[aquariangt]

I just had a thought-

Does anyone know if Lavender has any effect on dogs? It’s calming for people, I wonder if that could help. If so-I know you make your own dog treats Shasta, you could potentially work in some culinary lavender (not ones made for fragrance, though you could try a lotion of sorts) into some treats for Loki

[michelle e]

Hi I am not sure where to post this. We have an adopted Chiweenie that is 7 mo old now and 5.5 lbs up from 4.5 when we got him in Dec 2013. He is very finicky and getting him to eat is becoming a game. Anyway, he will eat Stella & chewys chicken if the cat is sitting waiting to gobble it up, but I dont know if he needs a kibble too. He will eat a couple pieces of Blue puppy kibble and will gobble up tbe Blue cat crunchies if he can sneak to get them. Is there a puppy kibble that Iis as tasty as the cat crunchies? I would like to find a kibble he likes as much as that. Already tried The honest kitchen, Wellness, Artemis, and the petsmart brand I forget the name now. Likes cooked chicken but I dont give him that often and peanut butter is his fav treat flavor…. oh forgot to say he likes the Stella and chewys salmon and cod treats too. Wish there was a daily food thst was so tasty. Thank you for suggestions.

[Jen P]

I have a chi mix who is in the midst of a full blown fungal/ yeast invasion, poor little guy. My vet, who I normally adore, has been useless in this case. Anti fungal pills, antibiotics, and $30 bottles of anti fungal shampoo. He just kept getting worse. Finally I did my own research. Sugar feeds yeast – so no more sugars or carbs….no dog foods with rice or potatoes, no treats with corn syrup as the second ingredient, as most of the commercial ones have…and no shampoos with oatmeal – yeast loves oatmeal! The first change had to be the dog food, so no more Freshpet Select. Thank goodness freshpet just came out with their Vital line, which has no grains or potatoes. Temporarily, I am giving yogurt daily, to try to get his good bacteria back in charge, and trying to feed other immune system boosting goodies – liver, garlic, etc, all in limited amounts, of course. I am also doing every other day vinegar rinses on him. Little by little, he is getting better….but it has been a loooong road.

[Haywood U]

Thanks. With all the recalls and other things going wrong with things we give our pets (treats and toys), I just get worried. I read some of those things where the dogs stop eating because the food is causing problems, but eventually the dog is going to get hungry and eat. Then I look and see the other dog is eating the same food and no issues…but each dog is different. Of course the kicker was seeing her have no problems eating the same exact food from the other dog’s bowl.

I do sort of rotate food out – we buy several different brands and mix the food.

Previous dogs were always fed the “bad” food – Alpo, Ol Roy, KnB. All lived to 12-15 years and never had any vet tell me they were anything other than healthy. Somehow we managed to miss all the food recalls.

The new dog was quickly transitioned from Hill’s (rescue shelter said that is what they used, but she never seemed interested, always ran to the other dog’s food), to Puppy Chow, to finally forcing me to renew my Costco membership to get Kirkland.

So now it’s basically a 40lb bag of Kirkland and a 20lb bag of other stuff and mix it up in a 2:1 ratio (good to “bad”). Used to be out of financial necessity, but now it’s basically just for the variety. I guess we could just as easily mix up the Kirkland Chicken with the Kirkland Lamb and get the same results, but it’s also nice to know that if we ever run out, or are out of town, we can just run to the closest Walmart and grab a bag of food.

I’d like to stick with the twice a day feeding – seems to work the best for the older dog, and no need to upset the routine. I know I wouldn’t want to have to eat my entire daily food in one sitting and have it all sitting my system trying to digest.

[Shasta220]

Couldn’t say it any better. If she’s maintaining weight, she’s doing fine. I still have mixed feelings about rotational diets. I’ve found them to make ultra picky cats, but so far it works well for my dogs (although they would probably eat a brick if given the chance…)

Try the above suggestions. It also could be that she’s just in a not-hungry mood. My Shasta did that when he was a pup – he would actually go 2-3 days without touching his food, but he still wanted treats or whatever was in Cassy’s dish (the exact same kibble). He finally gave in and ate his own, and hasn’t had the problem since.

[Sheltie_Pom]

Thanks everyone. The vet gave me a 5.5 oz can of Science Diet and on the bill it shows that it was $2.20 for that tiny thing and then Ty (My Pom) didn’t even like it so I tossed it out to the other dogs that will eat almost anything.

I have been feeding him Pure Balance Chicken, Vegetables and Brown Rice Puppy and mixing it with his Purina Pro Plan canned that the breeder gave me. He is starting to eat hard kibble again and I think he prefers that so I am going to see if I can slowly move him back over to hard kibble. The breeder was stuck on Pro Plan, but I think it’s a bit over rated and expensive for the quality so I was thinking something along the lines of Purina One Smart Blend or Diamond Naturals.

I don’t know we’ll see. I have 2 $5 dollar off coupons for the Pro Plan so I may use it for my Sheltie and Shiloh my Sheltie pup in particular.

