[Sloane K]

Patty –

It’s a very controversial topic right now, but just like with humans, cutting down portion sizes & introducing more exercise is a great way to burn fat. You could also replace any treats you give your dog with healthier options such as carrots, for example. There’s a chance your pup is not receiving the right nutrients, either. Any diet, raw or not, should be balanced to allow for your pup to receive different nutrients throughout the day.

However, I am not a licensed professional & I always advise people to consult their veterinarian before introducing new diet plans to their pet – including a raw food diet.

Wish your pup the best.

[Sloane K]

Both raw & cooked carrots are fine for dogs. Chances are the commercial dog treats you feed them are much worse for your dog than the carrots are.

[Sue S]

Hi Kenneth A – Thanks again for your feedback. We unfortunately don’t have a “Pet People” here. I live in Peoria, AZ. Looks like right now, “Chewy.com” is who I can get the Zignature from. Not sure yet on the Fromm.

We do however have a “Pet Plant”, but they don’t say on their website what they carry, so I’m going to stop by and see. Almost done with the Science Diet though (thank goodness).

The Vet did want her to start taking “Royal Canine – Hydrolyzen Protein” (with nothing else, not even treats) to try and settle her tummy down. (My daughter has a “Puggle Mix”, who is on the Royal Canine too and lives with us). I didn’t want to switch again, but I will once I see if this is helping at all). Vet claims she should get getting better by Friday and wants a report too.

Right now, I think I’m going with “Zignature Zessential” from everything I’ve read on it.
I did notice that it has more meat protein too. I like that it is for all ages (including puppy). I’m still doing my homework on Fromm too.

I’ll keep you posted.
~ Sue

[a c]

Aimee, Thank you for been so persistent.

Maybe there should be a non-government 3rd party agency to test all the dog food and dog treats. We may be surprised.

[Nick B]

Came to this post after a quick Google search on the product. My dog was doing fine until we gave her these. She absolutely loves the Chicken Strips. Those caused somewhat soft stool but she’s undergoing other treatment so I thought little of it.

But she developed gas problems out of nowhere. We wondered why but mostly laughed about it and decided to watch how many treats we gave her more closely per day.

The chicken nuggets caused more violent diarrhea. Since she wasn’t taking meds during this period, I wondered what could have caused this. The nuggets were on sale at our grocery store so my partner loaded up on them. Our other usual treats ran low on grocery week, she’s had little else but Full Moon products and her regular dry food.

This isn’t a perfect testing scenario but the treats may be the cause here. The promise of healthy, simple ingredients drew our attention.

We wondered what changed. Thanks to yall for sharing these troubling stories. We’re thrown this stuff out!!

[Amanda P]

I like “Primal Treats”. Some are 100% just the meat or organ and some have honey and sea salt added. My dog loves the Dry Roasted Chicken Shredders (ingredients: chicken breast)

[pitlove]

Hi Patricia-

Weight loss is all about calories. The dog must burn off more calories than he/she is taking in in order to maintain a healthy weight or lose weight. 1 freeze-dried patty as a topper, plus an amount of kibble that you have not mentioned, for a Chihuahua sounds like a lot of food. Is she going for walks daily? Is she getting out in the yard with you and doing activities that allow for her to burn off energy?

A freeze-dried topper, though seemingly healthy, may not be appropriate for your dogs current lifestyle and could be causing more problems than not. My suggestion would be to go back to using canned food as a topper for her if she was a healthy weight when that was her diet. Also please cut out any treats she is getting and replace those with petting, attention, walks or another form of excerise. That is the best way to love our dogs.

[Cathy D]

My sick dogs are in Petaluma, California.
I returned the food yesterday. I attached the lawsuit artical to the bag.
The pet shop owner said he had an email last week last week about the champion products being discontinued soon.

I wish I had asked more questions but with sick dogs & a lack of sleep , I just wanted to get home.

I have switched to Merrick fish single ingredient . My dog is not eating a full meal yet but I’m comfortable with Merrick. I am just sick about it. I tried for the best food. I never heard my dog whimper before but this last week was non stop. The vet said inflamed swollen ears, maybe allergies. She also chewed her food pretty good.

My 15 y/o Min Pin started having nightmares last week. I thought it was time for the sadest drive to the vet. She would jump up still asleep and run into things or fall of the couch. She is too frail for that 10 times a day. I gave her a few for treats for 2 weeks. They stopped now. She’s had a perfect 24 hours.

This the second day my dogs are off the food and they are so much better.

Again, my heartfelt thanks to you all for posting.

[Cathy D]

I should also add to the above post that while giving this to my miniature doodle ,
I gave it as treats, to my 15-year-old miniature pinscher . She’s been having the worst nightmares and waking up and falling off the couch .

