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Post by junosbionictale on Sept 10, 2012 16:25:07 GMT -5
Hey all quick question and I am interested in all responses not just yours Monica. I brought a pack of Celebrity Chicken Strips to the meet yesterday, and meant to ask Monica what she thought of them versus say JoAnnes liver/beef/sweetpotatoe/hint of peanut butter meatballs. My sister who is pretty radical about not buying anything from China, says they are bad for the dogs. That dogs wil get sick or have gotten sick, so... I didn't open them, sorry. Jullian, probably would have loved to have some chicken jerky to wash the meatballs down with... , but I didn't want him to get sick either. So does anyone use them. I do, and all the dogs we have had love them. They only have 2 ingedients premium breast meat and vegetable glycerin. They list the analysis as: crude protein 70% crude fat 1%-3% (not sure why that is not more accurate except maybe the size variation of the treats) crude fibre 0.3% moisture 15% salt 0.3% Of course this means nothing to me or Steph, we're totally taken in by the giant captions "100% natural chews", "A healthy treat", "97% Fat Free!" "no preservatives, no additives, no colouring, only 100% natural" It gives a guideline for feeding even saying it's okay for a 50lb plus dog to have 4 per day! And of course comes with disclaimers about senior dogs, and getting fresh water, a healhy diet, watching your dog eat and daily exercise. I guess my dilemma is this since Steph is a vegetarian, she would be total grossed out by me using A) the blender or Bullet to grind liver etc. and B) using the same cookie trays we cook on to bake said liver or whatever meat treat, plus she would get grossed out by the smell of them cooking or the finished product. However, she is not grossed out by these treats...but has become concerned now that she hears the horror stories from my sister and others... are they safe? /healthy? So anyone have any thoughts? Martin (who is just waiting for Julian to write in that they taste "pretty good!")
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Post by hooligan on Sept 10, 2012 17:58:11 GMT -5
Hey, Martin-- Here's what Snopes, one of my favourite websites, has to say about various chicken-jerky-from-China warnings: www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/chickenjerky.aspThough reports are apparently inconclusive, I've steered clear of any dog food or treats from China since the melamine fiasco a few years ago. I just don't trust the quality-control systems there. Though I'm not a vegetarian, I have a bit of an an inkling of how Steph feels about meat. A friend recently introduced Jack to raw green tripe (blech!), which he loves -- but I can't bring myself to use our blender or food processor to grind it up. But I can hold my nose and steel myself to chop it up with a knife. (Makes no sense, I know, but there it is.) A possible solution is sweet potato treats. Both Caledon Farms and VitaLife make them (the VitaLife ones are a little cheaper), and they're available at our local Loblaws. I also sometimes make my own by slicing up a sweet potato and drying out the slices in the nuker -- but a food dehydrator would work better, if you have one. Jack loves them.
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Post by junosbionictale on Sept 10, 2012 18:30:02 GMT -5
Thanks Dyanne, I love snopes too. I know it's pretty inconclusive, I do remember the melamine scare a few years back and we had friends that believed that's what killed their dogs. In all honesty I hadn't found the made in China on the Chicken Strips until today...it's in tiny (really tiny) print at the bottom of the feeding guidelines? So I was just going on the assumption they were made there...and they are... I have fed my dogs sweet potato treats before, but since I am a sucker for meat I bought ones with the potatoe wrapped in duck, but never checked where they were made. The dogs loved them though. I just feel bad offering my dogs some "lame" veggie treat when I know they would love meat more. Although I will pass on the tripe...lol My dog Kitana shep x husky used to eat the skin off the dead salmon out west when i lived there, but dear lord you didn't want to be in the car with her for the ride home, so we have never tried the "salmon" sticks that they have at the pet store either. It's like every treat has a drawback of some kind percieved by me or otherwise, but I definitely don't want to lose a dog thinking I am providing them a "treat". I wish I'd have thought of snopes though...even though it is inconclusive...I'm leaning with you though in not feeding them just because they are from China, although I feel bad because they love them and I have so little evidence. Is there something inherently wrong in thinking that way, am I making and ill informed judgement call... Thanks again I appreciate the input. Martin
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Post by Lisa on Sept 10, 2012 20:16:28 GMT -5
You don't need to grind raw bones I feed ground and a bit frozen meat. No need for a grinder and no problems with the smell in the house. We don't use treats from pet stores. No advice here.
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Post by junosbionictale on Sept 10, 2012 21:34:50 GMT -5
Thanks Lisa, No advice is good advice. Out west when I lived on the reserve, I would come home from work some days and find that my dog Kitana, on a rope outside somehow managed to find deer hoofs or moose antlers etc. I thought she was getting them from the ravine behind the teacherage, so I shortened her rope. She eventually learned how to open the carabiner on the end and would end up on my porch when I came home completely off her rope, so from then on when I was home and she was out I watched her. One day I was home sick and I saw her get herself off when one of the elders came to the fence by the neighbours corral. Kit went straight to her and this little old woman pulled out a whole deer leg from behind her and gave it to Kit. She had been feeding her the whole time, raw legs, hooves, antlers...Kit loved them. I see in the store antlers and hooves no additives or preservatives, but I know Steph as a vegetarian would not want to watch them (Juno and Sophie) gnaw on some poor dead deer antler. lol. That is one thing I miss about out west, I never had to buy Kit any treats! I could maybe convince Steph that the antlers and hooves are the lesser of the evils...good thought anyway. Thanks for the response Lisa, I appreciate it. I'd post some meeting pictures, for you, but Steph is off down Barb and Kerrie's way with Sebastian and the camera...it's quiet here without the little guy, but momma Juno is keeping me busy wanting to go for walks...always the same way...towards the HNA...I'm convinced she thinks all those dobes, and Monica are still there! Martin
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Post by Dobereich on Sept 10, 2012 22:27:44 GMT -5
Martin, you're dogs can enjoy antlers and Steph can enjoy knowing that they are not kill based treats. Most antlers are harvested from live deer. So nature makes then shed, and the dogs get to enjoy.