EDIT: I do like the Purina Pro Plan Sport Training Treats. Ty really likes those, but they are a bit expensive.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 9 months ago by Sheltie_Pom. Reason: Added more

[Dori]

Hi Lea J. I feel like this is my mantra but I will say it again. I have a 4 1/2 year old Maltipoo, Katie, has had severe food allergies and intolerances as well as environmental allergies since we got her at 9 weeks of age. I’ve tried any and all suggestions out there. Went through a ton of food, most of which to no avail. What finally worked for her is commercial raw foods. I like Primal Pronto the best. I also rotate her foods with Darwins, and Answers raw. I’ve tried Stella and Chewy’s raw and Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw which I didn’t like at all. Anyway, I have three small dogs that I feed 1/4 cup twice a day. I do add and/or feed sardines (canned in water, not oil), coconut oil, probiodics, digestive enzymes, fresh fruits and veggies. Their treats consist of fresh fruits or veggies. I don’t use store bought treats. To many issues with Katies allergies. My 14 1/2 year old Maltese has arthritis in her right hip and also two degenerated discs mid spine. I rotate supplements as well as their foods. I haven’t found any particular joint supplement that has worked miracles. I have just ordered Sprintime’s Joint Health and Fresh Factor. Some people have been reporting that they are having good luck with these. Anyway, I think I’ve digressed here from my mantra which is: Grain, Soy, Poultry (in all forms), White Potato and Rice Free food as well as anything else you think your dog may be allergic or intolerant to. Your allergy list really doesn’t seem to be that bad though I wouldn’t doubt that she has more problems than just the ones you named. Full disclosure, I don’t believe that food allergy testing for dogs can be trusted. My dogs allergist/dermatologist as well as their traditional vets all would not do the testing. They said the tests are inaccurate, misleading and cost a lot of money. When vets tell you they won’t take your money, you know they are being accurate. To this date there are no known food allergy testing on animals that are accurate. As far as kibble goes, I can’t really recommend any because I’m not comfortable in my knowledge of their ingredients anymore. I figured out most of Katie’s food allergies by her reactions to the foods I was feeding and then comparing ingredients with other foods trying to figure out what was bothering her. She has many many issues. She just recently became allergic or intolerant to alfalfa. Allergic or intolerant to me is all the same. All I’m sure of is that either way, she can’t eat it so I don’t care whether some people say that it’s not really an allergy, it’s an intolerance. It’s all trial and error really and constantly researching ingredients. What works for my dogs may not work for others but eliminating the obvious typical allergens is a good place to start. It’s an incredibly long road in helping our allergy prone dogs but the work is well worth it for them. Exhausting on us. Oh, Spring is finally here in Atlanta where we live so for the last two days I’ve been giving her Benadryl twice a day. I hate having to do that but there is nothing I can personally do about environmental outdoor allergies. Trust me, if there was a way I would have found it by now. This is the first time I have ever had a dog with allergies and I’ll just say it keeps me on me on my toes with all things food related for her. Katie’s how I came across this site a couple of years ago and I, she and my other dogs have benefited immensely. Good Luck. If you need any clarification on anything I’ve said or any more questions please ask.

[Lea J]

I have just discovered this forum! Where were you 4 years ago?
Anyway- I have a 45 lbs rescue border collie chow mix, now 8 years old. She is wonderful but has severe itchiness. We have done allergy testing and found she is allergic to eggs, corn, wheat, catfish, rice, milk. Tried allergy shots- no difference. Tried elimination diets- she just lost weight. Tried just about every dog food out there. Even tried making dog food. Went to dermatologist who suggested Natural Balance LID Sweet Potato and Venison. Still itchy but somewhat less. (I have often wondered if this could be environmental) Discovered some arthritis recently, and has been on adequan with good results. Any suggestions for supplements, food, treats, etc for either of these conditions?

[H2H]

MastiffLove~

I too have tried a lot of foods for my 8 month Dane. He is an incredibly picky eater and has a very sensitive tummy too boot. After trying Orijen, Fromm’s, Natures Variety (the types that are listed on the document that is within this thread), last week I finally found a food that meets the giant breed requirements, a food my puppy loves and finally we have firm poops!!! I give him a tablespoon of plain yogurt in the morning an Pure Vita chicken and brown rice. Within 2 days we didn’t need pumpkin anymore and while there are prebiotics in the kibble, the yogurt is a good probiotic. I’m very careful with treats but so far so good! Give it a try and like others recommend, don’t add too much to the kibble. Simple is best.

[Naturella]

Well, today I had another success… My best friend, who also owns a lab-hound mix (like my roommate) began her journey in better dog nutrition.

I have not talked to her much about that because I thought that her dad was doing most of the doggie care, and the few times I have been over at her parents’ house (where the dog lives), the dog looked like she would rather eat me than her dinner… SO I had not raised the subject until today.

She moved back in with her family in a new house and we were hanging out and she had to go back to walk her dog. I went with her, but before that I had to take her to my fave pet boutique with the free samples. Needless to say, she got an informational pamphlet, a bag full of free samples, and the recommendation to get on this site. I love this store, in case I have not mentioned this before. ANYWAY, in the car (we rode together), I was explaining to her about how what she feeds now (Kibbles ‘n’ Bits) is bad, what is good, and how it will help her dog. She (the dog) is a bit overweight, has fat pockets formed in a few places, and may suffer bad joints in the future.

So the store hooked her up with samples of Victor for joints, nutri source, earthborn, canidae pure, merrick beef, nutrisca salmon, and some other ones.