I hope both my dogs can bounce back from this.

When I read the list of ingredients from that lawsuit it makes me very angry . I know this is a new record but sometimes those come too late and I think that originator of this website understands that.

Definitely post the link posting morning post something if something is pending .PLEASE.

POSTERS………….
Thank you for saving BOTH my dogs .

[Kathleen C]

I’ve had my dog on Annamaet Lean for several 4 lb. bags and he has only gained weight, not lost. I am going back to the Wellness Core Low Fat since he at least stayed at 20 lbs and didn’t go up to 21 as with Annamaet. I can’t seem to get him back down to 19 lbs no matter what I feed him. It’s probably my problem not his because he begs every time he sees me eat. His treats are all low fat low calorie but it’s very easy to hand out an over abundance of that kind.

[Wei A]

So of course I found out about the lawsuit after I came home with the new bag of Orijen Puppy Large 🙁

I’ve been feeding my GSD Orijen Puppy Large and my cat Orijen Freeze Dried Regional Red and Freeze Dried Angus Dog Treats (the cat version is the same, except smaller pieces, are hard to find, and a lot more expensive per ounce than dog version).

Guess when we go to the vet (in the next couple weeks), I’ll ask for heavy metals, BPA, and acrylamide testing. Whether or not we switch to something else will be determined by the results.

Does anyone know if there are better tests than others for these things, or are they all about the same/only one choice? Anything in particular we should do/not do the day before/day of the vet visit in preparation for the tests? Does cat or dog make a difference? Would it be better to get the tests ordered and done by a different vet since my vet doesn’t like Champion Foods and he only recommends Purina and Science Diet products?

Hopefully everything will be fine.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr… hisssssssssssss…

• This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by Wei A.

[Ellies Parents]

My pup needed Vitamin C supplements, and I had issues finding one that she could absorb. I saw the most improvement when I gave her blueberries as treats. Her body was able to absorb those. The Vitamin C supplements I bought for her were for dogs, but I don’t think her body was absorbing it. If you can find glucosamine in its natural form, I would recommend that

[Anonymous]

I want my dog treats to be healthy. The treat contains natural ingredients and is easily digestible by the god.

[Teresa V]

I am recovering from the loss of my 7 year old lab. Grew too fast and had five surgeries in his too short life.
We are getting a new pup (a lab, what else?) and are using recomendations on food advisor. Training treats are my newest quest. We pick up our 8 week old on May 2nd, 2018 so any advice would be most welcome. I’m determined to keep this dog as healthy as I possibly can.
Thank you all for your comments.
LabLover

[stacey k]

Hi,

I started my dog on raw diet about 2 weeks ago, I did the slow transition because he’s old and we just adopted him from the SPCA not long ago. So he did fine when we were transitioning, but now we are on almost 100% raw (with exception of treats), he has been passing VERY stinky gas and his poop is extremely stinky.
He did have diarrhea when he was first fully switched, so I added more bone, calcium, and pumpkin to his food. The diarrhea is much better. I’m just wondering why the stinky gas and stool? Does this mean he’s not able to digest the raw meat? Do I have to add probiotics? Any suggestion is appreciated, if you have experienced the same, please help.
Thank you.

[Martha W]

My 3 year old cockapoo has had chronic gastroenteritis since she was a puppy. Her symptoms have escalated in frequency and drama: lethargy, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, seizures. We’ve switched her food several times suspecting allergies: from chicken to rabbit to turkey/sweet potato and now kangaroo! All food has been purchased through the vet. The one consistent thing in her diet has been CET Hextra Chews, recommended by the vet for oral hygiene. She hasn’t had one in three weeks, after the last horrible week long gastro incident. And she has been fine.
I’m beginning to suspect that the chews have been the culprit all along.
I think very highly of the vet we go to, but it seems reading this posting, some dogs just can’t digest the Virbac CET Hextra chews.
Too bad, as she adored them.
Now she doesn’t have any treats at all, which feels a bit cruel.
If anyone can recommend a safe treat I would appreciate it.

[Bazuhi]

Bernie,
I honeslt think dog food companies make their treats out of the same thing the dog food is made with and charge double the price. Mine do nor each much in treats and the ones they do I don’t worry about them since it is not much and not gonna kill them but I stay away from the cheap end stuff like milk bone etc
.
Richard
same qustion how hard are these treats after baked?
.
Linda
I had to chuckle forever to make?
Have you ever tried just rolling this on a bakin sheet?
How hard are these treats after baking?

[Elisha Z]

Thank you for the suggestions. I will see what happens. By the way, I failed to mention, they LOVE treats. I usually give them True Chews Premium Grillers (Chicken). Smells good to me but I wont try it. Thanks again!

