet with a clean towel. Don’t forget to change the water once or twice a day. That will help eliminate any issue he may be having from outside walks. What you’ll be attempting to do with the carrot sticks and the rinsing of his feet is an illumination test. It will help narrow some things down.

Allergy testing is sketchy at best. Human allergy testing is not totally perfected, canine testing is very inaccurate. You can have it done two or three different times and will arrive at different results. The only reliable way to know what your dog may have issues with is illumination. It’s really the only thing that works. Dogs can have reactions to multiple ingredients so you have to just do illumination.

Also, please do not put sugar in your treats. Very very bad thing to do. Dogs just love to it. They will eat pretty much everything and anything. Sugar is bad for the systems and horrendously bad for their teeth especially when there is no need to include sugar.

Shasta 220. Good catch on Sue including sugar in the treats, I missed that when I was looking over the ingredient list.

[david j]

Honestly I’ve had a huge struggle with my dog and his nutrition. Anything that my dog would eat, all the major brands, would make him sick. I have him on a prescription food form my vet and its 70$ per small bag!! Insane, so i did research and came across this video/product that explained a lot. The major brands like Iams and Pedigree put a lot more ingredients than they say. DONT BUY them. I recommend you watch the video i came across, it helps explain a lot. let me know what you guys think?? http://goo.gl/7AWYSK
And I agree on making your own treats/food, its the safest way to go, especially after watching all harmful crap they put in dog food. Thanks for all the info tho!!

[david j]

Honestly I’ve had a huge struggle with my dog and his nutrition. Anything that my dog would eat, all the major brands, would make him sick. I have him on a prescription food form my vet and its 70$ per small bag!! Insane, so i did research and came across this video/product that explained a lot. The major brands like Iams and Pedigree put a lot more ingredients than they say. DONT BUY them. I recommend you watch the video i came across, it helps explain a lot. let me know what you guys think?? http://goo.gl/7AWYSK
And I agree on making your own treats/food, its the safest way to go, especially after watching all harmful crap they put in dog food.

[Dori]

A number of dogs have issues with corn, soy (that’s a big one for allergies), yeast, of course, wheat is a biggie too. Sounds like there are a number of ingredients that could cause allergies. Also some dogs cannot eat eggs. Have you thought of given them fresh organic carrots, string beans, blueberries, etc. for treats. Try that for a while and see how it goes. One of my girls has many many food intolerances and allergies so all treats here are fresh organic fruits and veggies. They love them and no allergy issues for Katie. I always have sort of fruits and veggies in the house so I give them what I’ve got. Sometimes a piece of apple, sometimes banana, whatever is in the house. If I’m eating a piece of fruit I’ll give them some too. My girls are very small..5 lbs, 6 lbs. and 7.3 lbs. so remember go according to size.

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

[Naturella]

Wow, Carlyn, thanks so much for the wonderful training guide! I am so excited and will definitely implement it with Bruno.

He does know “wait”, “drop it”, and “leave it”, but I guess only as a “trick”, as in only when we’re “playing”. So I will try the “watch me”, and also stop the popping, because, as Patty said, I really think he just tries to complete the mischief faster and when I’m not looking. So I will turn to positive reinforcement and treats (he loves treats, he has a couple kinds of “treats”, and then, his kibble, which he luckily likes just as much). So yeah, we will start working on that once I can bend/get closer to him, cause I hurt my back last Sunday and moving has been problematic (dang sciatic nerve… 🙁 )

Anyway, thank you all for the great advice, and we will be on it soon!

P.S. Turns out the little plastic part that was from a Christmas light never had a bulb on it, so he didn’t swallow glass, thank goodness!

[Shasta220]

I will agree with the leave it. Giving him a “pop” might be the quickest way, and it seems like they’d learn. It actually just teaches them fear-association. They don’t know it’s bad or wrong, and obviously don’t realize that it could hurt them. They do, however, associate “Hm…after I eat something….I get in trouble….. Eek! I’m in trouble!!!!” And they sense your anxiety/disappointment/upset attitude which goes into more fear.

