[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 12 years, 2 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……

[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.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Aleksandra-
Poor, poor Bruno-
I’m not sure what caused his upset tummy, maybe all the different type of treats in one night? But, whenever my dogs get bad bellies, I try to withhold food and water for a while. It’s tough to do with multiple pets cause I have to feed the others. But, when I do feed him, I would never give kibble. That is the hardest type of food for them to digest. I usually start with a very small amount of rice and boiled chicken/turkey or canned food and pumpkin. You need to start with something very bland and only a small amount of it. It seems like you fed him too much too soon when he had a bad belly. Also, I would never take him to someone else’s house when he’s feeling sick. I honestly think about what I would do for myself or my kids when we are sick.
A great resource is dogaware dot com. They have a lot of great remedies for diarrhea. Best of luck to you!

[Naturella]

Hey, all!

So, Bruno’s got a problem…

Saturday night I was training Bruno with some freeze-dried liver treats, chicken-based training treats, and Victor GF Joint Health kibble from a sample bag. All went well, we had a long and productive training session, during which he had many treats. He was last taken out at 3am (right at the time change).

Sunday morning he wakes us up as usual to go potty, but way too early, even for him (8am), and this time, he’s shaking. I see that he can barely hold it, so I rush to take him out, and he goes immediately, very soft serve and a lot of it. We go back in, and two hours later, he needs to go again, for almost liquidy stool, and he went until he pooped clear. I figured he was done and emptied out, so we go back inside. He has some pumpkin in his breakfast kibble to try and help his tummy. I start cooking, so an hour later my friend points out that he had thrown up. About 30 min later, he goes #2 by the front door (I’m still cooking). When my husband takes him to his friend’s house, he throws up a quarter-sized amount, and poops liquid at their fireplace. When he came back, I had cooked some plain brown rice with coconut oil and I mixed it with his kibble to try and help his tummy troubles. Throughout the day he pooped a couple other times, at short intervals, and very soft and mucusy stuff, kind of gel-like, and incredibly smelly. He had 2 bowls of kibble and rice, and an extra half bowl of just brown rice with some water. He ate ok and his energy was just the same until the evening, when he was pooped out and passed out. We took him out right before going to bed, and this morning I woke up to him crying to go outside, so I rush to take him, but stumble upon 3 piles of poop in the bathroom and hallway… Outside, he pooped a tiny bit, still soft and mucusy/gel-like. So, now I have only served him his regular kibble, no rice.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what else I could give to him to make him feel better and fix his stools? They are usually very hard and I add different things to soften them up, but now I need the opposite effect. Maybe just kibble will help? If he continues like this all throughout today, we’re going to the vet first thing tomorrow…

• This topic was modified 12 years, 2 months ago by Naturella.

[jen.mcco]

Thank you for the post- Sorry to hear your going through something like this too– It is hard to see them like this and not know what to do– At this time when he refuses food he does NOT seem to be in pain- We have felt around on his sides and stomach and nothing where as before he would flinch and his stomach would be rock hard– He will just walk up to the food and walk away like hmm that’s not interesting– Before he would stand at his food and hunch up and act like he wanted to eat but would refuse to eat and then would pace and pant pace and pant.. That was our clue he was having an “episode” again- We have not done endoscope or anything at this time that has required him go under- He also has a heart murmur so putting him under is not taken lightly and will ONLY be done as a last resort and ONLY if it has to be done- I trust my vets 100% as I work for them and have for 11 years but they too are at a loss as to why he refuses food–NOW at this time when he refuses food he will gladly take treats where before during an episode he wouldn’t even do that–and yes If only they could talk and tell us what is wrong– WOULD be so much easier..

[Shasta220]

Ah, sounds like cats are quite the problem causes LOL! Usually we buy small enough packs of meat that they don’t need to be frozen, she eats them before they go bad (if I ever add organs, then they usually get frozen since one package lasts a looooong time for Ms. Picky Britches). Millie is our raw eater, refusing ANY commercial foods, then her younger brother, Panda, loves his dry (it’s hilarious – he’s always been on the dirt cheap dry food and /only/ liked his Cat Chow. We finally switched to Chicken Soup, and it took him a few days to adjust. We still keep cat chow around as treats for the ducks/chickens, and when we left a scoop of it out, Panda was there munching away on the food! The little dork prefers the cheap taste over quality lol). Then Maddy is the least picky, she doesn’t like raw, but that’s fine since she eats canned daily.

Well, I will just have to keep playing around with proportions for the goofy kitty.

Does anyone know how to post pictures? I’d love to show her to you guys, she is a very very unique kitty. Cream/chocolate tortoiseshell and has a perfectly split face (half white, half brown). Big blue eyes, white feet.