[Susan]

Hi Steve,
you need to build his confidence back up, some low life human has knocked his confidence out of him & put fear into the poor dog, if you raise your hand near him does he cower?
if yes, he’s been smacked hit etc, you need to teach him your hands will NEVER hit him again, your hands feed him, give him treats, pat him, walk him, etc he needs to gain trust in you & show him not all humans are bad, some are good…

He DOES NOT need any medications like Anon101 always posts, sometimes these anxiety meds can make your anxieties worse, not better, you’ll end up with a drugged up dog, that will never get over his anxieties, there’s better ways to treat anxieties, he will probably always be a stressful dog but in time he will get better, its all up to you & the way you treat him from now on….
He needs a animal behavourist not a vet & meds..

When he stresses about going out your back yard cause he can see a golfer then what about taking him for wee/poos out your front yard?? this is what I do with my boy now, I have a Staffy who suffers with anxieties, we moved about 4months ago & either side of me are little yapper dogs & everytime poor Patch goes out for a wee or poo these dogs bark at him, so now I let him out the front yard for his quick wee when he gets up first thing of a morning lunch time & before bed….

Does he know how to walk on a lead & go for walks?? his old owner might of tried walking him & he was very fearful of humans & wouldnt walk, she never took the time to reasure him & make him feel safe that everything is OK, she probably did what so many dog owners do they force the dog to do what they are very scared of doing, making the dog worse..

Teach him the word “it’s OK” & reasure him, it will be OK, I promise (say his name), then when he does do what you want him to do, you tell him in a very happy voice “Good Boy gee your a really good boy” give him heaps of praise & then he gets a nice small treat, buy those freeze/air dried treats or pieces of cooked meat….
also if you massage around his ears & play with his ears & side of his face this brings a calming feeling to the dog also softly pating & stroking him will calm….

My Patch was very scared of the car & water, baths, hose, Id say someone hosed him, he has IBD & he probably had dirrahea & his old owner probably hosed the poo & hosed him aswell… So I started taking him for a little 2min drive up the rd to the beach he had never seen a beach before & was terrified, I didnt know this at the time, so we would just sit in car & watch all the dogs swimming & playing at the dog beach, then we’d go for a walk away from the beach to the park, he was very scared of the ocean sound it made, after 1 week going to the dog beach everyday same time, he jump out of the car & pull me to the beach & ran along the wet sand & do the things he saw the other dogs doing but he was still scared to go in for a swim & get his ball or stick, then he started to gain more confidence & started to go into the water a little, this all takes time & patient.

Try & find a animal behavourist to help him gain his confidence back & enjoy his back yard when he goes outside, do you sit out your back yard? start sitting out the back yard with him or him watching you out in your yard put a chair he can sit in & watch his back yard then start playing ball with him, doing stuff with him out in the yard, then he’ll see these golfers wont hurt him it could be their golf sticks or hats he’s scared of, maybe start with your front yard everyday same time he needs a routine, my Boxer was scared of walking stick & men with hats & I had a old neighbour who had a walking stick & wore a old mans hat everyday i’d be outside around the time this old man came home from the bowling club 4pm & he would say hello to Angie at first she just stood behind me then after a while she started to greet him & say hello then she’d wait for him & I had another old neighbour who won Angies heart with food he was always giving Angie chicken…
also daily walks to parks where there’s people walking with their dogs even if you have to drive to a park & what I did with Patch when I first rescued him, was routine same time everyday he ate, he went for his walks etc routine helps them gain trust, we would sit at the park & just watch the dogs playing ball, watch people walking by & then Id talk to someone & in time Patch made alot of dog & human friends.. it will take time but he will get better in time, if you dont work then every day go for a little drive somewhere nice you both can sit & watch the world go by, same with your back yard, show him it’s OK if you have a back deck start sitting out there & bring out his breakfast or dinner, if he loves food he should walk out the back door with you & his food bowl sit with him while he eats, but if he wont go out the back then bring back in the food, dont leave it out there he isnt ready yet, think of ways to get him out the yard that are good things & talk in a happy voice & make sure you praise him when he’s done something really good, talk to him in a high happy voice, chase him, play games with him, he probably hasnt been shown what dogs do & play also he mighten have been socialized like Pitlove said…
Keeps us updated how he’s doing & remember baby steps, 2 steps forward 1 step back is OK..

[Neona N]

I just saved a few dollars by using the Editor’s Coice list. Thank you very much. 🙂

What should we be aware of when purchasing treats for our four-legged family members?