When we got to her place, I was a bit scared to get out of the car, but I did… Her dog barked at me like crazy (as usual), but I let her sniff me this time and eventually she calmed down. We decided that if I were to give her some of the new food as treats, she may like me even more, so we did. We tried the Merrick, and she liked it. We were friends now! We walked her together, talked more about food and how it affects EVERYTHING – smell, gassiness, joints, mast formations or fat pockets, allergies, everything. So when we got back, we gave her dog some of the Nutrisca Salmon, and boy, she LOVED it! So we mixed it with her dinner serving of the crap… I mean, of Kibbles ‘n Bits, and she ate some, but not too much (she is stressed because this is her first day in my friend’s new house). But, I think my friend has potential. She had bought a bag of Back to Basics for her dog in Fall and I was proud of her! So yeah, making progress… I am so excited!

With this being said, I really am sorry, Carlyn, but I don’t think anything will help this guy’s dogs, unless, like Patty said, someone whose opinion he values (more) tells him the same stuff you have been… So yeah…

[Jasmine W]

I have a greyhound mix who seems to have the same things your dog has but not as bad. Leo had very bad hot spots though. A friend told me chicken allergies are super common in dogs. Seemed ridiculous but apparently since many dog foods contain beaks feet and feathers aka “chicken by products” or “fillers” well dogs who’ve eaten these dog foods even once can develop a chicken allergy. When I had Leo on a grain free chicken free formula he had loose stools and a runny nose still but less itching and no swelling around tick or flea bites. He got so much better that I let him have chicken treats. This seemed ok so I bought the grain free blue buffalo wilderness chicken formula and now he’s sliding back again. He even got some hot spots again and hadn’t had any for years. So we’re going back to no eggs no chicken no duck no turkey, no poultry of any kind. Try that and let me know. Also dairy products even yoghurt can cause a runny nose and “runny rear.”

Leo gets a homemade dog food meal separate from his kibble meal. He gets a pound of ground beef freshly cooked and drained of fat plus a quarter can of “tripette” green tripe and “Solid Gold Seameal.” He’ll take a bit of ground up frozen peas with this meal but if I put too many peas in it he won’t eat. I’m concerned he’s getting too much protein. He won’t eat pumpkin. I’ll try the beet fiber. I know the tripette is making his coat soft because that’s what it did for my friends dog and before eating tripette Leo had a rough coat. Tripette is amazing stuff. I don’t really know what good the Solid Gold Seameal is doing but its filled with vitamins and minerals.

[Dori]

And don’t forget to consider the ingredients in any treats you’re giving your dog. Sometimes we get so concentrated on the food we forget the treats we or others may be giving your dog.

[MarieLovesChis]

Everyone feeds such a big variety compared to me lol!

I typically feed 50% kibble and 50% canned food. Treats are basically just freeze dried meats. For kibble I’m using NL Sardine for its low fat. My girl needs to lose a bit. Canned foods are usually Weruva, Hound and Gatos, and Nature’s Variety Instinct. I try for some variety 🙂

• This reply was modified 11 years, 9 months ago by MarieLovesChis.

[Naturella]

Haywood U, your recipe sounds really good too, I would totally try it! I would probably freeze the treats, or at least refrigerate if I expect that they would be gone within 2 weeks.

[Haywood U]

I had really good luck with these liver treats – they are nice and small, about the size of those soup & oyster crackers.

http://www.petco.com/product/107245/Charlee-Bear-Dog-Treats-with-Liver.aspx

I’ve also used these – found both at Big Lots for under $3 a bag. Both are small sized treats – probably about the size of :

http://www.wag.com/dog/p/nutro-natural-choice-crunchy-treats-with-berries-10-oz-116742

and these, although the ones I used were peanut butter flavored, and not the new alligator or crawfish:

http://www.biglots.com/p/c/dogs/bayou-bites-natural-dog-cookies

[Haywood U]

Just wondering if anybody has tried these treats.

http://www.biglots.com/p/c/dogs/bayou-bites-natural-dog-cookies

They are made by Delca Corporation. They also sell under the think! dog brand:

http://www.petco.com/product/123697/Think-Dog-Natural-Louisiana-Jerky-Dog-Treats.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch

Are there any potential issues with dog treats made from alligator, crawfish, shrimp or crab?

I used to give my dogs the Grandpaw’s P’Nut Butter cookies (found during a random stop at Big Lots) and they loved them. The smaller size is perfect for use during training. I stopped by again to pick up some more and they didn’t have them, only these new Bayou Bites – same size and design, just different ingredients.

[Shasta220]

That’s good when the vet doesn’t get too picky about the topic of food. My vet said the only food he recommends is Hills and one other (maybe RC? I don’t remember). At that time, our dogs were on Dog Lover’s Gold (4 stars) and Nutra Nuggets (3 stars), he said he didn’t recommend anything that didn’t have an AAFCO statement, including those foods. I went home and looked at the bag….pretty sure I saw a statement on there lol! But the vet doesn’t scold you or anything, he sees how healthy the dogs are and can’t complain.

It’s annoying how much they ask about eeeevery food though. They ask how many treats, what type, any people food, cooked or raw, etc etc. Then I said that Loki gets a few raw scraps occasionally, and he just said “scraps lead to an overweight dog…” (He probably noticed that Loki went from 41lb at the shelter to a whopping 43lb after we had him. He still has a thin waste line and could gain 2-5 more lb without a problem…) yeeeeah, I’m reeeeally worried now that giving Loki a chicken leg once a week will make him fat! LOL!

[theBCnut]

I’m doing 50/50 kibble/raw for meals. All treats are freeze dried or dehydrated meat products.