[Shasta220]

Honestly, I wouldn’t get too concerned. Just keep an eye on him, and if he acts weird then go ahead and take him in. I never give my dogs sugar, but I honestly don’t think a couple tablespoons would /kill/ a dog, as they make TONS of dog treats w sugar (it really annoys me – why the heck do they make strawberry and peanut butter flavored dog treats, complete w a sugary cream filling that smells good enough for me to eat? Dogs seriously have different tastes than people, ugh.) and I know many dogs who eat them daily and are still alive.

I’ll be perfectly honest though, I really don’t know what sugar does that’s hazardous to their health (other than the horrid breath lol).

[Jackie B]

I have an elderly friend who fosters small dogs. She trains every foster to a treadmill. She uses treats and a leash at first, then eventually most dogs will walk on their own without the leash. She uses a human treadmill she purchased used. It is a great idea for Texas summers. The mid-day heat will blister your pup’s feet and the heat is miserable.

[sue102dal]

What is sad is I tried to help him from the start to get into the pet food business. My co ops helped him develop his product line. All along I was trying to get him to understand he must follow the needs of the customer but would not listen . I now have a great supplier that offers blue ridge beef plus other products and treats al natural.

[Honeybeesmom1]

Two that come to mind would be The Honest Kitchen and Grandma Lucy’s. USA made and safe. I trust both of those companies. GL has some treats with wheat but their white fish and freeze-dried chicken treats don’t.

[acramos1]

I need some help in search of safe and healthy dog treats. Who are some of the best manufacturers of all natural dog-treats free of wheat/soy/corn and maybe free of artificial colors/flavors/preservatives as well?

[Dori]

This is from the Heartgard website as to administration. Shawna, I believe you are correct in that the entire pill must be given. From what I’m reading the site says that you should continue to give Heargard for one (1) month not 3 after heart worm season ends.

ADMINISTRATION: Remove only one chewable at a time from the foil-backed blister card. Return the card with the remaining chewables to its box to protect the product from light. Because most dogs find HEARTGARD Plus palatable, the product can be offered to the dog by hand. Alternatively, it may be added intact to a small amount of dog food.The chewable should be administered in a manner that encourages the dog to chew, rather than to swallow without chewing. Chewables may be broken into pieces and fed to dogs that normally swallow treats whole.
Care should be taken that the dog consumes the complete dose, and treated animals should be observed for a few minutes after administration to ensure that part of the dose is not lost or rejected. If it is suspected that any of the dose has been lost, redosing is recommended.
HEARTGARD Plus should be given at monthly intervals during the period of the year when mosquitoes (vectors), potentially carrying infective heartworm larvae, are active. The initial dose must be given within a month (30 days) after the dog’s first exposure to mosquitoes. The final dose must be given within a month (30 days) after the dog’s last exposure to mosquitoes.
When replacing another heartworm preventive product in a heartworm disease preventive program, the first dose of HEARTGARD Plus must be given within a month (30 days) of the last dose of the former medication.
If the interval between doses exceeds a month (30 days), the efficacy of ivermectin can be reduced. Therefore, for optimal performance, the chewable must be given once a month on or about the same day of the month. If treatment is delayed, whether by a few days or many, immediate treatment with HEARTGARD Plus and resumption of the recommended dosing regimen will minimize the opportunity for the development of adult heartworms.

[dogspotindia]

Royal Canin Educ a fun way to provide your pet nutrition to your dog as a part of a treat.Royal Canin Educ is the best training treat. you can try also Jerhigh chicken jerky, Chomp.
http://www.dogspot.in/training-treats/

[Akari_32]

He eats at night. We usually leave in the morning. Getting this dog to go potty is a headache (he had serious ADD and you have to keep him on track, and he likes to waddle around while he poops, so he can cover as large an area as possible), so it’s easier on all of us to feed him in the evening when we’re home for good. He does also gets treats and chews (and his mommy and grandma sneak him things all the time, too), so it’s not like he has no food all day. He really likes to do things at too speed (like eating). I’ve come to accept that it’s a terrier thing. I’m rarely home all day, or most of the day, but I could feed him half and half if I get the chance. Mom works out of town and is only home a few days a week, so she can’t do it unless she happens to be home, either.

[traceearsena]

Hello. After many months of various attempts to help our rescue boxer with his allergy issues, we finally have some control with grain free food/treats and daily allergy drops. However, I have noticed that he has much more loose stools which is now to the the point of huge diarrhea. He’s even had accidents in the house which is not him unless he can’t help it. When he was off the food for awhile and on a prescription food for urinary crystals, his stools seemed better.
Vet had him on a course of antibiotics and imodium a couple weeks back. His stool was negative for anything but she said there has been something going around causing diarrhea. Didn’t do much good. The brand he has been on for most of the last year since we adopted him is Earthborne Holistics-Coastal Catch. Our trainer highly recommended the brand. We have also tried adding the pumpkin but didn’t help much. Our other dog, without allergies, is fine on the same food.
Would like a recommendation for a grain free that has helped others who might have had this issue. With this quality of food, I would expect his stools to be smaller and formed. The lovely side issue with this is he is having anal gland issues (or as we call it-fishies!) Thanks for any suggestions.