Thank you!
Neona

[Linda K]

Homemade dog treats called turkey and oatmeal bites

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup instant oatmeal
1 cup grated carrots
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/4 pounds fresh ground turkey(I use 99% lean)
1TBSP olive oil

Mix carrots, eggs, turkey and oil together in large bowl. Add dry ingredients slowly until all is mixed well. For small dog, fill mini muffin cups 1/2 way and pat down gently. For large dogs fill to top and pat down. Bake 18 minutes at 350°. Makes dozens. Refrigerate only enough to last 3-4 days, and freeze the remainder.

It takes for-bloody-ever to make them, so I usually double the recipe, but the recipe lasts a long time. I had one dog who had epilepsy. SInce I didn’t want to give him anti-convulsant meds, I gave these to him at bedtime to help maintain blood sugar and eliminate seizures overnight. It worked very well. My non-epileptic dogs have loved them too.

[anonymous]

Take him to the vet. There are medications for canine anxiety.
Yes, dogs can have anxiety disorders and PTSD just like people.
The medication will more than likely be just to get him through the transition period.
Carry him outside if you have to, only stay a couple of minutes, bring him in and give him a treat. Just a small bite of something tasty, like chicken.
Same thing with the carpet offer him a bite to cross over.
Baby steps. Maybe a little more time outside every day. As he gets better make the treats smaller and smaller, like just a piece of kibble, as he will grow to expect something.

Don’t disregard the medication part, I’m talking about prescription meds via examination by a vet, not supplement waste of money crap.
Until you can reduce his anxiety (by meds and patience, tlc) he will be unable to relax and unable to learn anything, in fact he may get worse.

Good luck and give us an update. I was thinking of getting a greyhound myself, down the road, if I ever get another dog.

[CockalierMom]

Hi Robert,
All the various brands of canned food I have looked at show the Kcal/kg and the Kcal/can of food. The above poster did not explain clearly what Kcal/Kg is–it is the amount of kcals in a kilogram. In the example you posted, 860 kcal is for 1 kilogram (1000 grams) of food. If there is 311 kcals in the can it would contain around 361 grams (aprox 12.9 ozs –28 grams in an oz.). If you are feeding your girl 3.3 oz twice a day, that is aprox 159 calories in canned food from the example. If you are feeding Canidae lamb, turkey and chicken it is 1200 Kcal/kg so she would be getting around 270 calories a day with treats which sounds about right.

Hope this clarifies kcal/kg and good luck with your babies.

[Robert S]

I used caculator on this site. If I use 11lb it is 301 calories per day for senior dog. I think I just answere my guestion. The 311 KCal is for a cup 8 oz not total can of food I feed. So if i give my dog 50 calories of treats per day I would decrease the 301 to 251 calories. since i feed 2 x’s daily shecwould get 125 kCal each feeding. about 3.3 oz each feeding or 6-7 oz per day. So a can of dig fod with 311 KCal, 13. oz can should last 2 days. (I was trying to make the 860 number for the can and 311 for a cup however mathematically it didn’t work. So I started wondering if the 311 was for the can 13. oz.)

I recently went on wet food. I weigh them often since on wet food. I have tried different food and KCal can be different. So I was just trying to understand the label. They love the wet.

Our female will be 15 in july and has a nass in her abdomen which we assume is slow growing cancer. Plus she has lost some teeth.
Anyway putting her on Canidae Pure Grain Free lamb & chicken has made her into a different dog.

Our male wire hair dachshund has started seizures. I believe that he is a carrier of or has Lafora so I lowered the starch he gets. I feed him Castor & Pollux Butcher and Buhels grain free stew (if on sake) or Merrick whole Earth Grain Free stew. I usually mix some kibbles EVO with his to keep cost down.

Thanks for your help. I have better understanding.

[crazy4cats]

You’re very welcome! Hope it works out. Btw, I feed one of my cats a prescription Royal Canin dry food. He’s done very well on it.

Limiting treats is hard! Our pets can be so darn convincing.

Best wishes to you!

[Blaire S]

Yes, Royal Canin, which is not my first choice! The weight is easy–my husband is limiting treats to one a day instead of over ten! He finally gets it. She needs to weigh around 27 lbs, is 32 now.

Just checked the Chewy link, Wellness looks perfect! Thank you so much!

[Blaire S]

Yes, Royal Canin, which is not my first choice! The weight is easy–my husband is limiting treats to one a day instead of over ten! He finally gets it. She needs to weigh around 27 lbs, is 32 now.

