[Amanda Newcomb]

I feed my 6mo puppy acana regionals grain free, so I’m assuming this means his treats should be grain free as well? If so, can anyone recommend a brand that I can buy a petco or petsmart? I purchase his acana from a woman who runs a cat rescue and sells premium pet food out of her home, but she doesn’t sell treats.

Any feedback would be awesome!

[theBCnut]

I don’t have a recommendation for treats, but I’m boosting this up where others will see it. I make treats from meats at home or I use Vital Essentials freeze dried dog food for treats. You might find a freeze dried dog food in a small bag that would work for your dog at Petco.

[OhBichonPlease]

You don’t have to give grain-free treats unless there is a food intolerance or other reason. I feed my dog grain-free kibble, but don’t mind giving her grain-inclusive treats sometimes – they are treats, after all, and should only be given in small quantities for good behaviour, etc.
That being said, I know Cloud Star makes grain-free treats in both crunchy and chewy varieties and this is a brand that can be found at both Petco and Petsmart and in many small, independent stores. This is a nice, ethical company that uses some human-grade ingredients [I know the grain-inclusive sweet potato Buddy Biscuits are safe for human consumption]. Zuke’s is another wonderful company with good business practices and high standards. They also have several varieties of grain-free treats.
I am sure some one will suggest at some point small, cooked pieces of chicken or even fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables!

[nationalguard88]

Hello, I’ve been learning a lot of good information about dog foods from dogfoodadvisor.com the past few months preparing for my new dobie. Found Dr. Tim’s for a reasonable price and no complaints. I lost my last baby, dobie, to cancer in June after 12 years. My fiancé and I have purchased this pup to raise together. I’ve been educating her on what’s acceptable and not safe. She feels left out, not being able to buy him treats locally. I’ve been doing all shopping online. Aside from making my own treats at home, are there any acceptable treats at petsmart she can buy? Like mentioned above. Zukes??? She just came home with a bag of pet botanicals. I said, you did a good job trying to read the ingredients, but look at the tiny print on the back. Product of china! Any help appreciated. Thanks.

[InkedMarie]

I’m sure there are good treats locally but IMO, not still pet smart. I have better luck still pet co. What about feed stores or boutique pet stores? Look for treats made by the Honest Kitchen, SoJos, if you happen to be in New England, Casey Jones Bones.

[nationalguard88]

I live in Owensboro Ky. Only pet stores locally are petsmart, pet food center, and an E&L pets. I just want to be able to shop locally for a no wheat, soy, corn, by product, or ingredients sourced in china dog treats. Was curious about zukes or kong treats. Use kong toys, but never hear anything about the treats themselves. Just because it says made in USA, doesn’t mean the ingredients are safe or from china. Something local my lady can buy, so I’m not doing it all online??? Thanks for the brands, I’ll look them up.

[theBCnut]

Zukes are pretty good. The commercial Kong stuffing that I had had some icky ingredients in it so I threw it out. I don’t remember what they were, just that I decided if I want peanut butter in them I would rather use human peanut butter.

[OhBichonPlease]

I just checked the Petsmart website, since most posters seem to have access.. they apparently offer Castor & Pollux ORGANIX Dog Cookies in stores only. From what I understand from browsing this site, this is a reputable company with quality products. Newman’s Own also make dog treats that should be pretty easy to find, considering how popular the brand is. Old Mother Hubbard’s biscuits are USA made and that is a Wellpet brand – they have consistently high product ratings on this site.
My girl is currently going crazy for Zuke’s peanut butter and blueberry mini-bites. They are small and crunchy, easy to break in half without being messy, and pretty healthy. I prefer to feed vegetarian store-bought treats for primarily hygienic reasons, although I do like limiting meat sources I’m not 100% sure about.

nationalguard88, you may want to encourage your fiance to bake some of her own treats for the dog! A good way to bond and feel included and ensure healthy, safe ingredients.

[nationalguard88]

Hey thanks guys. Patty, I agree with the peanut butter, as I did in the past. Wasn’t sure about their other treats.(your reviews have been a big help with my choosing dog foods, thanks.)
Ohbichon, thanks again for the local location help, and I agree with her being more involved in making treats herself. I use venison I harvest myself for meat in treats. All natural the way it should be. Only downside would be the pesticides the farmers use, but I eat it, and dogs love it. Anyone have their own recipes for treats they’d like to share, be glad to hear. Or direct me to another forum area about it, appreciated. Ill defininately check out zukes and the others mentioned as well. Thanks again for your politeness and help. So glad I found this site 🙂 truly knowledgable people that care for their babies as I do! My vet gave me a complimentary bag of large breed puppy science diet, went in the garbage. Also vet tech tried to give my baby a treat for being good, I took it from her politely and put in the trash when she left. Know one feeds my baby anything but me or my fiancé. I don’t know what’s in that stuff?

[theBCnut]

Do you have a dehydrator? I dehydrate all kinds of meat things. Kongs stuffed with yogurt or canned food then frozen are a serious treat for mine.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by theBCnut.