[hamptonmeadow]

Please don’t give your dogs any of these popular treats. They are all sourced from China and the big companies are slow to recall as are PETSMart etc.

Buy treats that are made in the USA with USA ingredients and say so on the label or make them yourself. There are lots of recipes for dog treats. Dehydrating meats like liver and venison, elk and buffalo works well too. Pureed first fruits and veggies work well. Watermelon, rind and all is a very good treat and very good for them. Do your research and you find really excellent things for your dogs that give them the nutrition they need as well.

[hamptonmeadow]

-Pig ears, bully sticks are sourced from China. I would never touch them. The same with cat fish skins. hdm suggestion of traecheas and chicken RAW bones etc are as usual good advice.

Never parboil bones, cooked bones splinter. I would not feed marrow bones because some dogs get their mouths stuck in the center. But the marrow is awesome.

Vets are really no nutritionists and don’t know a lot about much beside what they sell.
But, you can listen to the knowledgeable people here. You can also make treats if you don’t use sugar and use seseme seeds, chia seeds and fruits and green leafy veggies and cruiciferous veggies (pureed).

[InkedMarie]

Dr. Mike only reviews dog food here, not treats. I don’t think they’d rate very highly if he did.

I’m partial to Buddy Bisquits (come in large & mini, also soft), SoJo’s (mine love the duck & cherry), The Honest Kitchen (they have a few) and Charlee Bear treats.

[Dori]

Hi USA Dog Treats. If you’ll go to Forums. Then click on the very bottom that says Off Topic, then read down either sixth or seventh is your Micro chip forum. That was your original start up of post, I think, where I responded.

[Dori]

This is for USA Dog Treats. Your post did show up and I responded immediately. I don’t recall where I saw your post.

[Naturella]

I am so happy you are already seeing improvement in your boy, Fatcakes! 🙂
Good food, chews/treats, and supplements really do work wonders on our beloved pets from the inside! 🙂

Keep us posted on how his dandruff issue goes!

P.S. I am about to switch my Bruno to fish-based food in about a month or so, so good to know my apartment will smell like an aquarium as well, LoL!

[2sheltieswluv]

I’m looking for safe dog treats for my Sheltie. Been on the other forum for change of food.
Here’s a list of what he gets, not everyday:

Wholelife FreezeDried Sweet Potato

Life Abundance Antioxidant Bars – 1/4 small piece nighttime.
Sojo’s Blueberry cobbler small bone shaped treats – use for training.

Tried Snooks hard sweet potato, but seemed to increase stool. Stopped. I also want to get Jess chewing on a hard bone, etc for his teeth. Any suggestions on the above would be appreciated.

[Fatcakes]

This is great, thank you all so much. My house smells like an aquarium now but totally worth it. We have gotten rid of all treats, etc that have chicken, and also are switching the cats to Orijin. Origin and THK treats, with some egg, pumpkin, sardines, and coconut oil rotated in here and there as well (not all of this has been implemented yet for the sake of his digestive tract and my carpet). I don’t think he has a fish allergy as the only improvement I saw was after starting the fish oil supplement. Love the spreadsheet idea, too! He loves his Beam treats and new food. I can’t wait to see if this fixes the dandruff. I swear his fur is already getting softer…

[FreeholdHound]

Cloud Nine Buddy Biscuits – many flavors and grain free options are the most used brand here for my Greyhound with multiple food intolerances. Available at Petco and Target by me. Old Mother Hubbard biscuits are the back up treats available at many locations. As I have to avoid poultry, sweet potato, & oatmeal my options are limited.

[JamesKelly]

I wish this site would give a detailed review of Milkbone, and, if perchance they are less than ideal, include suggestions for non-harmful biscuits that Dog might like.

Biscuits for convenience, nothing to melt or stain the carpet.

Or, Dr. Sagman’s recipe for home-baked treats.

No need to discuss a popular commercial product, just let us know what might actually be harmless to Dog.
We do bake human food in this house.

[JamesKelly]

My experience with two toy poodles, weight about 8-9#, & one 11# cockapoo is if you think they might have food problems, or at least some mysterious undiagnosed troubles, change them to something that at least claims to be all-natural, made in USA only. Read the ingredients, then find out what the producer description really means.