[Patricia A]

I need my 6 year old chihuahua has gained weight since I switched to freeze dried toppers. I always gave Fromm kibble mixed with health extensions canned as a topper. I wanted something better for topper so went with Stella Chewy’s freeze dried and Primal turkey and sardine. . Within the last year she has gained weight. I’ve cut down the kibble and give her less then is advised on the freeze dried. Been looking at recently the Stella Chewy’s fat is 53% according to advisor. protein is 35 and carbs 11. I know lower carbs are a good thing and fat should be higher but it seems like 53% is very high. Please any advice would be much appreciated. Going nuts with research. I read on the advisor reviews under Primal and Stella’s that given the fat content food is not suitable for all dogs. So only VERY active dogs would do well and maintain ideal weight on even toppers of these brands? I researched that a 5lb dog needs approx 200 calories. So Stella’s Freeze Dried patties are approx. 60 calories per patty . A quarter cup of fromm is 102 calories. They get 1 1/2 patty of Stella’s and 1/4 cup fromm a day. This adds up to 192 calories a day.Also give in-between a little boiled chicken/sweet potato/ string beans/raw carrots/bannana etc as treats. Any advice please. I really love the idea of a five star topping but maybe it’s not for them.

[Anonymous]

Hi, again, Nancy

Yes, I understand about pancreatitis — my female has it, and we know all about watching the fat intake. The Wellness Core Tender Bites that I have been feeding my pups for about 5 weeks has 21% crude fat, versus the 6% or so in the canned foods (also Wellness Core) I was feeding. But — I’m happy to report — absolutely no problems so far. And I have not had to throw any of the Tender Bites away, whereas I tossed TONS of the canned foods away, uneaten. I was making a lot of my own dog food from chicken breasts (baked), carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin. The pups ate this, but not with gusto. I also give them two Nutri-Vet senior vitamin tabs a day. But, so far, they’ve been doing really well on the Tender Bites (but I still offer the canned), which are 70% raw, gently dried.

I should mention that my male pup is sensitive to wheat — it was a long process to determine this, as it was by trial and error. When I avoid wheat in both food and treats, he does really well. I took him to a dermatologist several years ago (he’s 11), but they didn’t test for food allergies. Why???? So I had to do my own food testing. Many dog food products are “grain free” in the last many years, so it’s relatively easy to avoid wheat. Treats are the worse offenders. You might want to try staying away from wheat for awhile to see if this is a problem for your Schnauzers. My male is the one on Apoquel for various other allergies — Apoquel was a LIFE CHANGER!

My pups are mixed breed, but predominately Jack Russell terriers. They are litter-mates, but soooooooo different health-wise. The female has pancreatitis, but no other health issues. The male has diabetes, cataracts (he had surgery for this), and lots of allergies. We have only ever fed them premium foods recommended by DogFoodAdvisor, with the exception of Dr. Marty’s, which I bought from the infomercial.

Stay in touch, Nancy. Best of luck with your food search.

[pitlove]

Hi Jo C-

There is no accurate test out there for food allergies. The serum testing is notorious for false positives and false negatives.

Each of those are different immunoglobulins in the body that are responsible for setting off certain histamine reactions. This SHOULD have been explained to you by the doctor that did the testing, but clearly it was not which makes these results useless as you can’t interpert them well.

If you want to do this correctly, you will need to start over and conduct a proper elimination diet. It is the gold standard for accessing food allergies. An elimination diet can be done a couple different ways.

Option 1: A home cooked diet of a single novel protein (something your dog has never had before) and a single carbohydrate (again, one your dog has never had before). This is to be the SOLE diet for 3 months. No treats, no table scraps, no flavored medications, no food from other pets, no dental chews, nothing at all but the diet.

Option 2: A commercially prepared hydrolyzed protein diet from the vet’s office. Same rules apply here. With these diets the protein molecules are so small that the bodys immune system does not recognize them as a threat and will not form a histamine reaction.

Once the 3 months is up, you can then do a food challenge and reintroduce the old food to see if the symptoms come back. If the dog is positive for food allergies, he/she should have improved over the course of the elimination trial. If the allergies are due to something in the environment, its likely no change in symptoms would occur.

This is very hard to do for most pet owners, but when done correctly will give you a definite answer as to if the dog has food allergies. Sorry, to say, but I would throw out your results from the serum test and see if you can get your money back. There has been an overwhelming amount of research proving that the reliability of those tests is very low.

[anonymous]

Did you know that large frozen carrots make excellent, edible dog chew treats? As do semi-frozen sweet potatoes or many other large, frozen vegetables. The trick is to make them large enough to prevent choking (don’t use baby carrots), and be sure to wash them before freezing. These healthy, edible goodies are a safe choice compared to poultry bones which can splinter and cause serious damage if ingested.
(excerpt from) https://www.mspca.org/angell_services/frozen-carrots-as-a-doggie-chew-treat/
Click on link for full article

[darien g]

My 14 month old golden retriever would not gain weight. In general she is a smaller female golden retriever then others but she just is very skinny and I try and bulk her up with enough dog food and fresh boiled sweet potato as treats. My vet said to buy her the Natural Balance adult sweet potato venison formula. So she has limited ingredients and can gain weight. Is that true? Before that I had her on taste of the wild puppy food, merrick puppy food, and she would not gain 1 single pound in 3 months but seemed fine on it. She is a very active puppy and loves to play, I just wish she would gain at least 5-8 pounds so I would not feel her ribs. Can it be that she just has a fast metabolism since she is still so young? She does poop a lot. My other golden never had this problem.