I have found the ones at Rens were the hardest and lasted the longest. Barb x Kerrie got some from the farm up by me, but they said that those were softer.
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Post by junosbionictale on Sept 10, 2012 22:30:05 GMT -5
Hey all quick question and I am interested in all responses not just yours Monica. Yikes that does sound bad doesn't it. What I meant to say in that awkwardly worded sentence is that while I am looking for Monica's reply, because she's all super smart about nutritional stuff and I'm not, I also want to hear about what everyone else thinks or does for treats. I'm open to all ideas and opinions, because both Dyanne and Lisa made comments that made me think more about possible treats and dog health and that's what I want.../sigh I see now how easy it is to get misunderstood on a forum. Sorry Monica. Martin
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Post by Dobereich on Sept 10, 2012 22:33:39 GMT -5
Hey all quick question and I am interested in all responses not just yours Monica. Yikes that does sound bad doesn't it. What I meant to say in that awkwardly worded sentence is that while I am looking for Monica's reply, because she's all super smart about nutritional stuff and I'm not, I also want to hear about what everyone else thinks or does for treats. I'm open to all ideas and opinions, because both Dyanne and Lisa made comments that made me think more about possible treats and dog health and that's what I want.../sigh I see now how easy it is to get misunderstood on a forum. Sorry Monica. Martin That's OK Martin, but thanks for clarifying. Geesh, I was worried about being misunderstood and I wasn't even on a forum for that...lol (you'll know what I mean).
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Post by dobereyna on Sept 10, 2012 22:37:33 GMT -5
Julian!! LOL! I can see it now... "hmmmm they're not bad, just a little crunchy for chicken jerky..."
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Post by dobermoms on Sept 11, 2012 5:23:46 GMT -5
We don't have any advice on buying treats......we usually try to use them for training only. For chewing in the house, the deer antlers..or elk antlers as they're sometimes called, work great. The ones we bought near Monica's did break down fast, and were messy too. Not something I really liked!
I would like to ask Jo if she would mind posting her recipe for her meatballs.....it seems not only the dogs thought they were good.
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Post by junosbionictale on Sept 11, 2012 13:51:18 GMT -5
We don't have any advice on buying treats......we usually try to use them for training only. For chewing in the house, the deer antlers..or elk antlers as they're sometimes called, work great. The ones we bought near Monica's did break down fast, and were messy too. LOL okay I am not going to make Juno fat. They are rewards for when she does things she is supposed to do...I don't give them randomly all the time for no reason..../sigh oh who am I kidding, she gets one for going in her crate and yes Sophie gets one too for coming upstairs...and maybe one when she comes over to the food and gives me those big beautiful brown dobe eyes and the bionic tail...but that's it. Yes the antlers are messy found that out out west and they get sticky and gooey and Steph wouldn't like them...maybe my wife is the problem don't tell her I said that. Maybe the ones in the stores are less fresh or aged or something and wouldn't be that messy. Juno loves to chew and Sophie would too if Juno would let her... . Good ideas, keep them coming. I inevitably will give them treats, so I want to make sure they are healthy (okay healthier). Martin
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Post by Andreina on Sept 11, 2012 15:42:25 GMT -5
Martin and anyone else who is interested.... We use this company Nothing Added for treats. They carry all natural products with "nothing added" hehe. We found luck with the dehydrated lung and liver. I found the prices to be pretty reasonable for the quality of food you are receiving. We use these treats mainly for things such as going to crate, long down stays, and doing nails. We don't use these for training while she is running around cuz the pieces are pretty brittle and I don't want her to get it caught in her throat. We use something softer for training usually just chicken wieners, cheese and kibble. You should be able to find a local retailer, they are at Global Pets here.... If not, you can order off the website as well. nothingadded.ca/
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Post by Andreina on Sept 11, 2012 15:44:05 GMT -5
ps. the dehydrated lung and liver doesn't smell at all so steph shouldn't notice it lol.
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Post by junosbionictale on Sept 11, 2012 17:30:44 GMT -5
You should be able to find a local retailer, they are at Global Pets here.... If not, you can order off the website as well. nothingadded.ca/Thanks Andreina, We have a Global that we shop at and there is a Rens here too along Hwy 7 I think. Monica made mention of Rens earlier and I had to check. I haven't seen it (nothingadded) at our Global though. I sometimes buy other dehydrated stuff, but I haven't seen nothingadded products. I will have a look. Steph is always complaining because I always buy something to try. As long as it doesn't say what it is in the name we should be okay to try it. I'll see if I can find it somewhere. Steph will come home and I will have a giant bag of dead animal parts on the counter (hooves, antlers, dehydrated lungs, dehydrated liver)...she'll be so thrilled I started this thread. ;D Anyone else have any other ideas for me...when Steph is not here I can entertain all ideas...I can still entertain them when she is here, it's just in a smaller, quieter space... Martin (who is happy to report that Juno is fully recovered from Sunday...while I still bare the dreaded sunglasses tan.../sigh)
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Post by Andreina on Sept 11, 2012 18:58:57 GMT -5
Check out their info for their main retail location. It's in cambridge not too far from you!
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