Treats and Feeding Raw?

[lcmwest]

I am considering switching Scout to raw at some point. Right now she is eating about 1-1 1/4 cup of dry Ultramix and about 2 TB high quality canned mixed in. (half in the morning and half at night)
My question is, when you feed raw, do you still give treats? (she loves bullysticks, greenies, organic dog biscuits) actually, she will eat anything you put in front of her.
so, raw bones or raw treats or is it ok to still give other treats. I know they need to be limited. While I am on the subject of bully sticks, how often do you let your frenchies have bullysticks? thanks! Lynne

[franp]

First, I NEVER give Greenies.Why? Look at the ingredients.And too many people reporting dogs choking on pieces no matter how closely supervised.


As for treats:string cheese is one of the best. The trainor we had in puppy class turned me on to that one.Small pieces of apple (Dari drools for apple).
Dog buscuits,yes. There is a brand called Triumph that I like.She loves them. After every meal, she gets one.
Yeah, I know, no grain. Well, this is her one "cheat".

We go in cycles with Bullysticks. Dari will chew on them like a demon for a couple of weeks and then act like they do not exist for about a month,So, there are always 2-3 started ones in her "toy chest.". She is an adult (5 1/2) and I do leave them out; her activity of choice when I am not home is to sleep.And when I am home she sleeps allot as well, When she was younger I would NOT have let the bullysticks out.The ONLY chew that was left out was marrow bones.

Some other treats for a raw diet; dried organ meat. But in moderation. I think any treat is ok in moderation.

What I do not like are the commercial treats like "snausages" or stuff like that. Good quality dog biscuits are ok IMO, just like us eating cookies on occasion.

[gmacleod]

Remember also that what consititues a treat is simply something that your dog likes, and if it's for training, then something the dog will work to get. So if your dog likes things like fresh fruit (and even vegetables), then those make excellent treats. Try it - lots of dogs like pieces of apple, banana, peach, canteloupe etc

The only caution of fruit is not too much at a time (might loosen the stool a bit, though that really applies to any treat) and don't feed grapes, raisins (both toxic), avocado or the pits of fruits.

Other than that, you can also make your own if you want to ensure that the treats are healthy. Grilled chicken is a good treat, as is baked liver, tuna fudge and many more :) Definitely nothing artificial in those.

[EmD, MD]

Penny loves these dehydrated turkey liver treats from the pet store where we buy her raw food. It was a proprietary product of the store, but they stopped manufacturing it.
I know this sounds gross, but some places sell dehydrated lamb lungs, which she also loves. My final suggestion is Dr. Becker's Bites which are bits of a jerky-like substance, sort of resembling blue corn tortilla chips, but all-meat.

And I second the fruit. There is not a fruit that Penny doesn't love. Oh, and veggies; she loves broccoli and carrots.

[sakirby]

i had NO idea that grapes were toxic to dogs. i was feeding oscar grapes in his kong with peanut butter! usually only two but, i had NO clue they were toxic. thanks for the info. i have learned now to check online for toxicity to dogs before i feed oscar anything. :o

[Solo_dog]

Solo and her friends love Brussel Sprouts! Yummy. :)
I had no idea about the grapes, either. Thanks for that!

[lcmwest]

thanks, everyone. Scout does love fruit, bananas, apples, nectarines. I gave her her first raw bone today, a beef neck. She absolutely loved it!

[gmacleod]

Just to add to the fund of information on toxicity of grapes/raisins, here's a short article from the ASPCA poison control centre. If you don't feel like reading, the basic info is that grapes and raisins are toxic and can cause renal failure (and death). The toxic dose is not known. http://www.aspca.org/site/DocServer/grapes.pdf?docID=189

Worth noting also is that the pits of most fruits contain cyanide. Big pits like those in peaches, etc should be avoided completely, and even apple seeds can be a problem if ingested in large doses (so it can't hurt to de-core if you feed lots of apples).