[CockalierMom]

As haleycookie mentioned, the only accurate way to determine food allergies/sensitivities is through an elimination diet and Hill’s ZD is the perfect food to start that with. If your vet did not discuss with you, then for 12 weeks only feed the Hill’s ZD with absolutely no other food. If you need to give treats then use the kibble, or buy the ZD treats. After 12 weeks and no issues, then slowly introduce a new food to see is there is a reaction. This is how a proper elimination diet is done so please discuss this with your vet. If you can find foods where there is not a reaction, then you will have other choices, but do the full 12 weeks before considering adding another food.

[Ryan K]

Thanks Cathy! I will ask my vet about that specific medication. He’s so sensitive to meds though that I’m really nervous about how he will handle them. When he slipped his disc and was paralyzed he was put on steroids, prevacox and gabapentin and each one made him very sick with vomiting and lethargy. I had to just wind up giving him benedryl to relax him during that awful trauma since all pain meds aside from the steroids (those were ok)just wrecked his stomach. My room always has a humidifier going since my house is so dry so that’s good. I don’t smoke or allow smokers in the house so that’s a plus. I might try that tented humidifier idea. That’s smart. I know that my cousin has a little girl with asthma and when her cough gets bad they steam up the shower really good and sit in there for 10 to 20 mins and she calms down. I should give that a try!

Thank you again! I might just buy some chewy glucosamine treats just to see if he likes them and to help build up some joint and cartilage strength. Hopefully my little guy is ok. He’s such a sweet dog too. Breaks my heart. 😢

[Therok90]

Can I add a small amount of sugar to my homemade dog treats?

[Tyla M]

Josh,

Congrats on the new pup! You definitely want to be feeding him much more than a cup a day. When I got my first pup at 9 weeks, she was getting 2 cups a day with wet added until she was spayed (lab mix). I just fostered 2 8 week old lab mix puppies and ended up adopting 1. She is 14 weeks today and gets 3 cups a day, with wet food mixed in during the am and pm meal, plus healthy treats throughout the day. Pups need more calories than adult dogs, for sure. I feed FROMMs, but am sampling Farmina to see how it sits with my girls.

@Nadine, which flavor of low grain did you use? Im going to try out the lamb and blueberry, chicken and pom, and cod and orange. I hear the kibble is large? I may do the mini to grt smaller pieces lol

[Bazuhi]

Rick W I use my dogs regular dog food for treats LOL They seem to enjoy it
…
Or use cooked chicken breast/good beed in very small amounts.. better then the treats on the market

[Bazuhi]

My small breeds are on the Wellness core original (Yorkie mixes and a poodle) (5 dogs)
They have also eaten the low fat variety because back then I had a large breed that was very overweight and he was put on a diet using the low fat with great success..
(That was when I found the Dogfood Advisor BTW)
I do have to grind up the kibble for my one dog in my bullet since he has trachea issues and the kibble is slightly large for him (He didn’t have issues in the past he is now 6yrs old) I top mine off with 5 star grain free canned which currently Natures Domain grain free from Costco and I decided to now try Freshpet (the non grain free since it is rated better then the grain free) I have also done Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance as a topper too but I have called them several times and they can not give me the sodium levels in their food so I use it from time to time.
Mine are doing great but I also rotate to different grain free foods on occasions. I am now switching to Natures Variety and they have been that on the past and have done well but I like the smaller kibble too.
The weight issue of you one dog… you need to measure the dogs food based on the calories he should get.. It took me forever to figure it out since I am not a math wiz but 3 of my dogs get 2.5 table spoons of dry kibble and 2 heaping tablespoons of the topper and the other 2 dogs get 3.5 tbsp of the dry and the 2 heapings of the topper.
I do feed my dogs 2x a day I feel it’s better (They did eat 3x but they decided it was too much)
I do feed treats too so that is why my food is slightly less probable then it should be
But this is just what I do I am no guru that’s for sure

[Kathy B]

Kimberly,

I believe all of the “flavors” of Zignature have cranberries. Our vet also recommended Cranandin by nutro as a once a day supplement. In addition to this we give Molly “treats” of ice cubes to ensure her water intake has increased, she thinks they are great! It so hard to be sure what to do, as you can see from earlier posts there are many opinions.