This gives many owners the impression that their dogs do have consciences and know wrong from right. It is wrong though, dogs don’t have a conscience, they simply know energy signals from their owner, and will associate actions with responses.

I’ll agree with Sue on the leave it.

There are many variations, and most of them will (hopefully) get the same results: a dog that will ignore something on cue.

I taught my Loki (he doesn’t eat everything, but he gets just as dangerous by attacking everything from roosters to weed eaters) the leave it in a few steps.

#1. The stay/still. Make sure Bruno knows how to stay or hold still fairly well.
#2. “Watch me”. This is one of THE most important commands I’ve ever taught Loki. The concept is fairly simple. Start by holding a treat by your face. Say “watch” when he focuses on your face, reward him (I hide a treat in my opposite hand and use that). Eventually try to have the treats completely hidden so you know he’s watching you, not the food. Also try to get him to focus on you for several seconds before the reward. This step can take time and needs practice (a great one to work around distractions, too!)
#3. The leave it. When Bruno is sitting/laying calmly at your request, hold a treat in your fist. He’ll sniff it and know it’s there. Tell him to stay, and place the treat a bit out of reach. If he stays, then reward him (with a different treat. Leave the other on the floor). If he gets up, take the treat and give a correction (just an “ah ah” and a touch on the neck is fine) and put him back where he started.
Once he stays, then ask for a “watch”. When he watches, reward.
Tell him “leave it. Watch me” and move the treat a little closer. If he ignores it, reward.
Eventually, you should be able to have the treat between his paws while he calmly watches you.

I didn’t go /quite/ that slow with my boys, as I sometimes needed that “leave it” in an instant. But if you can make the time to go slowly, then it gives a great foundation.

Your goal is to hopefully get him to the point of /always/ looking at you before taking something on the floor (believe it or not, my crazy anxious Loki will now bring me /anything/ new that he wants, drop it by my feet, and look at me. If I tell him “no” and put it up, he walks off. If I tell him “okay” he continues to eat it/chew it).

Once he does pretty good with the treat, then get adventurous! Try using a favorite toy instead. Try tossing something past him (Loki will leave a treat that goes by his face, but isn’t quite to the point of maintaining eye-contact. He’s gotta turn that head and glance at the treat first…..he’ll get there tho).

Try to incorporate “wait” or “leave it” into your daily routine. It’s a snap to practice, as you can use it on his dinner, his snacks, his training rewards, and even in his playtime! Get creative with it to make “leave it” a fun game, and have Bruno thinking “Oh goody! Something new! I’d better wait for mom’s permission!”

Until you’ve both got a good hold of leave it, prevention is definitely best. Try to keep everything picked up and out of reached, even if that might include confining him to a room or two.

[Akari_32]

Jakes mom, I bought 5 chicken wings tonight, one for him to eat, and maybe one for Bentley to eat, then whatever’s left will be cooked for meat-water (omnomnomnomnom!).

I did look at Pet Supermarket tonight on the way home, and the cheapest one was $20! Yikes! I can whip something up cheaper than that! I just might, too lol I’m gunna check other places and see what I can find.

Stay away from that litter! I hate that stuff! LOL

Bobby dog, it’s ok, I think it’s funny :p His license says Gary but I’m think about teaching to respond to Haru. We all call him Kitty anyways, so I might as well give him a name I’ll call him. He loves those Blue Buffalo treats so much, so I don’t think it’ll be hard. :p

• This reply was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by Akari_32.

[theBCnut]

Kibbles are pretty much all high carb because they need the carbs to hold the kibble together. Think about using a low carb canned food instead. There is a topic on the review side for diabetic dog foods and there is someone(USA Dog Treats) that monitors that thread and is very knowlegable about diabetes.

[Bobby dog]

Oh, I forgot to add, it sounds like whatever you are watching on the Food Channel is just another way to accomplish the same thing and will work just fine.

I boil chicken (with the bone or without) to have around too. It’s another affordable option to have in the freezer for emergencies or treats. I usually put it in a crockpot on low for about six hours with just enough H2O to cover whatever I am cooking, no seasonings. I feed it to my cats as one of their meals a few times a week. The only thing to keep in mind is to skim off any fat when your concoction cools down.