[T S]

We have two male JRTs (5 & 7 yrs) and a female Labrottie (9 yrs). After seeing ads and getting some samples from a local rep, we tried the Blue Buffalo–dogs rejected it outright. We tried the Wild stuff, various flavors, and inevitably at least one of the three turned up their noses at each flavor of the food. Talked to vets, who sell canned Canin and Hills, about allergies, food ingredient quality, flavor variety. Went back to Fromms, tried three different flavors (chicken, beef and pork), and all three dogs are happy with the dry pork & applesauce formula. They’re energetic, different vets are all REALLY happy with all 3 of their overall health, especially weight maintenance vs activities levels, and their coats, teeth and skin are all great. None smells, they all sleep and BM on schedule w/o problems. We looked at MANY of the so-called ‘holistic’ and ‘organic’ foods. Local pet store guy recommended some ‘natural’ and raw foods, but it made no sense to change from what’s working now. Fromm’s is US made, only US ingredients, and no recalls we know of. We don’t feed them ANY human food, and they almost never get snacks or treats–so no threat of allergic reactions. Labrottie came to us from a poor-quality non-US food diet, and she’s a much happier, healthier, energetic dog now.

[Naturella]

Yeah, I think brushing and RMBs/natural chews would be the way to go for Bruno. I have also tried the Blue Buffalo dental bones (once), and it gave him serious tummy troubles… So none of those anymore. I trust(ed?) Zuke’s more, I have used their training treats with no problems, so we’ll see.

I have used a water additive too, he had to have 2 canine teeth extracted because the puppy ones wouldn’t fall and the adult ones had come in, so he was a little shark with 4 sharp canines (the long ones). So after the extraction I used water additive in his water, more for antiseptic purposes.

I have read that apple cider vinegar is good to put in their water, so I got some with the mother in it, but Bruno really dislikes his water with it and barely drinks it… I put one teaspoon, maybe I should put less? I don’t know…

[Naturella]

Lol, it’s ok! Yeah, I think the spices are not too substantial, but I will embark on a quest to find healthy flours/binders to use in treats sometime soon… Right now I don’t have the budget for these experiments, but hopefully one day in the near future it will happen! 🙂

[thegoodlife]

https://www.wholebites.com

products are fairly limited but they do offer free shipping and have the BEST liver treats 😀

[crazy4cats]

I figured out that I feed about 80% kibble, 12% toppers such as canned, raw medallions, dehydrated (THK), sardines and recently eggs. And the remaining 8% is various treats, such as bully sticks, pig’s ears, raw marrow bones, or treat filled kongs.

[Shasta220]

Oops, just now saw your reply to me that was written in January.

Spices are quite controversial, I’d have to say. Honestly, I wouldn’t worry too much about adding them. They don’t add any more/less flavor for the dog, and it’s probably such a tiny amount that it wouldn’t really benefit the dog much.

I do like adding cinnamon though….mainly cuz a sprinkle on top looks so darn nice, LOL! I’m having a hard time with replacing wheat flour myself. So far I’ve only tried oat and rice – it makes super crumbly treats in my opinion… If you ever find a flour combo that “binds” as well as the wheat, be sure to let me know! 😀

[Naturella]

Kvee,

I haven’t made treats recently, but note taken – no more nutmeg. Bruno didn’t seem to have any problem or reaction to it though – it was a fairly minute amount for the amount of treats rendered.

As for wheat flour, my goal is to eliminate it completely. I would try chickpea, quinoa, or coconut “flour” (meal), or tapioca starch next time and see what works how. Bruno also likes raw fruits veggies – carrots, celery, radishes, apples, pineapple, mango, banana – he’s a mess, but at least easy to satisfy.

We don’t have much space in the freezer, but frozen treats are something I have sort of tried, and would again.

[kvee]

Aleksandra, I have seen some information on nutmeg being toxic for pooches. Mostly, I remember this warning during thanksgiving (warning not to feed them pumpkin pie). How are your dogs reacting to it?

I do not make any treats with any flour for my dog — although I tried to use garbanzo (chickpea) flour because it allegedly has high protein and it is very cheap. But I am a horrible baker and couldn’t make the concoction work for me.

What I do for treats is buy different fruits and veggies on season and sale. Soak them on water and vinegar and rinse them, throw them in the blender and then freeze the. Susie loves to munch on these.

I also make bone broth. I simmer a whole organic fresh raw chicken with filtered water and a tablespoons of Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (with the mother) for 24-48 hours. I freeze the broth into ice cubes and give them to Susie whenever she’s not feeling to hot about eating (it seems to open her appetite) or when it’s hot out. She loves those things too.

I hope this help. BTW, lesson learned on the bone broth. I went old-school and did it stove top.. Susie’s father and I had to take turns to watch the pot boil (literally). I am buying a crock pot soon.

[kvee]

I’m doing 100% dry until she’s 2 y.o. after that I’d do raw homemade (unless I am dazzled by THK). I do not buy Susie treats, instead I give her frozen liquefied fruits and veggies and bone broth.

[thegoodlife]

You can try liver powder. I am a pet trainer and I just tell my clients to sprinkle a bit of this on their pets dry food once a day https://www.wholebites.com/index.php/benny-bullys-livermix-crumbs-and-powder-pet-treats.html

[thegoodlife]

Ok, as for dried treats, you should keep them in a ziplock or air tight bag. They last for around 4 years before they are opened (most don’t put a best before date), and usually stay good for a while depending on storage condition and ingredients (pure veggies pieces tend to last longer than meat products). I recommend keeping them in a dry place, or if you feel safer freezing always preserves well! But overall, as long as they are air tight and stored properly they are a long lasting treat!