[Rick W]

I stumbled across what some might consider a “hole in the wall” pet shop but inside that shop was a couple whose passion are your pets and solving riddles like what we were dealing with. When I described everything to her, she put our dog on a different food with different supplements. By the way, I forgot to mention above that he was dealing with bad eye drainage too which I didn’t know was relevant until she asked. Bottom line?? We think he is allergic to chicken and everything we were feeding him had chicken in it. We are now on a the large breed puppy food from NutriSource whose main proteins are turkey and whitefish. It’s grain-free as well. She also changed his probiotic from ProPlan version to a brand called Herbsmith. The specific probiotic is Microflora Plus. Last, we were giving him canned pumpkin and she suggested a more concentrated version (dehydrated) that we sprinkle on his food. The brand is Super Snouts and the product is called Pumpkin Latte. It’s a mixture of pumpkin and whole goat’s milk.

Soon after switching over, he was much better and he no longer has all that drainage in his eyes. Glad we found her!

All that said…we just had another bout of diarrhea over the past few days, but we also had a training session which required lots of treats so we need to evaluate what was in those treats because nothing else has changed. It’s always something…

[Pam D]

My 2 pugs have been on this brand for months (dry). They love it. I do not give them treats. About 2-3 weeks ago my female got really bad, runny diarrhea. She spent 2 days at the vet and they put her on the Science Diet Prescription-D. A couple days later my male got it too. After the Science Diet, meds and then Nature’s Menu canned food they were well. Transitioned them back to the dry and after 3 days my female has diarrhea again. I am hoping my male doesn’t get sick before I can get something else tomorrow. No more of the dry for them. By the way my female has lost 2-3 pounds and she is small to start with.

[KIM C]

My 2 1/2 year old female Dalmatian had a preliminary diagnosis of MMM today. We are awaiting results of blood test to return in 7-10 days before starting steroids as this can cause a false result in the testing. I am searching for other owners that are going through the same thing with their pet. I am hoping to get some ideas as to what I can feed her to help her through this difficult time. She can not eat kibble and will barely eat canned food. She can barely open her mouth and basically has to squish her nose down into the bowl and that spreads her lips back far enough for her teeth to gently grab a morsel of food. It’s heartbreaking to watch. She began taking her treats very slowly about 2 weeks again or not wanting them at all. I didn’t notice a change in her eating because I own several dogs and assumed she was eating her food because the bowls were always empty. I was away on vacation for 7 days last week so I wasn’t present to see any regression in eating. I own a boarding and grooming facility, and had my kennel manager taking care of my dogs inside my home for me while away. She didn’t notice any changes either, but often fed my dogs then went back outside to the kennel facility that I have located on the property where I live.
I feel horrible that my poor Penelope may have suffered in extreme pain for almost 2 weeks with out anyone noticing her pain. I only discovered one of her symptoms late Sunday night while petting and rubbing her head, I felt extremely large knots under her cheeks. When I tried to open and look into her mouth for any foreign body or an abscessed tooth, she whined in pain and pulled away. That’s when I realized that she wasn’t able to open her mouth. I separated her from my other dogs and tried giving her some canned food. That’s when I saw her inability to hardly open her mouth and get the food inside. Normally she would gobble down soft food because she is on a hard kibble diet with only a tablespoon of canned mixed with it.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can feed her while awaiting results to start the prednisone? I tried wetting the soft food down to make a gruel and she won’t eat that either? PLEASE HELP me find a solution, so she doesn’t develop anorexia as well. The Vet just told me to soften her kibble, but that is NOT going to work!

[pugmomsandy]

Depending on the size of your dog, if you feed muscle meat, you can use raw meaty bones as their treat in appropriate amounts. There are also products like roasted tendons, tripe, gullet, feet and pizzles that can be fed. I often use the “bite size” freeze dried foods as treats or cheese. I have small dogs so the treat expense isn’t too much.

[haleycookie]

Raw meaty bones, freeze dried treats. You can also find recipes you can make yourself or just dehydrate meat yourself into strips.

[Carrie H]

Hi,
My dod
My dog is now on a raw diet. Which treats or bones are compatible with this? Thanks

[anonymous]

Sounds good to me. As long as the dog is not experiencing any unpleasant side effects.
I am not aware of any supplement that could come close.

http://www.metacamfordogs.com/ excerpt below.

Metacam©​ is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). Metacam works by reducing hormones that cause pain and inflammation in the body. Metacam is used to reduce pain, inflammation and stiffness as a result of acute and chronic musculoskeletal disorders such as osteoarthritis.

