Beware Dog Snacks

[Breedlove]

Our poor little dog spent four days in the Vet hospital . She is part Pit and part boxer . She always has a way of conning doggy snacks out of you . DW was feeding her doggy snacks like it was ice cream to a person in hell.
Long story short her kidneys are not doing real good , the vet blamed the snacks ..a type of jerky. Her creatinine was 5.2 last weekend and when she left it was 2.9 . They want it under 2.0 , She will not eat the kidney diet and doesn't want to do anything but sleep . She goes back to the Vet Friday . I am into this 1600.00 .Hope her creatinine has stabilized but I doubt it .
Be careful with those dog snacks .

 

[aja8888]

Our poor little dog spent four days in the Vet hospital . She is part Pit and part boxer . She always has a way of conning doggy snacks out of you . DW was feeding her doggy snacks like it was ice cream to a person in hell.
Long story short her kidneys are not doing real good , the vet blamed the snacks ..a type of jerky. Her creatinine was 5.2 last weekend and when she left it was 2.9 . They want it under 2.0 , She will not eat the kidney diet and doesn't want to do anything but sleep . She goes back to the Vet Friday . I am into this 1600.00 .Hope her creatinine has stabilized but I doubt it .
Be careful with those dog snacks .

Thanks for the warning. Do you recall the brand of snacks that she was giving her?

 

[MRG]

Thank you and I hope dogo is doing better.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

A high protein diet can elevate creatinine, IIRC

 

[Amethyst]

I hope your poor dog gets better soon.

It is so much fun to feed treats to pets. They appreciate it, and as you say, they learn to cadge and beg.

I don't know about dogs, since I've only lived with cats; but could it be time to switch to real-food treats, versus packaged pet snacks?

Our cats ate commercial cat food, but for treats they got real food, approved by the veterinarian: a bit of shrimp, raw liver, a tiny boneless smelt (fish), a small pork chop bone; one cat adored canned string beans for some reason, although I rinsed the salt water off them first. You haven't lived till you've seen a cat leap and dance for a canned string bean.

Anyway, just a thought.

Our poor little dog spent four days in the Vet hospital . She is part Pit and part boxer . She always has a way of conning doggy snacks out of you . DW was feeding her doggy snacks like it was ice cream to a person in hell.
Long story short her kidneys are not doing real good , the vet blamed the snacks ..a type of jerky. Her creatinine was 5.2 last weekend and when she left it was 2.9 . They want it under 2.0 , She will not eat the kidney diet and doesn't want to do anything but sleep . She goes back to the Vet Friday . I am into this 1600.00 .Hope her creatinine has stabilized but I doubt it .
Be careful with those dog snacks .

 

[Clone]

My son has had Corgis. They get pieces of carrots for treats. And they love them!

Years ago, he had a friend of his watching his dog. He got a phone call where the person said "Your dog is flipping out! He is running in circles and doing back flips!" Turns out, the person was making a salad and was going in and out of the fridge. The dog caught sight of the bag of carrots, and was demanding his treats!

 

[Amethyst]

Now I am trying to picture a corgi doing a backflip.

My son has had Corgis. They get pieces of carrots for treats. And they love them!

Years ago, he had a friend of his watching his dog. He got a phone call where the person said "Your dog is flipping out! He is running in circles and doing back flips!" Turns out, the person was making a salad and was going in and out of the fridge. The dog caught sight of the bag of carrots, and was demanding his treats!

 

[splitwdw]

AJA, The dog was over fed a dog treat so it not the brand.
I had to ask a neighbor to stop giving our dogs treats. They would give each dog handfuls of dog biscuits. We only gave them treats for certain things and I'm only talking a couple a day.
Breedlove, Sorry your dog isn't feeling well. Your dog will eat when he/she is hungry so keep offering the diet. Humans cave in and give the dogs what they want. Be strong, your dog needs you to be the boss so he/she gets better.

 

[aja8888]

AJA, The dog was over fed a dog treat so it not the brand.
I had to ask a neighbor to stop giving our dogs treats. They would give each dog handfuls of dog biscuits. We only gave them treats for certain things and I'm only talking a couple a day.
Breedlove, Sorry your dog isn't feeling well. Your dog will eat when he/she is hungry so keep offering the diet. Humans cave in and give the dogs what they want. Be strong, your dog needs you to be the boss so he/she gets better.

Yeah, I guess the dog was overfed. We have a dog and I know that 99% of dog treats in packages come from China. None of that is good for any dog.

 

[RobbieB]

I refuse to buy any dog items made in China. There have been more than one melamine taints.

 

[harley]

My old girls have reached the age where the normal meat product based treats create paint peeling gas and diarrhea. So I started buying hard sticks made of sweet potato, pumpkin, and cinnamon. The dogs liked them, although not as much as the Pupparoni. But they were much better on their digestive systems.