[Susan]

Ive read that dogs can digest animals fats, chicken fat etc, & they dont digest oils as well sunflower, canola, vegetable etc. this is saying the opposite that dogs digest vegetable & fish oils better then animal fats, which one is it, are animals fats better or are oils better for digestion when in a kibble, I’ve read when its a animal fat it must say the animal, chicken fat etc but not just say animal fat as u dont know what animal its from & could be diseased etc.. I thought chicken fat etc would be better then canola, sunflower oils etc..
Did anyone read about liver, it can become toxic to the body, my boy cant eat liver treats as he gets diarrhea…

[Naturella]

Bobby dog, this is pretty much almost how my friend and I are! I think we are headed toward the addiction zone, lol… But I have reached my limit. My husband is firm on not getting another dog yet, and Bruno has ENOUGH food and chews, and treats, and toys, SO, all I am allowed to do now is just window shop or sneak in a free sample or 2… or more… LoL… into Bruno’s mixes. But I’m happy with that. I have been giving away coupons to friends left and right, and trying to help people feed better food (if they’d take my advice). So far so good. I am happy and excited for my pup, and others’ pooches/kitties/other animals too. 🙂

P.S. Good job on scoring those great deals! I also have coupons for canned food as well, and most of it is free, so I will be putting some in Bruno’s kibble over time. 🙂

• This reply was modified 11 years, 9 months ago by Naturella.

[Naturella]

Bobby dog, thanks for the kind words!

Yes, shopping on a budget is a necessity for both my friend and I, but finding fantabulous deals for quality food is a hobby. Luckily, she has 2 dogs – the lab and a Chorkie (chihuahua-yorkie, although he looks more like a bichon…), so she likes to stock up for both of them… She feeds them different stuff, which I find slightly odd, but to each their own, they both eat really good food. The Chorkie is stocked up with Holistic Health Extension Small Breed, Earthborn Holistic Small Breed and Coastal Catch, as well as a bag of Whole Earth Farms – Pork (I think), Halo, Simply Nourish, and Evanger’s. The lab also has a bag of Earthborn’s Ocean Fusion as well, I forgot about that.

To add to that, we both have a bunch of PetCo coupons and wipll be using them throughout the year.

As for me, my little JR-Rat Terrier-maybe Chihuahua in there-mutt is on a mix of Dr. Tim’s Kinesis-Nutrisca Chicken-Holistic Health Extension Grain Free-Now Fresh-Victor Yukon Salmon Grain Free-Nature’s Variety Instinct Chicken + Raw Boost-Nature’s Variety Turkey, Duck, and Chicken (TURDUCKEN! 😀 ) + Raw Boost. Some is from his initial mix of the first 3 foods; the HHE bag I got for free from Petland; the Now Fresh I got on sale for $3 for 0.5lbs; the Nature’s Variety and the Victor are free samples. For treats I use those kibbles, or free samples of Victor Joint Health Grain Free and Victor High-Pro Grain free, mixed together. Lined up I have Earthborn’s Coastal Catch, Primitive Natural, and Great Plains Feast to be mixed with ALL FREE bags of HHE Original, Grain Free, and Lamb and Brown Rice, respectively. For later on, I have Victor Ultra Professional lined up to mix with Back to Basics Open Range, and the foods that I have PetCo coupons for, such as Wellness, Canidae, Blue Buffalo (Bruno has done well on it in the past), Avo Derm, Solid Gold, Nature’s Variety, and Merrick. Those last ones I will buy in the end of the year, so they will be next year’s stash.

As for the pet boutiques, I would not purchase food from Store A, even if it’s good. But Store B I really like.

And thank you for the compliment – Bruno is our first “real” dog (when I was little, I had a min pin for about 2 weeks, but my dad couldn’t stand her, so they gave her away… Gina was “real”, but not “mine” for very long…) and I really try to learn about what is good for him and what’s not… We really love the little guy and definitely take better care for him than for ourselves (which is not entirely good, but… eh…). 🙂

[Akari_32]

I’ll check those out, thanks guys 🙂 I use the dry to basically spread out the wet food. Mix half and half, and add enough water so that the dry isn’t soaking it in from the wet. I tend to add it when I first mix, and then add more when I prepare the food for him at meal times (one 5.5 oz can or two 3 oz cans, dry food, some water, then it goes in the fridge until it’s gone, and more water is added when I warm it up in his bowl). Some times I add too much water to his bowl and it’s more like a nasty little soup, but he drinks all that up when that happens. When mom feeds him, she just slaps a can of wet in his bowl, and then he’s hungry again by the time I get home, because she only fed him enough food for a cat 1/4 of his size…. She even got mad a me for buying different flavors in single cans LOL Likes like “buy the variety pack!!” Then I asked her if she wanted to pay for it and I got no response :p

Anyways lol He won’t outright drink water from his water dish. He’s done it once, that I’ve seen, and it was because he thought it was food, and dove it with out looking. He wasn’t very happy about that LOL So maybe I should add all that extra water, then?