For: Dogs (over the age of 6 months)

Benefits:
Effectively treats pain and inflammation for up to 24 hours
Gives your dog more mobility
Comes with a graduated syringe, with weight measurements, that easily and accurately dispenses the correct amount of oral suspension
Can be administered directly into your dog’s mouth, or mixed in your dog’s food

[pitlove]

Hi Patty-

I think thats a really great question you are asking, but unfortunetly difficult to answer, so I will give you pros and cons.

Pros (from what I’ve heard) from a raw diet is healthy teeth, small stool, evidence of help with allergic dogs. Cons are pathogen exposure, potentially not balancing the meals correctly, possible GI obstruction from bone content.

Weight loss can be tricky. The key is to burn more calories than what is being consumed. If she is not active and is still getting extras in her diet (like the pork pattie and other treats), but isn’t getting enough exercise to burn off those calories, she will not lose weight even on a raw diet. And yes, I’ve seen overweight dogs on raw diets. Raw isn’t a cure all for weight control. You, the owner, still have to put in the work and get the dog exercising. Walks are good, fetch in the yard is good. We use something called a “flirt pole” with my dog to burn calories. The big thing is going to be no more treats! Also, you will need to make sure that everyone in your household is on board with trying to help her lose the weight. Explain to them that she can live up to 2 years longer if you help her lose weight and yall want to keep her around for as long as possible.

[Susan]

Hi Dave,
see vet that prescribe the Galliprant & ask vet for 200mg “Metronidazole” (Flagyl) Metronidazole is an antibiotic with an inflammatory drug & it helps heal the stomach & bowel, I can not take NSAID so I have NEVER given them to any of my pets they can cause bleeding ulcers…
Food to feed, boiled sweet potato or boiled pumkin & add a little tuna or salmon buy the small tins of tuna in spring water or small tin of salmon in spring water & drain out all the water & put in a air tight container, add about 1 spoon tuna/salmon & 2 spoons of the sweet potato or pumkin mix or scramble 1 egg, no milk, just whisk 1 egg & cook in non stick frying pan or microwave… these are the foods I feed when Patch when he was pooing blood water or ask the vet for Hills I/d Restore Low Fat, Rice, Chicken Veggetable Stew wet can food, make sure its the I/d stew not the I/d loaf wet can food, the stews are really nice, they smell like baby food, some people buy the baby tin foods when their dogs wont eat…
Dogs are very smart & know to rest their stomach/bowel & they dont eat, dont force her to eat any food, she will eat when she is ready, when Patch was pooing bloody water the vet made him fast for 48hrs, then started him on Metronidazole & Royal Canin Intestinal Low Fat wet can food & the matching dry kibble as well…
Make sure evey hour she is getting a 20ml syringe with electrolytes in the water the vet has the electrolytes solution packets.. you make in a jug, Patch loved drinking the solution..
DO NOT give treats as they may be high in fat & make matter worse, she needs a bland diet…. See vet

[Anonymous]

Our 10 yr old Cain terrier went to the vet who diagnosed a bit of osteoarthritis and prescribed 20Mg Galliprant – 1 tablet to start and then 1/2 tablet. The first morning she had two uncontrollable BMs and shortly there after very liquid stool and no appetite for treats, regular food or anything else.It’s now been 3 days and she still has no appetite and is passing only very liquid (and usually black) stools. She is staying well hydrated, but still has no appetite for anything we can offer. I’ve read it could take up to 7 or 10 days for her to kick the Galliprant effect. Any brilliant ideas?
She won’t eat boiled chicken (with or without rice) and has no interest in her normal food or normal treats.

[deb s]

@ anon1
Thank you for providing the complex partial seizure info on this thread. I know it’s so hard to see this happening to our dogs. Jinny continues to have these episodes every month or so and she will eat absolutely ANYTHING she can get down her throat so it’s absolutely imperative to keep your dog from ingesting inedible objects during these episodes. Even ingesting a large amount of hair, dust, carpet fibers can cause a life threatening blockage.

My dog is on anti seizure medicine now. Phenobarbitol has been found to have the greatest success. I have also read about the bacteria in the stomach causing pain and reflux so I may look into the antibiotic that treats that, as well. The flap not closing is also a big concern because the brain will send a signal to close it. Over and over and over again. So there are a lot of loose ends and it’s SO sad our dogs are going through this. Please. Talk to a good neurologist. Also, a good high quality CBD oil enabled Jinny to go six months without an episode. I have a hard time affording it because good high quality can run you $80-$100 a month. But it’s not harmful and it’s only helpful and it made a huge difference for Jinny. I’d love to know how everyone’s dogs are doing. I am so committed to finding real answers and a real solution for this terrible condition. It’s really awful.