When I make my broth I put it in a ice tea pitcher and put it in the fridge over night. The fat is really easy to remove after that and then I pour into ice cube trays.

[Bobby dog]

I have to write that I am very cautious as to the treats I feed my guys. That was part of Bobby’s skin problem. Along with feeding canned Pedigree I was feeding bad treats. As soon as I stopped feeding them, his skin quickly improved. No more itchiness, redness, or foul odors! lol Poor little guy. I have been making bisquits here and there for Bobby, other than that I freeze the meat that comes off of the bones when I make the bone broth and use that for treats.

As far as cleaning a cats teeth, I have been lucky and never had any issues. I gently remove any tarter with my finger nails when I do see it.

I asked Shasta a question a few days ago about the raw food she wrote that she fed her cats. She mentioned it on one of the threads recently. We need to track her down and find out what she feeds and how it is working out for her. I wouldn’t mind trying raw meat with the bone, but I am also interested in a cut of meat for teeth cleaning without bone for my older kitty who’s teeth are a little questionable; he just lost one recently. Maybe she would have some recommendations for us.

[Akari_32]

Cool, thanks!

I’m watching the Food Channel, and got an idea. Could I simmer meat in some water and make his meat-water that way? Would it work that way with just meat and water and no seasonings? I guess that’s basically just boiling it lol

Also, what can I do about cleaning his teeth? This canned food has got his teeth all dull and brown looking. I bought him some Blue Buffalo treats (they’re moist and have a chewy texture) but I don’t want to give them in any amount that’ll get his teeth clean because they’re full of grains and I’m worried about UTIs (though j doubt it’s enough to case a problem lol). What about a chicken wing or something every now and then? Or some stew cut beef or whatever?

[Akari_32]

Pure Balance is cheap too, if you don’t mind Walmart.

Ever thought of couponing? I get foods like Wellness for about $1.75 a pound (or less! Best I’ve done on Wellness is $2 for every 4 pound bag). I recently paid $30 for 30 pound of Pet Botanics, 20 pounds of cat litter, several cans of cat food, and a bag of cat treats. It would have costed about $150 with out coupons (which I’d never pay LOL). And thats not even the best I’ve done!

[Akari_32]

It’s here!!! I have about 60 pounds of food to go through yet before I can try the dogs on this (provided the expiration date is that far off. I should check that…. lol), but I’m super excited 😀 The bag isn’t as big as I thought it would be, though LOL I was imagining like one of those beastly bags of like Ol’ Roy or something. Nope! It’s not any bigger than a 30 pound bag of food (but it sure does weigh more!!) lol

The dogs are both eating lamb right now, so they’ll be getting a good rotation going lol Well, technically Haley is still on chicken (Wellness CORE), but she’s got just enough left that I can add in the Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Lamb and Rice under it, and then she’ll be on lamb. They’re basically just going back and forth between chicken and lamb right now, though I did nab 15 pounds of salmon Pet Botanics last weekend. I do have plans to try them on either the bison Pure Balance, or the bison (or maybe fish??) Nutrisource next. I guess it just depends on how much money I have in the dog food fund when their food gets low. I just spent it all ($30) on 30 pounds of Pet Botanics dog food, 50 pounds of cat liter, and a few cans of cat food and a bag of cat treats (let me just say, the Blue Buffalo cat treats: kitty crack! LOL). Not bad, though! Woulda cost me close to $150 other wise, so I’d say I did good lol Wasn’t expecting to spend my dog food fund so soon (just replaced it after all that cat food I bought!), but the dogs gotta eat and I got a SUPER awesome deal on that Pet Botanics, and I hate having less than two months worth of food put away.

