Question for dog owners

Arthur Dent said:

Our miniature Schnauzer has a few food sensitivities, so the treats we give him are carrots and bits of sweet potato.

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mrsserena said:

For treats, I dehydrate a mixture of hamburger and fruit that I put in a blender. Or baked sweet potatoes and pumpkin. Just mix it all up together, then I put in a zip lock bag, cut off the corner, and put it on the dehydrator trays in strips.

For longer lasting chews, bully sticks, yak cheese, or a Kong with peanut butter.

We also feed raw chicken, with bone, to clean their teeth. Turkey necks are good if you just want to give as a treat.

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Dahila said:

I cooked for my dogs, (there were huge) and baked my own treats.
This baby is so small you should cook the food, just cook meat with veggies and freeze into portions. I was giving my dogs the pasta, rice, grains and the most important oatmeal. for small dog like that i would go with veggies and meat.
My late dog (110 pounds) had a carrot and an apple a day, and once a week very dry bread, so she was actually cleaning her teeth
bake some treats and add activated charcoal, it is awesome to clean the teeth and perfect for sensitive stomach

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I most always have carrots, apples and sweet potatoes in the house...that will be a good start, thanks!

A good summer treat is frozen (raw) chicken wings. I stick them in a bowl of tap water for about 10 minutes or so to start thawing a little. I make them eat those outside. It takes a bit of effort to eat the frozen chicken, but since I don't have an air conditioner, it also cools them down. I save soda and water bottles for their water dishes. Fill them 3/4 with water then freeze. I just plop a frozen bottle in the water dish several times a day to keep them cool and prompt them to stay hydrated. Max drinks from the toilets (gross! my only toilet drinker), so he gets fresh cool water frequently. I'm waiting for him to learn to flush the toilet himself to "freshen his drink."

Dogs are awesome companions and BFFs. You're going to wonder how you ever survived without one.

I used to feed Axle raw chicken necks and a mix of raw kangaroo & beef mince mixed with rice and vegies. I would make up a big batch and then portion it out and freeze it to use as needed. To keep his teeth clean I would give him the big marrow bones or pigs feet. The pigs feet didn't last long but he was a big dog (55kgs).

For your little guy maybe try giving him raw turkey or chicken necks to chew on.

I have a long haired 15 year old chihuahua with a very sensitive stomach. We had to purchase our own heavy duty steam cleaner because of all the stomach issues she has had over the years.

Greenies gave her explosive diarrhea, so did pig ears. Not fun when your dog is afraid of the noise that comes out of her butt and she jumps on your white couch and runs through your house trying to escape the noise. Dried chicken treats made her throw up and antlers cracked her teeth and they needed to be removed. We get her teeth cleaned every year or two and they are in great shape.

In between cleaning, we use a mesh cloth I got for washing my face that we wrap around our finger and we scrub her tiny teeth. She does not seem to mind anymore and it helps a lot to keep the tartar in check.

Good luck!

TeresaT said:

A good summer treat is frozen (raw) chicken wings. I stick them in a bowl of tap water for about 10 minutes or so to start thawing a little. I make them eat those outside. It takes a bit of effort to eat the frozen chicken, but since I don't have an air conditioner, it also cools them down. I save soda and water bottles for their water dishes. Fill them 3/4 with water then freeze. I just plop a frozen bottle in the water dish several times a day to keep them cool and prompt them to stay hydrated. Max drinks from the toilets (gross! my only toilet drinker), so he gets fresh cool water frequently. I'm waiting for him to learn to flush the toilet himself to "freshen his drink."

Dogs are awesome companions and BFFs. You're going to wonder how you ever survived without one.

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dillsandwitch said:

I used to feed Axle raw chicken necks and a mix of raw kangaroo & beef mince mixed with rice and vegies. I would make up a big batch and then portion it out and freeze it to use as needed. To keep his teeth clean I would give him the big marrow bones or pigs feet. The pigs feet didn't last long but he was a big dog (55kgs).

For your little guy maybe try giving him raw turkey or chicken necks to chew on.

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jblaney said:

I have a long haired 15 year old chihuahua with a very sensitive stomach. We had to purchase our own heavy duty stream cleaner because of all the stomach issues she has had over the years.

Greenies her explosive diarrhea, so did pig ears. Not fun when your dog is afraid of the noise that comes out of her but and she jumps on your white couch and runs through your house trying to escape the noise. Dried chicken made her throw up and antlers cracked her teeth and they needed to be removed. We get her teeth cleaned every year or two and they are in great shape.

In between cleaning, we use a mesh cloth that we wrap around our finger and we scrub her tiny teeth. She does not seem to mind anymore and it helps a lot to keep the tartar in check.

Good luck!

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Such good info and tips, you guys! jblaney, I'm sorry for your dog, but your description of the explosive diarrhea made me spit coffee on my keyboard!!! Definitely NO GREENIES!!! ROTFL

Peanut butter! I just thought of this. I hide their pills in a blob of peanut butter. I used to use a bit of bread or cheese, but they ate around it. The pet stores sell pill hider treats, but they're expensive. Get a half teaspoon blob of peanut butter and hide the pill in that. I have never met a dog that doesn't like peanut butter and mine never notice the nasty pills in the blobs.