[Duke The Boxer]

i just ordered the costal catch from earthborn. i will definitely be reporting back to you guys and girls on how duke reacts and how i feel like he is doing. Duke is getting near the last couple months where he needs to have a controlled amount of calcium. He is 7 months going on 8 soon. There have been a couple foods thats i have been wanting to try but have been too high in calcium like the orijen line, the earthborn primitive, wellness core large breed formula and a couple others. i wish there was a way to send private messages here cuz patty and rescuedanemom i would love to hear more of the foods that you have liked and disliked regardless of calcium

[theBCnut]

Brother’s Complete is my number 1 favorite food, all formulas. Earthborn Holistic Great Plains Feast is good. I’ve been dying to try Nature’s Logic, I just got a bag of the venison. I really like Nature’s Variety Instinct on paper, but when I tried it Micah had a reaction, tomato pomace I guess. My other two are doing great on it, and I ordered a bag of one of their limited ingredient foods, it doesn’t have tomato pomace. I also just got a bag of Canidae Pure Land and Pure Sky. The Pure Land is a bit low in protein for my tastes, but I always add raw to my dogs food anyways, so I didn’t figure it would matter. I’m still trying to find more foods that Micah can handle.

[Duke The Boxer]

Thank you so much patty. I feel so foolish I meant to post this I’m the large breed thread. -.- duke had a reaction to the nv rabbit but ugh it’s so difficult and frustrating trying to specifically narrow it down to what ingredients he is allergic to. I want to try the pet pantry buffalo and duck formula because it looks good on paper. I want to find foods with as little fillers and plant protein in it. I want as much meat protein as possible.

[dogspotindia]

If you are searching in India than I suggest you to try a online pet store named dogspot.in and the link of treat section is “http://www.dogspot.in/treats-food/”. I think it will help you.

[nationalguard88]

Patty, yes I do dehydrate meats as well 🙂

[FreeholdHound]

Treats my boy does well with widely available: Cloud Star Buddy Biscuits (peanut butter is his favorite) & Old Mother Hubbard. He also loves the Halo dental chews in either pumpkin or banana. Most treats are just too small in size & I get the WTH look. Zukes didn’t agree with him at all. I fill his Kongs with the scraps at the bottom of the treat canister frozen with peanut butter or yogurt & sometimes left over banana.

He’s eating Natures Logic Beef right now & just finished a bag of Earthborn Holistic GPF. He has quite a few things I have to avoid, but these 2 foods have been a blessing along with some raw.

[Mom2Cavs]

I don’t know if this helps but my Petsmart carries Zuke’s, Fruitables, Wet Noses, Newman’s Own, Wellness treats, Castor & Pollux, and their brand Simply Nourish. These are all treats I have used at various times with success. Some have grain frees available, as well as chews, soft and biscuits. Petco carries Wellness, Zuke’s, Fruitables, some Wet Noses, Instinct biscuits and freeze dried, Nutrisca freeze dried. These are the ones I can think of off the top of my head, they may carry more good ones than I’ve listed. I’ve actually cut out most treats and just use kibble for treats primarily. When I do give a treat….if it’s a biscuit they get Wellness grain free lamb or Fruitables biscuits. I like Wet Noses, too. If it’s a soft treat I use Pure Meat or Wellness Pure Rewards or Fruitables. I use to use Zuke’s quite a lot, but for some reason went over to Fruitables more. For chews they mostly get The Honest Kitchen Beams (dried fish skins).

• This reply was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[nationalguard88]

I’ve been using Wellness “just for puppies” so far and he loves them. As well as they’re easy to tear into even smaller pieces for training purposes. No bad reactions digestive or otherwise. Also peanut butter in a Kong keeps him busy and happy. Definitely will try the frozen stuffed Kong. He loves home made venison, dehydrated or not. He’s about 11 weeks so I don’t dry out to much. Dobermans inhale their food like no other I’ve seen, so I like to keep softer at this point, to avoid a chocking hazard. Afraid to give him a lot of different treats, so young. Upset his digestion. He really loves Dr. Tims Pursuit dog food. Nice firm stools, no diarrhea. Healthy looking eyes and coat. It’s hard to beat for the money, and I don’t feel worried about feeding it to him most of all. Trying to find good quality kibble without breaking the bank can be extremely stressful. Especially when there’s none locally. Finding this website was a huge help ingredient wise, but the loving owners reviews were the biggest help of all. Thanks everybody!

[aquariangt]

Zuke’s is a local treat company here, so they have it in PetSmart. Not sure about the rest of the country. I noticed Cloud Star had their crunchy treats at PetSmart as well, but not the soft training treats, but I use their tricky trainers often for training

[Shasta220]

All of the above suggestions are great. I adore Zuke’s things, but ever since Purina bought them, the prices have been going way up for me. I wish I had an old bag of their treats so I could compare ingredients, as I suspect the fillers will be on their way soon 🙁 I’m not sure how many of their treats are GF, as I don’t pay much attention to the grain in treats since my dogs get no more than a tiny handful daily.

When I’m training, I do like Zuke’s minis a whole lot, but they tend to get a little expensive when I find myself using up a whole handful just for one positive-reinforcement session. I buy tiny-sized kibble food for their training now (I make sure the brand/flavor is completely different from their current food).

I also love making home made treats. Recipes are super easy to find, but I like to come up with my own biscuit recipes. The possibilities are virtually endless as to what you can bake, freeze, purée, dehydrate, or cook.

Back to the store treats: I’d say any brand that you trust the food of, you could probably trust the treats. If it’s a brand that doesn’t sell food, just check out the ingredients and make sure they’re all quality. At our PetCo, they sell all of those dog cookies that are designed to look appetizing for people (cookies that are chocolate glazed and covered in sprinkles, etc). I avoid those, since they’re filled with sugar. Dogs do not care what their treat looks like, trust me. LOL!

[crazy4cats]

I bought a 5lb box of Wet Noses peanut butter/banana treats at Costco last week. There are two 2.5lb pckgs in the box. It sells for $12.49. Not sure if this is a great price or not because I’ve never bought them before. They smell good and the dogs really like them. Good luck!

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