[deborah d]

I no longer trust them to feed any more unless I have manufactured myself from my own free range cattle. Unfortunately it ususally ends up being the processing plants and equipment at fault, i.e., machines which are not properly or regularly cleaned, foreign objects in the processing equipment, etc. I am learning that one cannot be too careful. I have feed ORIJEN for years; it is a high quality dog food and manufactured on site. I also feed PRIMAL RAW. the ONLY treats my dogs are allowed are dried sweet potato and prior to this – bullies – I use Primal because it is fit for human consumption as is Orijen…this is a scary time and one cannot be too careful. I am still seeing dark green stools today so I know whatever this is still trying to move through their systems. Today I add Probiotic. The store which sold me this bully is the best store in this part of the state regarding quality but this proves anything can happen. Diligence and more diligence. I don’t think your problem is the Orijen but did you mix it with the other food to introduce slowly? Are you feeding Six fish or meat? I have seen some rumblings about Arcana this week….on Susan Thixton’s site.

[Shasta220]

Sue, so cool you’re doing dog treats! I’m starting up as well, trying to sell them at farmers market. There’s one other guy who sells them too, but his treats have wheat (only one uses rice instead) and dairy. Mine will all be wheat free and I’m even going for GF in a couple. Plus I’m leaning more toward healthy things that might sound good to a person (e.g. Pumpkin Flax, Savory Potato & Chicken), but the other guy just sticks to flavors like cheese, bacon, etc. Keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll get at least some buyers 😀

[crazy4cats]

My dogs get a bully stick once a week. We always secure them in vice grips to ensure they don’t just swallow them. One of my dogs is very bad about gulping. They last a little bit longer than most chew treats we give them. They love them!

[Susan]

I forgot to mention Grain Free Kibble BUT alot of the Grain free kibbles have Potatoes, the Holistic select just has Grounded White & Brown rice..or the other option is an elimination diet, the dog cant eat anything except 1 food,no treats , thats what Im doing at the moment but Ive speeded it up a bit as the vet wanted just boiled chicken for 1 month, I waited 1 week then added another food pumkin then the next week I added sweet Potatoes & he started his itching & his ears started to stink, so Ive stopped the sweet potatoes, now Ive added half a boiled egg for this week..

[Shasta220]

I know there are a lot of people who love bully sticks. I don’t use them simply because my dog turns his nose at them (I think he knows where they come from, LOL!!!).

I don’t think a raw bone would do much harm unless it was a big load-bearing one (shoulder, leg, etc). Possibly try giving him some chicken backs/necks, and even freezing them to make them last a bit longer.

I also like to stuff toys (good rubber that won’t tear, of course) with treats and peanut butter, then freeze. This keeps my heavy chewer busy for a long time 🙂

[Shasta220]

Just came up with a new one! Still working out the bugs since the treats are very soft, and I want as much moisture out as possible (so they last longer)

I call it “Savory Sweet Potato”. Ingredients: sweet potatoes, flour (oat, but I will buy some garbanzo to make them GF), chicken heart, carrot, parsley, coconut oil, garlic.

I know, I didn’t mark anything as organic – that’s because this was just a test batch, and I used whatever was available in the kitchen, so I’m unsure what was/wasn’t organic. When I make them “for real”, I’m hoping to make at least 80% organic 🙂

They do smell divine though, that’s for sure! My dad almost ate them when they came out of the oven! (He didn’t….as he made the mistake to eat a PB dog cookie last week!)

[Dori]

Hi Nectarmom. It’s nice knowing your still around. I hadn’t seen too many of your posts lately. My girls are doing better than I could possibly have imagined. A number of months back I did the complete transition to raw. All bad breath, gas, tear staining, goopy runny eyes has been history for quite some time. Their teeth are all incredibly white, I wasn’t expecting that they could get whiter since I’ve always brushed their teeth. Their hair (fur) is shinny soft and they all smell kinda sweet. It’s not their shampoo because I use soapless shampoos with no dyes or perfumes because of Katie and my allergies. The three of them have always been chow hounds but this is really ridiculous. They lick their bowls clean and leave them like they came out of the dishwasher. Lola who was getting a little chunky has lost some weight. Well, actually they all have on the raw. Lola was up to 6 lbs. maybe a little more, she’s now at 5 lbs. where she should be. Katie was a little over 7 lbs. she’s now at 6 lbs. where she should be, and Hannah was up to 8.5 lbs. and now weighs 7.3 lbs. Vet is delighted with all their weights and wanted to know what I’d done differently. So all is good here. Oh, they the water that they drink is from the tap at home, we have a whole house filtration system. I never thought it was the water. I always suspected it was the food for it to be happening to all three of them even though some were posting on the other site that it was clogged tear duct, hair in eyes, etc. For all three in both eyes, couldn’t be. I gave up the discussions, dropped the site, listen to the posters and moved to raw. I do add unrefined coconut oil, sardine oil (3 times a week, or sardines packed in water), organic fruits and veggies. No commercially made treats. How are your dogs doing? Still tear stained?