TeresaT said:

Peanut butter! I just thought of this. I hide their pills in a blob of peanut butter. I used to use a bit of bread or cheese, but they ate around it. The pet stores sell pill hider treats, but they're expensive. Get a half teaspoon blob of peanut butter and hide the pill in that. I have never met a dog that doesn't like peanut butter and mine never notice the nasty pills in the blobs.

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Yes, the consensus seems to be that peanut butter is OK for dogs as long as it doesn't contain xylitol. Did you see this video, it's too funny! Just scroll down a bit for the vid. They look like they're really enjoying it.
https://www.thedodo.com/ingrediant-could-be-deadly-dog-1449364385.html

TeresaT said:

Peanut butter! I just thought of this. I hide their pills in a blob of peanut butter. I used to use a bit of bread or cheese, but they ate around it. The pet stores sell pill hider treats, but they're expensive. Get a half teaspoon blob of peanut butter and hide the pill in that. I have never met a dog that doesn't like peanut butter and mine never notice the nasty pills in the blobs.

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This made me laugh. Axle HATED peanut butter. Trying to get him to take pills was challenging to say the least. He would clue onto my tricks really quickly. If something worked one time it wouldn't work the next time. I tried everything. Cheese, mince, chicken, bread, cake, ice cream, apples, carrot, the list goes on. Most of the time I would just shove it into the back of his mouth and then follow him around for 10 minutes making sure he didnt spit it back out. He was also known for doing that too. But in his last week when he had to have pills 4 times a day I think he just kinda gave up fighting taking them and didn't give me too much trouble. Either that or it was all the human food he was getting to eat. The vet said if he didnt want to eat his food then to let him eat whatever he wanted to. He had lots of streak and ice cream that week.

I dont! You can not trust any of those companies with your baby. I simply bought a dehydrator and now make all my dogs treats. I know exactly what is in them and he loves him! If you read the blogs from truthaboutdogfood.com she keeps you up on all recalls, lawsuits and the general lies these companies tell you. Its appalling!

I was always hiding pill in a blob of cream cheese, and my late dog was for 8 years on pills

navigator9 said:

Yes, the consensus seems to be that peanut butter is OK for dogs as long as it doesn't contain xylitol. Did you see this video, it's too funny! Just scroll down a bit for the vid. They look like they're really enjoying it.
https://www.thedodo.com/ingrediant-could-be-deadly-dog-1449364385.html

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That video is hilarious! My dogs look like that, too. I'm a bit of a peanut butter snob. I only get "natural" peanut butter made with peanuts and salt. If it has more than those two ingredients in it, I don't buy it. I've gotten into the habit lately of buying fresh ground honey roasted peanut butter from my local store. The grinder leaves coffee-grounds sized bits in the peanut butter. It's not exactly smooth, but it's not exactly chunky either. It's something in between. All four if us love it. (If I die of food poisoning, the dogs are coming with me!) They always get a bite of whatever I'm eating, unless it's something on the "no dogs allowed" list like chocolate or onions.

ETA: dillsandwich, sorry about Axel. I had a diabetic dog that used to love peanut butter until she was switched to a Rx dig food. It was made with peanut shells as the main fillet. She hated that stuff and it was torture for both of us to get her to eat it. Eventually I dumped the Rx and went to food she loved, but she never liked peanut butter after that food. I forgot about that until you mentioned Axel.

TeresaT said:

ETA: dillsandwich, sorry about Axel. I had a diabetic dog that used to love peanut butter until she was switched to a Rx dig food. It was made with peanut shells as the main fillet. She hated that stuff and it was torture for both of us to get her to eat it. Eventually I dumped the Rx and went to food she loved, but she never liked peanut butter after that food. I forgot about that until you mentioned Axel.

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Thanks T. Its all good. It been a little over a year and it still sucks but we did what was best for him and he didn't suffer. He did have some strange eating habits that I have never seen before in other dogs. He absolutely loved tomato but only if it was on a piece of plain bread. Try to give it to him without the bread and it would end up on the floor with him giving his best tongue out "yuck" impression

I make my own treats for my dog. I also order raw Bison knuckle bones for her to have once a week. ( Thats how long one lasts) They dont splinter when they are raw and they are great for their teeth. Ofcourse she is an American Bulldog so she needs a big bone anyway, but I dont give her treats that are made by anyone but me. I dont trust what is in them. I also make her shampoo as the ingredients in store bought are all toxic. (Thank goodness for her that Im a soaper! ) lmao!

I give my dogs all sorts of chews. There have been times that I was out and they had none for a while and the difference in their teeth was startling; they were getting really gunked up. Once they got back to chewing, they cleaned up really nicely. All of my dogs have beautiful clean teeth.