Poodle #1 about 20 years ago. Started feeding her some dyed red soft food pellets in a clear package, disremember brand, haven’t seen it in years. She of course loved it. She was getting old, lost control of her bladder. Took her to vet & he gave us the nice speech preparating us to have our aging dog put down. Then he was so amazed by how healthy she seemed, when he examined her. I, an engineer not a vet, would attribute this to her living with a young Springer Spaniel & two Siamese cats, all of whom kept her quite active. I thought about it, then took her off of the pretty soft red food. She regained bladder control.
Coincidence, of course.

Poodle #2 maybe 10 years ago. Loved to lie down in my lap, but it was a real good idea to put a towel or blanket underneath her to catch the Leakage from this aging female. She ate some presumably good vet-approved canned dog food. Remembered Poodle #1 and switched her to something that claimed to be all natural, I believe Paul Newman’s stuff. No more leaking, safe to have her in my lap.
In my opinion, not shared by my wife (& unsure of vet), I killed her with Nutro treat sticks some years later.

Cockapoo 3 years old, weight 11#. Occasionally throws up bile, then one scrambled egg breakfast last week. Had been giving her Milkbones. Wife of course thinks I am an over-reacting know-it-all. True enough, but dog’s morning appetite better & no more bile spots on rug. Read the amazing ingredients in Milkbones. Yes, I am an arrogant fellow, and yes, Dog is now Off of those treats. No more wheat, sodium metabisulfite and BHA (whether or not they are responsible).

Wish this site would do a review of Milkbone (Dog loves them) & perhaps suggest some healthier dry biscuits that still taste good to Dog.

I really would like to hear from some experienced, educated person who knows about dog foods, rather than try to apply engineering methods to care for Dog.

[JamesKelly]

I have had, in my opinion, extremely bad results from giving my LATE poodle Nutro treat sticks. She had blood in her stools, bad appetite. High liver enzymes. Loved the treats. Took her off of treats, she was most disappointed but her appetite came back. For a while. About 10 mo later she died of liver hemorrhage in vet’s office.

Have recently ceased to give my 3 yr old Cockapoo Milkbones because seems to me they affected her appetite & associated them with finding her (1 scrambled egg) breakfast on the rug last week.

Wife disagrees.

You should know that I an arrogant engineer with a high degree of faith in my own observations.

[JamesKelly]

I might suggest simply taking your dog off of these treats.
The producer and the vet may or may not be helpful.

I gave my #9 toy Poodle Nutro treats. She loved them. Appetite decreased, one time had blood in stools. Vet was concerned about her high liver enzymes, neither of us could figure out what she might have gotten into. Unlike many dogs, she never (in my observation) ate or chewed on odd objects about the yard or street. Took her off of snacks, she was most disappointed. Then her appetite came back. Left her off of Nutro, but, about a year later she was quiet one morning before a vet appointment, died of liver hemorrage in his office.
Of course it could have been age-related, other problems. But she surely did pick up after a week or so without Nutro sticks.

Now we have given our 3 year old 11# Cockapoo Milkbones. She loves them. In recent months her appetite has a little off in the morning, occasionally threw up bile. Last week threw up her breakfast egg (we share breakfast). I took her off of Milkbones & looked about the internet for information. Wife thinks I am nuts, but I will never feed a dog of mine Milkbone, Nutro or any other pet food store treat again. Think her appetite is back. Asked Vet today to humor me & check her liver enzymes.

Have faith in my own observations, at least in this instance.
Read the ingredients, then fine out what they really are. You would not eat those chemicals & amazing animal parts, why feed them to Dog?.

[Shasta220]

I’d agree with crazy4cats, I think you should try to find a super quality nutrient-dense kibble, then add their favorite meat (cooked or raw, however they like it). Try canned foods, or make your own broth by boiling chicken bones (or just adding some water to any of the juices after cooking the meat). It will add moisture and flavor to the food, two pluses for picky pups.

That’s good that you took away treats. It might help them realize “Oh… This weird stuff in my bowl is actually food? I think I should eat it!” My boy used to be a picky picky eater, he’d go without food for up to 3 days, simply because he didn’t like the brand/flavor. I would quit giving him his daily biscuits, and he’d go back to eating. He wasn’t overweight at all either – as it sounds like your dogs are on the thin side as well.

[Jjennilee]

Nice to know I am not alone my boys are grown one 35 and the other 23 this year but my fur babies are my current reason to be home LOL… but i will take it …Its never a dull moment anyone that says being a stay at home wife and mom isnt work has never experienced it for sure…

Tried the Honest Kitchen today… No go smells like horse feed and they wont go near it LOL… so on to the next one… only reason we tried that one is the shop we went into didnt have the doc harveys yet and we got samples…

We have taken away all treats now and rawhide as i understand rawhide can be a problem ?
and i guess tomorrow we will try basic beef again… I am so lost as to what to do for these two…