[Mary W]

My normally 14-15 lb bichon had a bladder stone removed and put on prescription food to dissolve (didn’t work) and prescription U/D after. He had one oxalate stone, is older but in good health except for hip arthritis. He is now 17.5 lbs (he was 18) and it is not good for his hip or health. 1 -1 1/2 cup/day is recommended. I have cut him back to only ONE-HALF cup/day and he has not lost much if any weight after 3-4 months! He also gets unsalted broth/water and cauliflower for treats;both are low oxalate,low calorie. He lost weight easily in 3 months or so before his stone on Wellness Healthy weight. I’m thinking of switching him back to that food JUST until he loses some weight (2-3 months), then back to his u/d, but I’m concerned about stone formation on regular food. The extra weight has not helped his arthritis. I feel trapped between overweight/bladder stone formation. The 1/4 cup/feeding he gets now is not much food-so I am concerned about cutting back u/d further. He is always hungry and searching for food as it is. Any ideas?

[Naturella]

2sheltieswluv, http://www.bestbullysticks.com have very healthy natural chews and treats that are not from China. Check them out. That’s what we use in our house.

[Cesar M]

Thanks for giving the website for dog treats. i think its really helpful for us.

Thank you

[Shawna]

Hi Gina,

My toy breeds (I have eight) and foster dogs (Boston Terriers and Papillons) all get raw or some raw. Between my own and my foster dogs, I’ve had more than 30 dogs on raw and never had a problem with even one of them to date. I actually have had two foster dogs that could not digest kibble well at all but did fantastic on raw.

For the record, I do have one dog that I will not feed raw edible bones to as she is a gulper and has choked on chew treats before. If she tries to swallow a chew treat that is too large she is likely to try to swallow a bone that is too large. I mainly feed ground, commercial raw but wanted to mention that..

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

[Dori]

Marie, there have been a number of what is known as a “silent recall” through the years and, unfortunately, you have to be googling and constantly researching and get on every dog food recall list on line that you possibly can in hopes that sometimes those in the know get wind of them. That’s what I do, anyway. I don’t rely on any one site for recalls. As you know The Truth About Pets is a really great one. I check that site out every single day as well as others. Anytime I find out about any company or brand that has done that I cross them off my list of foods. I don’t adhere to the thinking that anyone can have a problem so let’s give them another chance. Nope! Any company that has recalls worse, a silent recall, are not getting a chance to injure my girls. I’ve stopped feeding kibble and commercial treats for those reasons. I have been feeding commercial raw and now some home made with supplements and their digestive systems are now strong enough that if a commercial raw food company has minor issues I know they’ll be fine. I don’t really trust any kibble company. I’d always be nervous. The only company that’s not raw that I trust is The Honest Kitchen and I rarely feed that anymore because it contains alfalfa and Katie has recently become intolerant or down right allergic to it.

[Ann-Marie M]

I like their treats that they have that are beef tripe! I haven’t tried their frozen raw yet, but have heard good things about the company. I live in WI and they are in Green Bay, so I also like to support a local company. I feed my mini Schnauzer Baxter frozen raw rabbit from Stella and Chewy’s which is also local in Milwaukee. I like the idea of feeding him something that is his natural prey (rabbit), but probably should rotate protein sources.
What have you all heard about Nature’s Variety frozen raw? Good or bad?

• This reply was modified 11 years, 9 months ago by Ann-Marie M.

