[Kayla]

I have a Austrian Shepherd breed that is around 1 years old. I recently got him from the shelter a few months ago, what dog treats do you recommend? That won’t make him sick? 🙂

[Naturella]

If you’re looking into training, I would say Zuke’s Minis, about 3 kcal/treat. Or The Honest Kitchen’s Quickies – pure fish treats, also good for training. Or, his own kibble can be used as treats, but factor that in his daily ratio of food.

[Kayla]

I am in training process because he can be a handful sometimes. Right now, I have the beneful healthy smile treat.. But I am not sure if its healthy for him or not. I am wanting something different and better because 7 large treats for like 4 dollars can add up to be pricey! And thanks for the input. I will look them up 🙂

[Naturella]

Kayla, for training, do not use Beneful. In fact, do not use Beneful-or-Purina-anything for anything (food/treats/chews/etc.), EVER! You can do so much better for the same money, or less!

For training, look up the treats suggested. For dental-style “treats” or to satisfy the natural chew urge, I would recommend natural chews, such as: bully sticks, fish skins, cow/pig ears, and, if he’s a heavy chewer – some deer/elk antlers and maybe a Himalayan dog chew (a type of very hard Himalayan yak milk cheese). All of those chews and others are available online at: http://www.bestbullysticks.com
I would avoid the smoked bones (femurs, knuckles, etc.) but the rest of the chews are great. Also, The Honest Kitchen has fish chews (Beams and Wishes) that did wonders for my Bruno’s coat.

What food do you plan to feed your new guy?

[Kayla]

Thank you so much!!!! and, I am slowly transitioning him to Pure Balance. It had 4 star rating and good reviews. I am a college student on a low budget so it was in my price range. Just need better treats. So glad I found this website. Learned so much already.

[Kayla]

And, I do want some dental treats that are good for his teeth and gums and keeps his breath fresh. His breath doesn’t smell though but I don’t want to feed him bad stuff you know?

[Kayla]

I’m weird but I also don’t want him to choke on treats.. I always feel like if I get something to small or two big he will choke. I did get him some toys but he doesn’t care about them. Any suggestions on toys he might like also?

[Naturella]

I feel you – my husband and I are in college, and a few of the regular posters here are too. We also shop on a budget, but manage to find good deals very often. Pure Balance is good, but if you feed rotational – switch between brands of kibble and between protein types (fish, chicken, beef, lamb, etc.) you can take advantage of good sales. If shopping online is an option, check out http://www.petflow.com , http://www.chewy.com , http://www.wag.com – they all have good sales often. On Petflow, go there at least once/week and type in “trials” in the search bar, it will give you super cheap foods in a “trial” (usually regular smallest) size (4-5lbs) for about $1/lb! It’s a steal! Also, this is a good thread to check out: /forums/topic/coupons/page/15/ It has all kinds of information on coupons and deals! 🙂

As for the natural chews, I put vice grips on Bruno’s bully sticks, cow ears, and fish skins to prevent gulping of big pieces and it works. With the Himalayan chews and antlers, I would take it away when it approaches less than an inch (maybe for your dog, 2 inches will be a good time to take the chew away and replace it). Also, they are good for teeth cleaning.

As for toys, Bruno likes the Nylabone and JW bone-shaped chews. He loves ropes too but he eats them often. He likes the tough Kong products too, I stuff them with doggie ice-cream (homemade), freeze and serve. Or play tug with them. He has a rubber ring we play tug with too. We never have nor will get him squeaky chews, those are evil to humans! LoL. But yeah, more often than not Bruno would prefer his natural chews (antlers are pretty loved in our household), or peacefully gnaw on a JW bone, or bring his Walmart rope to ask me to play tug with. 🙂

[Kayla]

Thank you so much!!! 🙂

[Kayla]

I tried to play tug of war with the Walmart rope I got him but he doesn’t like it. He loves to jump and run! I also got him a little stuffed animal that squeaks… nope! He would rather chew it. ha He also likes to chew the rope.

[Kayla]

I will try some treats out with him, thank you again 🙂 Great deals and great websites so far!

[theBCnut]

My Himalayan chews say to microwave the small pieces. That changes the texture so they can just chew them up.

[Allison A]

Naturella, thanks for the advice on where to buy cheap pet food! It’s so hard to balance my Aussie’s food demands (highly allergic to Poultry) with my college-student budget!

[Naturella]

Allison A, you’re welcome! Good luck with deal hunting and couponing! 🙂

[Sheena G]

I’ve been really happy with Dogswell Happy Hips Jerky Strips dog treats. I have a golden retriever who’s a big time foodie (I think all goldies are!), so I was happy to find a grain-free treat with vitamins added for joint health. I tried the chicken one first, but then found out my cat (who is allergic to poultry) loves these treats too, so I started getting the lamb option… made in the US, human-grade ingredients, not too pricey at Ralph’s, & they keep my kiddos happy! 🙂

[theBCnut]

They were one of the companies that had the chicken jerky that was/still is killing so many pets. They refused to recall their treats for a very, very long time. I would not trust them to ever do the right thing and so I would never feed their products to my pets.

[Melissa L]

Oskar, my golden doodle, likes Castor Pollux Good Buddy Lamb Lung Training Bits and he LOVES cow hooves. The cow hooves are his favorite, if you can tolerate the smell. Does anyone know if the antlers have an odor too? .

[Akari_32]

I’ve been happy with Zukes and Pet Botanics treats. My cat loves the Zukes G-Zees cat treats. Does shake, high five and sit up for them. The dogs all love the Zukes Mini Naturals and Hip Action treats, and the Pet Botanics Training Reward treats, and pester for more when they are put away, more so than most human foods they are given.

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