I give mine bully sticks, tracheas, scapulae, antlers, cow ears, pig ears, rawhides, and sometimes raw pork/turkey neckbones or the big femur bones that I get from the butcher. I like the frozen chicken wing route as well. Not all people are comfortable giving raw bones to a dog, of course, but mine love them and we've never had a problem.

I get almost all my treats from Best Bully Sticks. They run discounts all the time which you can combine with stuff on their sale page and you can get some good deals. They also have treats like dried liver, chicken and sweet potatoes, dried tripe sticks but those are not chews. You can get the odor free bully sticks but they are more expensive. I will say that many of the treats are pretty smelly but it doesn't bother me much and considering that stores will charge you $8-10 for a single 12 inch bully stick and you can buy them in a bag at around $2.50 a piece from this site, it's a hands-down deal for me!

One of my dogs is on daily meds. I just pill her; we're so used to our routine that she never minds and it takes just a second. I'm thankful for that. Every morning when I make my coffee, all the dogs and cats get a little milk in their bowls after I doctor my coffee, so my dog gets her med then washes it down with the milk in her bowl. Easy-peasy.

navigator, I too have been doing a ton of research since getting my pup Barley a couple months ago. From reading reviews, it seems everything can kill him -- his regular kibble, his toys and treats, the beds, and even the baby gates we put up to keep him out of trouble. He's a chewer, so we have to have a steady supply of relatively safe items for him to mouth, and we constantly have to watch him. I ordered some greenies a couple nights ago, but they haven't arrived yet. I've never used them before (it's been over 8 years since my last dog), but I plan to treat them like everything else we're giving him: an experiment that needs careful monitoring. I'm not afraid to throw anything out, in fact a few toys that didn't hold up have already gone in the trash, and I expect more casualties along the way. Never a dull moment with a young puppy!

newbie, thanks for the tip on bestbullysticks. I see they have 25% off site-wide for Black Friday weekend; I'll have to look closer tomorrow before the sale goes off. I didn't realize what bully sticks actually were until browsing that site. To think we all feel we're preventing waste by soaping with lard or tallow! Ha!

CaraBou said:

navigator, I too have been doing a ton of research since getting my pup Barley a couple months ago. From reading reviews, it seems everything can kill him -- his regular kibble, his toys and treats, the beds, and even the baby gates we put up to keep him out of trouble.

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I know just what you mean! The last time I had a dog was in the early 60s. Back then, dogs got rabies and distemper shots and that was it as far as going to the vet was concerned. And after they ate in the morning, you opened the door and they went outside to explore the neighborhood and play with the neighbor's dogs. They'd come back from time to time during the day, and later to eat and indoors to sleep at night. They ate table scraps and bones and I never remember seeing a list of things they shouldn't eat because it could kill them.

So it's a much different world today, and I'm sure dogs benefit from it, but it sure is a lot more complicated than it was then. I'm planning to put a list of OK and not OK people foods up on the fridge, just in case I forget. You have the rambunctiousness and curiosity to deal with that come along with a puppy, like chewing things and getting into everything My dog is three years old, so hopefully a bit more mellow.......maybe. We'll see. Maybe, but maybe not! I feel more prepared, I hope, after all the information in these threads. Thanks again to all of you!

navigator9 said:

I'm planning to put a list of OK and not OK people foods up on the fridge, just in case I forget.

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Be sure to list onions and garlic on the NO side, and be vigilant because these ingredients are in many people foods and also in some dog treats. Blood work on one of my sick cats showed Heinz bodies (irreversible denatured hemoglobin which causes anemia). This puzzled me because I almost never feed my cats people food. In fact the only thing was store bought organic broth to entice them to drink more water to help their kidneys. BINGO! It had garlic and onions. These foods cause Heinz bodies in dogs too so be sure to read ingredient labels.

Also on the NO list are raisins and grapes!

CaraBou said:

Be sure to list onions and garlic on the NO side, and be vigilant because these ingredients are in many people foods and also in some dog treats. Blood work on one of my sick cats showed Heinz bodies (irreversible denatured hemoglobin which causes anemia). This puzzled me because I almost never feed my cats people food. In fact the only thing was store bought organic broth to entice them to drink more water to help their kidneys. BINGO! It had garlic and onions. These foods cause Heinz bodies in dogs too so be sure to read ingredient labels.

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This is really good to know, because I read somewhere that a good summer treat is to freeze low sodium broth to let them lick on in hot weather. Now, I never would have thought to check for onions or garlic, but I bet most of them have it. Guess I'll be making my own broth when I have a chicken carcass, that way, I can put some chicken scraps in there, too. Thank you!

dibbles said:

Also on the NO list are raisins and grapes!

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Going on the list, thanks Dibbles!

My vet specifically does NOT recommend Greenies. He's had a few patients choke on them. I give Dentistix. (sp?)

Also, try raw sweet potato and raw carrots. My dogs love 'em, they're cheap and low calorie. I put some chunks in the dinner bowls of my overweight dogs to slow them down and to make them feel more full.