But they were pretty expensive, so I started making my own by baking thin slices of sweet potato coated with olive oil and cinnamon at 250 degrees for 3 hours (turning them once). They get really tough and chewy, and keep in the fridge for longer than they last. The girls like them and they are much healthier and safer than any of the meat product based treats.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Our dog would get jittery from jerky, so we cut it out as well. He actually loves treats like steamed chicken, broccoli, and carrots Now I keep a container in the fridge filled with healthy steamed goodies for him and avoid the processed food treats from the store.

Best wishes for a full recovery for your dog, Breedlove.

 

[CDRE]

Purina's dog treat Frosty Paws has pretty low protein content. Frosty Paws is great summertime treat. Can be a bit tough to find in the ice cream freezer section in the grocery store and even both flavors look like ice cream.

 

[Breedlove]

As someone said it was not the snacks themselves , the little dog was living off of the snacks . We get the snacks at Costco Top Chews Naturals . .. Made in the U S A just read your snack bags well

 

[Amethyst]

I suppose feeding the pet "real" food (e.g. vegetables or meat bits, kept in the fridge) for treats is more work, and less fun, for the feeder. We may blame pets for demanding more and more snacks, but really it's the human who's been trained to give snacks on demand!

 

[donheff]

Most trainers I have read recommend using their regular food as rewards for training. These rewards can quickly add up so they recommend measuring out the day's food and taking the reward stash from the food pile.

 

[Red Badger]

I hope your poor dog gets better soon.

It is so much fun to feed treats to pets. They appreciate it, and as you say, they learn to cadge and beg.

I don't know about dogs, since I've only lived with cats; but could it be time to switch to real-food treats, versus packaged pet snacks?

Our cats ate commercial cat food, but for treats they got real food, approved by the veterinarian: a bit of shrimp, raw liver, a tiny boneless smelt (fish), a small pork chop bone; one cat adored canned string beans for some reason, although I rinsed the salt water off them first. You haven't lived till you've seen a cat leap and dance for a canned string bean.

Anyway, just a thought.

Our peke gets boiled eggs for a treat. One egg = 4 treats in the day.

 

[Gotadimple]

Breedlove,
Sorry about your dog. Your vet wants him/her on a kidney diet to push that creatinine back into the normal range. Most kidney prescription diets are medium protein, low phosphorous and high fat (for flavor). If he/she is still refusing to eat it, tell the vet that, they may have another prescription brand you can use. If it continues, consider joining a group of owners who focus on Kidney Disease and diet to control it. You'll find a few good ones on Facebook.

- Rita (had a pup who did have kidney disease and lived with it for over 2 years)

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I cross listed super foods for health like anticancer and immunity boosting with what is okay to feed to dogs from the AKC web sites and make treats from that list for our dog. This morning he had a little chicken vegetable soup with blueberries. He runs around in circles all excited when he knows I'm getting that ready for him.

I have thought about just making all his food. I know the commercial dog food companies have all these dire warnings about not being able to give your dog a balanced diet, but is that real or a marketing technique? I mean our kids never had any premade kids' kibble growing up and they are still alive. A highly processed food with a lot of supplements is pretty much the opposite of what is healthy for humans from my health books, so I'm having a hard time believing commercial dog food is a perfect food for dogs, either.

 

[aja8888]

This is where we get our American made dog food. Over a century of family products:

https://frommfamily.com/

 

[Amethyst]

The advantage of a packaged balanced-diet is that it makes it easier for the human. Making all your pet's food from scratch isn't as much work as making fresh food for the rest of the family, but it's more effort than most people want to invest. But even pet-food companies don't advise giving large amounts of treat food on top of the packaged diet.

I'd say the intersection between dog food companies trying to make money off you, and dogs putting on their acts to cadge more and more of it from you, is a dog in the ER with internal issues. It's no different from cats. I have a dear relative whose cat is now diabetic, because she loves to feed him, he loves to eat, and he can't go outside to get exercise.

I I know the commercial dog food companies have all these dire warnings about not being able to give your dog a balanced diet, but is that real or a marketing technique? .

 

[davebarnes]

"Beware Dog Snacks"
Of course.
Everyone knows you eat cat food during your retirement years.

 

[Amethyst]

Old people who still can taste their food are going to prefer dog food. Ever smelled cat food, or tried tasting it? Ewww.

"Beware Dog Snacks"
Of course.
Everyone knows you eat cat food during your retirement years.

 

[aja8888]

"Beware Dog Snacks"
Of course.
Everyone knows you eat cat food during your retirement years.

One reason is the cans are single portion, and if you like fish, the variety is there!

 

[jollystomper]

AJA, The dog was over fed a dog treat so it not the brand.
I had to ask a neighbor to stop giving our dogs treats. They would give each dog handfuls of dog biscuits. We only gave them treats for certain things and I'm only talking a couple a day

I agree.As a "neighbor" who gives several neighboring dogs treats, I do this with the approval of the owners, and they approve the snacks I give. No "handfuls" of anything, I never give more than 3-4 good quality treats to each dog, I think I have trained them not to expect more. The neighbors have said that the dogs are fine, no health issues.