And on an unrelated note: this is the only cat in the world that won’t take treats. Mom bought him some Temptations treats, and he only eats them when he’s absolutely starving. Won’t touch them other wise. I don’t know if he’s smart for that, or just weird… Lol

[Naturella]

Absolutely! And good job on learning something new yourself! 🙂

And, not to beat a dead horse, but I also keep learning new things, even when I am convinced I already know the truth.
So my friend (my success story, the one I got to switch from Shep to 3.5-5-star foods) and I recently discovered two pet boutiques, both literally 3 min from my house each, on the same street as my apartment complex! I was in heaven. Let alone the great foods they sell, they also have the awesome natural chews I like, and much more. Anywho, my friend bought 90lbs of food from Store A and maybe 50 from Store B. Well, 2 of the bags of food from Store A were on sale, which is why she bought them. We did not think to look at the expiration dates, and 2 weeks later, lo and behold, she finds out that one expired in January, and the other in February. She was pretty upset that she was sold expired food without knowing it, when Store B’s sale items are on sale with an extra sticker with the expiration date of the food right on top of the bag. She was saying that Store A has now lost her business and what not, and today I happened to be right next to Store A, and went inside to let them know how my friend was feeling because of what they had done. To my surprise, they were fully aware that they were selling expired food, and said that expired dry kibble is still good 6-8 months after the expiration date. Well, I was surprised, so I swung by Store B to ask them as well. After receiving a confirmation there, I reassured my friend that her dog will be fine (she bought the two Great Life 33-lb bags on sale for her yellow lab, along with Victor Ultra Professional 30lbs (And Victor Brown Rice and Beef 40lbs. And Simply Nourish 30lbs. And Evanger’s 5lbs to mix in. We are food nutties.). So she is much relieved, as am I, because now we know that expired food, while maybe not ideal, is still good for a little while longer. 🙂 Go figure, but I’m glad I swung by the store to tell them of the “incident” and learn something, that was also confirmed elsewhere. 🙂

Sidenote – Store A’s treats and chews are cheaper, so I will shop there for them, but Store B has more foods on sale at better prices too, and FREE SAMPLES! So I am totally in heaven! 🙂

[Charlene F]

I bought the chicken jerky treats and upon opening the bag, the smell was so absolutely disgusting! It smelled of a strong preservative. I broke a piece off for my dog, and she turned away. (She normally loves jerky treats). I returned the package to Walmart……

[caseynotis]

Okay I’m confused — I looked at the link last night & saw the treats, and now when I click on the link, I get a Certificate Error, and it redirects me to a Cuban video company?

[thegoodlife]

That is very odd. I purchase this product all the time and I have only good things to say about them. My dogs go crazy for them and my vet stands by them as being one of the healthiest pet treats. Are you sure you aren’t getting brand names confused? :S Aside from looks I think a locally sourced treat beats the big boxed chemicals any day…

[Akari_32]

Oh my god kill me.

This cat needs to learn some serious manners and house etiquette. He’s a sweet boy, but he sure is naughty! He tries to get in the blinds (they’re horizontal blinds, rather than vertical ones, so he all but tears them off the wall -_-), gets on the counter in hopes of food, plays with random things all night, tries to get into a closed off room all day, and thinks it’s time to eat EVERY time you go into the kitchen (I’ve tripped over him at least 4 times in the last week…). I’ve started spraying him with a spray bottle when he does bad things, mainly pulling on the blinds. That’s not even the worse part though…

Mom caught him scratching on the furniture the other day, and told me I had till Thursday (tomorrow, at this point) to get rid of him, before she came home from out of town. This is AFTER she told to get rid of him when she first saw him, then said I could keep him, and then went back and forth another few times, all since last Wednesday. I don’t even know what the crap to think any more. It’s ticking me off. Make your freaking mind up and tell me what you want me to do (before I get rid of you!!!)! Now she’s back to me keeping him, but making feel like the biggest dick ever for it, telling me to get him declawed, and that she hates cats, and all this other crap. And then she just texted me saying to buy him a scratching post (I haven’t bought one yet because why the crap am I going to spend the money on a scratching post for a cat I’m not keeping, or apparently now, declawing???). Just, whatever. I’m not over exaggerating at all when I say all this. At least when she first found out about him, she didn’t want him simply because she’s allergic to cats, which I can respect and understand, now she’s saying to get rid of him because she is mad that the cat is being a CAT.

I’m making an appointment for the vet tomorrow to get his shots and health check, and possibly neutered (we really aren’t sure if he is or not, he’s very fluffy and it’s hard to tell). I may actually call the humane society and see what they can do. Pull the “you guys are full of cats and I don’t want to give you another, can you just give me cheap vet care” thing. They do shots and fixing, but I don’t know if they do exams for the public. Won’t know until I ask, I guess.

My sister is giving me an old scratching post, and I may look into nail caps (thoughts on those?). I will not get him declawed. I’d sooner give him to the only people who apparently want this cat other than me, the nasty indoor smoker neighbors. Their house is so gross I want to shower every time I have to go in there. They do have a cat over there, though. They had two, but one ran away. Go figure. And they feed dry only, whatever’s cheap (I’ve seen versions flavors of Friskies and 9Lives over there). But yeah, they’re the only ones to say they want him. I may be able to get them to feed him wet/mostly wet, even if it is something like the huge $1 cans of Friskies from Dollar Tree, if they were to take him.