[Shasta220]

Because sometimes it’s both, and other times it’s just one or the other. I’ll have options available that will be more “reliable” ingredient-wise, with no “and/or”, and I’m looking around for garbanzo flour to do grain free! Doubt I’ll use it to replace /all/ grain flour, but at least in a couple. My “competitor” is nowhere near that. All treats have dairy, and only one /doesn’t/ have wheat #1. instead, he uses rice.

The reason being for the eggs is because we own chickens and ducks. Sometimes we have more of one egg in the house, and the flour is a texture issue. It never quite turns out the same, so I have to change the mix just a little bit.

Dogs around here don’t seem to be allergic to much more than the basic wheat/corn/soy (if they are, then their owners are completely unaware). Every dog I’ve met has a treat like milk bone, Purina, Ol Roy, etc. So I’m not too worried about losing potential customers over grain and eggs.

Thank you for the concern. If it raises an issue, then I’ll either scratch the recipe, or fix it so I can keep it always constant 🙂

[Shasta220]

An example of my treats….here are ingredients for the PB: organic flour (rice and/or oat), ground peanuts, organic duck and/or chicken eggs, organic unrefined coconut oil

[Dori]

How about something simple and to the point:
Cassy and Loki’s Healthy Dog Treats

if appropriate with some they could be:
Cassy and Loki’s Grain Free Dog Treats

or, if appropriate:
Cassy and Loki’s Healthy Organic Dog Treats

Depends on which if any will be grain free or organic ingredients or in the instance of the Apple and Oats could be just Cassy and Loki’s Healthy Dog Treats

[Naturella]

Shasta, congrats on still working on the treat business and taking it out to the markets soon!

Some names that would probably catch my attention at a farmers’ market would be:

~ Happy Healthy Yums/Happy Healthy Noms/Happy Healthy Yum Bits (or Happy Healthy Dog Treats/Happy Healthy Dogs/Happy Healthy Pooches)

~ Come! Sit! Treat!

~ Longevity Enhancers (or Longevity Enhancing Dog Treats)

~ Little Helpers, or Little Helpers for the Dog’s Health and Happiness (I know, too many words, but oh well)

~ Healthy Bits of Yumminess

~ It’s A Dog’s Life (or It’s Your Dog’s Life) – this may come out as too serious, IDK.

~ Delicious Organic Goodness (spells “DOG”, lol), or Delicious Organic Goodness BitS (for “DOGS”, with a little imagination).

I may come up with more later too, but that’s it for now. 🙂

[Shasta220]

Again on the gulping – I wouldn’t worry too much about buying fancy bowls when you could have a DIY version for a fraction of the cost 😉 my guy gets half his meal as treats when we work obedience. I have him work, then give him a few Kibbles as reinforcement. The other half is either in a bowl mixed w his supplements, or stuffed into a kong. 🙂

[Shasta220]

Aimee, I do see what you mean about reinforcing the wrong behavior. I am not quite seeing it as rewarding the wrong, because I immediately am asking for his attention when we go into the room, and he comes right back out within a few seconds. The trainer knew a severely aggressive dog (WAY worse than Loki, she said….hard for me to imagine!). Every time there was something “scary” and the dog got tense, the trainer would walk in the opposite direction – away from it. Eventually they moved the dog into a class similar to Loki’s and gradually got her closer and closer. Now she is amazing around new dogs.

Sue, I don’t believe he was born with a stubby tail, actually. I have almost no doubt that it was cropped. It has 2-4 kinks in it, as if it was in an accident or possibly tied off with a rope when he was a pup. He adores people, but is very very frightened of older men with beards…I wonder if that says anything about him.
I’ve tried agility with him. He has zero desire for it. He hates the jumps, ignores the weave poles, and refuses the dogwalk/teeter. I do my other dog, Shasta, in it though. He’s great at it.
Aww thanks, his “good looking” is one of the main things that made me fall in love….that and his happy-go-lucky-“take-me-home” personality at the shelter =D

Aquariangt, I’m not sure how well lavender would work. It doesn’t work very well on me, personally; but I have seen some lavender calming treats in PetCo before. I will definitely need to look into making those! I wonder how much dried lavender would cost… Brilliant idea though 😉