Anyways, I got a good deal on some lesser wet foods (Purina One, Sheba, and Fancy Feast) so we’ve got about 60 cans of these. It’s better than nothing right now. I’ve got coupons for BOGO Wellness Select-whatever, which I’ll get before they expire. He’s still got some EVO dry left, but I’ll need some more soon. It was just a teeny baby bag (2.2 pounds) and he’s just a big fatty (11.4 pounds). I’ve got his mix pretty well figured out, I think. I’ve been mixing half wet and half dry, according to how much he should be eating according to the can and bag, and feeding him 2-3 times a day, about 2 tablespoons. It seems about every other day he wants an extra snack, which is when he gets fed a third time. Mom said he was so hungry the other day when I was at work that he was just walking around the house meowing and meowing. Granted I had fed him at about 10 and she said she finally broke down around 7 and fed him, so I could understand him being hungry. He also won’t take treats unless he’s starving. Kind of a weird cat lol

So anyways, all this drama is why I haven’t updated you guys. Moms given me one month to try him out, and if she’s still pissy about him, he has to go :/ If that happens, and if I have no other takers, I’d think I’d rather see him go to my neighbors rather than a shelter. What do you guys think about that? I’m honestly not so sure, either way…

[theBCnut]

I just leave them in the freezer and take them out as I want them. I live in the south and they would definitely go bad down here. I have my own dehydrator and make my own jerky treats out of all different kinds of meat.

[stevebcny]

I’m interested in hearing opinions on the shelve life of jerky and other dried treats.
Should they be refrigerated after opening if they are just dried with no salt/preservatives?
How long are they safe in an unopened package?
Thanks

[mrickett]

If you are ok with rye flour, “Wet Noses” makes a variety of treats. I buy the organic pumpkin, sweet potato and the apple and carrot. Ingredients for the apple carrot:
Ingredients: organic rye flour, organic apples, organic carrots, organic whole oats, organic canola oil, organic molasses and organic ground thyme
Guaranteed Analysis: Crude Protein (min) 8.0%, Crude Fat (min) 10.0%, Crude Fiber (max) 1.0%, Moisture (max) 4.8%
You can find these at most pet retail stores or online. They are round and approx. 1 1/2 inches in diameter and easily broken in half.
Also “Newman’s Own Organic Dog Treats.” They come in Turkey and Sweet Potato, Peanut Butter and Chicken. The ingredients for Turkey and Sweet Potato:
Turkey & Sweet Potato: Organic Barley Flour*, Organic Ground Turkey*, Organic Sweet Potatoes*, Organic Carrots*, Organic Apples*, Chicken Fat (Preserved Naturally with Mixed Tocopherols and Lecithin), Rolled Oats, Rosemary Extract.
They come in two sizes. You can find them in retail stores and online.

[Shawna]

Hi Marie — I LOVE Dr. Falconers take on heartworm preventative/treatment (and he’s in Texas I think). There is another vet in Florida that does similar. And Dr. Martin Goldstein, per his book, treats heartworm with a glandular and several “tinctures”. Granted Goldstein is in New York but he says he has clients all over the US.

Losul — Have you ever posted a picture of Turbo? I can’t remember?

Determining when to start heartworm can be difficult but using a calendar and marking down the highs for the day (as it starts to get warmer can help).. Different researchers have found different temps and durations so going with the least makes sense. IF temperatures are below 57 degrees the larvae can not develop in the mosquito. And temps need to be high enough for long enough for the larvae to develop from L1 to L3 before the mosquito dies. It takes about 10 to 14 days at temps of 80 for the development to happen. So if temps are warm one day then 52 for five days, then a 60 degree day and a few more cool days etc, the mosquito will likely die before the larvae can develop into L3 stage. If pup is bit when larvae is at L1 or L2 stage — nothing happens. This page discusses some of the findings regarding temps http://www.acreaturecomfort.com/heartworminfo.htm

I found a, what I think to be, good alternative that should make things less complicated though. “There is more to transmission than simply the presence of mosquitoes; it must also be warm enough for a long enough time period to allow the development of microfilariae to infective L3’s within the mosquito’s body. A simple formula involves counting the degrees above 57 degrees F reached each day. Each degree is called a “heartworm development unit” and when 234 heartworm development units have accumulated within a 30-day period, conditions have been reached to allow the transmission of L3 heartworm to new hosts. A monthly heartworm pill, chewable, or topical must be given at the end of a month in which 234-heartworm development units has accumulated.

When 30 days pass and 234 heartworm development have not accumulated, mosquitoes will be dying from the cold before any microfilariae they carry can develop to the infective stage. Monthly heartworm preventive needs not be given after a month under these conditions.” http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_heartworm_prevention.html

Hope that helps.. 🙂

[Naturella]

Dori (and everyone),

Bruno is doing much better! Last night poor baby must have been starving because he tried to eat my roommate’s dog’s food, and turned over his empty food dish and was chasing it around and licking it in the bathroom… It was pathetic, so I took it away. He slept all through the night and when taken out this morning, he didn’t poop. I fed him some of his kibble softened with warm water, and left home because I had to attend an event. When I just came home, he looks fine, no poop in the house, and when I took him out, he pooped a good amount and it was soft, but normal-soft, not weird-soft. It was formed and everything!

I think we are on the right track, so I will feed him the same for dinner too. He should be like new by tomorrow, if he keeps going this way! 🙂

Thank you all for the advice and concern, we really appreciate it! 🙂

P.S. Dori, in my research and in speaking with some vets, I was told the total opposite – that small dogs mature faster than large dogs, and can be considered adults by 7-8 months. I am confused now… As far as food goes, he was on puppy food until he was about 8 months or so, then went to all-life-stages food and will be on that for a while. How long should I consider him a “puppy”?

P. P. S. Also, before the treat incident (which were also good for him treats, with freeze-dried liver, bananas and carrots, not like a hot fudge sundae, lol), he was doing great on a variety of additives to his kibble to help with his usually extremely hard stools. He would get a canned sardine once a week, one raw egg/week, an RMB/week, coconut oil every other day, and pumpkin, ground flax seed, yoghurt – a couple times/week, and cottage cheese once a week. Also, natural chews, such as ears, bully sticks, piggy snouts, etc. (not all at once, maybe 1-2/week). So when can I reintroduce those, since he was fine with them (we have been doing this for 2+ weeks).

[Dori]

Awwww. He’s still a baby. You have to be careful at this stage. Too many different types of treats at the same time will always upset their tummies. Do forget he’s still a puppy puppy and not completely fully developed with everything working as it should. At first when I have puppies what I use for treats is their own kibble. For one. They don’t know the difference and dogs love to eat anyway. Second is that you know it works, he’s not allergic to it and his system tolerates him. When he gets older if you want to use something else as a treats for training find one that is teeny tiny since you’ll be giving him quite a few and keep his training sessions initially to around 10 minutes at a time. They say that the first 10 minutes in training is when they get the most out of it. You can then let him rest or play for a couple of hours and then train again for another 10 minutes. You can lengthen his training time once he’s older. Just keep in mind that he’s a baby. Small dogs mature way way slower than large dogs. Some small dogs are still considered puppies until they reach the age of four. Some really large dogs at four are almost considered middle age. I’ve had some dogs that I’ve always trained with their own tiny kibble. It’s almost still so surprising how much effort they’ll expend to get a tiny piece of treat. But they love the praise from mommy and daddy. I’m telling you, they really are like little babies and toddlers. That’s a good thing for you to always remember. They are helpless and you have to pretty much always make the right decisions for them. A lot of people through the years have made statements to me that they didn’t realize they were doing something wrong, that their dog really liked it. Just cause he liked it doesn’t mean it was good for the dog or that maybe one would have been good but more…not so good. I love hot fudge Sundays but I’m pretty damn sure more than one is gonna make me really really sick.

[Dori]

Oh! Uncooked rice is a DEFINITE no no. You don’t want the rice or anything else for the matter, swelling in his stomach. That’s exactly why theBCnut said to use 1/4 of his kibble, soak in warm water and mush it up. You want it to be easy for him to eat and digest. I would not feed him again at lunch time. I would definitely wait until his dinner time. It takes a while for the gut to heal (just like people when we’ve had a bad reaction to something we’ve eaten, we usually just start with a little bit of food and wait quite a while until we eat again). His digestive system has to adjust again. And please don’t over feed him. Again, it will make matter worse. Also, don’t feed him anything new. Just his regular kibble. Once he’s well completely, just feed him his regular food for a few days. I think you gave him all together way to many treats and too much variety and his system couldn’t take it.

[Naturella]

FreeholdHound,

This is interesting about the pasta. I don’t have elbow macaroni, but I could crush up some fettuccine, that should work, right? I can try this on Wednesday if the rice on Tuesday is not working out. And he has had some of the same treats before, but in a much smaller amount, like maybe up to 3, and he was ok. Oh, and did you add anything to the macaroni? Just broth, or some meat too?

[FreeholdHound]

Harry does best & recovers faster with over cooked elbow macaroni rather than rice. I mix it with low sodium chicken broth. I have also mixed in unflavored Pedialyte if problems are prolonged. When things start to get better I introduce his food back in gradually. Liver treats did the same thing to him when I 1st brought him home. Vital Essentials Tripe treats are his favorite.

[Naturella]

Everyone,

Thanks so much for the advice!

I think he probably did have too many new things in one night, and I usually use his kibble for training, but I decided to give him a little treat, since I had the liver and chicken treats… Sigh.

As for the diet – I think he knows what’s best for him too, because that breakfast kibble – he still hasn’t eaten any of it. I will take it away and give him food tomorrow. His water bowl is always kept fresh and full, so he can have as much as he wants. Yesterday he was his usual energetic self, and looked like he had tons of fun at the friend’s house (they have a husky), but today he has been sleeping most of the day.
Thus far – very little poop in the morning and afternoon, he shouldn’t have too much left in his tummy with all the pooping he did throughout the night.

For tomorrow’s feeding, I am thinking of soaking a few kibbles in warm (not hot) water for a bit, then mushing them up with bland brown rice and a teaspoon of pumpkin, and feeding that and seeing how he does. If he seems ok, I will feed a larger amount of the same for lunch, and maybe the normal amount he would have at dinner.

My roommate suggested putting some uncooked rice in his food, because supposedly it soaks up any excess acid better than cooked rice. Any thoughts on that? Is it safe?

Also, of course, if little guy is not better by the end of Wednesday, we’re hitting up the vet on Thursday.

One of my friends asked if it may be worms of some sort – I don’t know, because it all happened literally overnight, so I think it’s the dang treats, but could it be any worms that could be causing this?

Thank you all SO much for the concern and advice! For now, I will just snuggle up with the little sick guy and study…

[Susan]

Next time at training or anytime just give Bruno his normal Kibble as a treat, thats what I have to do with my boy as he gets a iffy tummy from liver treats or any treats..

[Cyndi]

Sounds like, to me anyways, if he’s not used to having liver and he ate a lot of the liver treats that might have caused it. I would definitely stop the kibble for a bit and, like crazy4cats suggested, do either boiled chicken and rice for a few days and the pumpkin. I just sounds like he had too much liver or too much something new.

But, if the runny stools continue for more than a few days after giving him the chicken and rice, I’d call your vet.