Treats?

[whiskydry]

How many treats are OK in a day?

Barney has 2 meals a day, plus a pigs ear. What treats would be acceptable on top of that?

Oh and bones - if I got him a bone (tastefully called postman's leg at the petshop ) would that be instead of the pigs ear?

I sound a total novice at all this, and I am really - our poor old Georgia was so old that in the end she barely ate much at all really, never played and didn't walk much cos her back legs had pretty much gone! So it feels a long long time since I've cared for a young fit dog!

[Lisa]

That to me would be enough and I would drop the pigs ears off to every other day.

Im a mean Mum my dogs never get treats at all only their two meals a day

[hippyhounds]

my lot have a treat after there last tiolet run at night and about twice a week they have one in the day

[sharron]

Zeb gets a chew every night same thing like a denta rusk, denta stick, 1 pigs ear a week, 1 bone a week, and a chicken wing twice a week.

You could try a carrot, Zeb used to love them raw but has them in his food instead.

I just use them to help keep his teeth clean.

[whiskydry]

Barney won't eat the denta stick things! he did once and then turned his haughty nose up

I had read that the pigs ears are good for dental health hence why I chose them. It's all about the teeth!

I don't even buy chicken for us !!!

(Do I sound a right pauper now? It's a principle thing - I would only buy happy chicken and since that is way too pricey most of the time, we do without. It's a lovely treat when I can afford it though! I try not to worry about the pigs with no ears though...... )

[Nettie]

You could get him a marrowbone every couple of weeks, that would help with his teeth and he will love you forever! I'd worry about the fat content of a pig's ear to give one everyday. I often walk mine seperately so those that are staying behind get a chew stick, no idea what they are called, sold in bulk in P@H, they also come in bright colours, green and red, we avoid those and just buy the natural coloured ones, they are finished almost by the time I'm out the door. They also get a small hand full of kibble for last bites after they'be been out for their final pee. This started because Indy would sick up bile (empty stomach syndrome) early in the morning if he didn't have something to eat before bedtime.

[Letty's Mum]

OMG! After reading this I think I need to rethink Lettice's diet. She has 2 chicken wings and 2 sausages for breakfast, a pig's ear for lunch and Iams complete for tea ( with a tray of poncy meat stirred in to make it more appetising)
Please let me know if this is a crap diet, I have tried to just give her the complete on it's own but she just gives me a filthy look and stomps ff to bed

[andywillow]

Jul 1, 2008 13:17:06 GMT -5 Letty's Mum said:

OMG! After reading this I think I need to rethink Lettice's diet. She has 2 chicken wings and 2 sausages for breakfast, a pig's ear for lunch and Iams complete for tea ( with a tray of poncy meat stirred in to make it more appetising)
Please let me know if this is a crap diet, I have tried to just give her the complete on it's own but she just gives me a filthy look and stomps ff to bed

Iams are one of the biggest testers on animals unfortunately Mine only get treats occassionally, pigs ears now and then, they do love them but they are fattening!
I don't feed raw but have read that feeding raw it shouldnt be mixed with cooked as they both digest differently. Cooked sausages and raw chicken? I would imagine sausages are fattening too to be having every day.

Sue

Mine always have something mixed in with their dry food cos they wont eat it on its own, but only have a little, i.e. a tin of pilchards between all 6 or a tray of natures harvest between them.

Sue

[Letty's Mum]

Thanks for that Sue. I have heard about not mixing raw with cooked so the sausages I give her are raw. I didn't realise that Iams is a bit of a no no though.

[Princess C]

Mine get the odd small biscuit bribe treat during the day, and treats for training or recall (or in Otis's case, not yelling at other dogs) but other than that, they only get a chew or a pigs ear roughly once a fortnight, because it's hard to find something that Matilda can eat that lasts the same length of time, so I'm a meanie too!

[Aoj]

Jul 1, 2008 13:17:06 GMT -5 Letty's Mum said:

OMG! After reading this I think I need to rethink Lettice's diet. She has 2 chicken wings and 2 sausages for breakfast, a pig's ear for lunch and Iams complete for tea ( with a tray of poncy meat stirred in to make it more appetising)
Please let me know if this is a crap diet, I have tried to just give her the complete on it's own but she just gives me a filthy look and stomps ff to bed

Sue's right about not mixing the raw and cooked and sausages for breakfast every day are probably not a good idea. Pig's ears can be fattening too so perhaps not every day either!

If you feed a complete, then you need no more than a spoonful of "poncy" food ( I presume you mean something like Nature Diet!!? ) mixed in.....a tray of that on it's own is a meal in itself!

[annar]

the vet told me not to give pigs ears more than a couple of times a week as they are high in fat and salt. my lot get 2 meals a day, complete with a small amount of mixer, like angela said we share one tray or nature diet between all of them just for taste, or a pack of tripe noiled and split between them, they only get treats whilst on a walk for recall good behaviour etc, usually tiny pieces of sausage or similar. a couple of times a week i give something like a joint chew, bonio or pigs ear. anna.x.

[Nettie]

Jul 1, 2008 16:13:14 GMT -5 Aoj said:

Jul 1, 2008 13:17:06 GMT -5 Letty's Mum said:

OMG! After reading this I think I need to rethink Lettice's diet. She has 2 chicken wings and 2 sausages for breakfast, a pig's ear for lunch and Iams complete for tea ( with a tray of poncy meat stirred in to make it more appetising)
Please let me know if this is a crap diet, I have tried to just give her the complete on it's own but she just gives me a filthy look and stomps ff to bed

Sue's right about not mixing the raw and cooked and sausages for breakfast every day are probably not a good idea. Pig's ears can be fattening too so perhaps not every day either!

If you feed a complete, then you need no more than a spoonful of "poncy" food ( I presume you mean something like Nature Diet!!? ) mixed in.....a tray of that on it's own is a meal in itself!

I don't think its so much about feeding cooked meat and raw meat, what you shouldn't do if feed raw meat with carbohydrates, ie a complete food with raw meat. Sausages every day are probably not a good idea, depending on which sausages they probably are high in fat, salt and possibly preservatives. Sausages only get fed to our lot as training treats cut up into very tiny pieces and not on a regular basis.

[just jackie]

We feed ours two meals a day of complete dry food (Burgess Superdog Sensitive) with a little added extra. That could be a tray of Nature Diet, Nature's Harvest, tin of pilchards, a little cooked chicken, or a couple of tins of tuna. That's between 4 or 5 depending on whether we have a foster dog here, and depending on whether the current foster needs a bit extra or not.

I have occasionally fed cooked sausages, but only on the odd occasion when I've found a pack on the reduced counter at the supermarket. I also sometimes buy a pack of minced beef or lamb and cook it, so they would have approx 400-500g between them.

They have a couple of treats each at bedtime, and the occasional one during the day, sea jerky, pork strips (smaller than a whole pigs ear and a size Cassie can just about manage), tripe sticks or suchlike. Ours do have gravy bones when they are out on a walk, and I must admit that OH does tend to overdo it at times, but we break them in half, again because Cassie can't manage a whole one.

Jackie
x

[mickeymygrey]

have a look on the beastly beasts web site they have some great liver treats which i make and my lot get a few squares when i go out somewhere and a few on my return. They are quite rich so not too many a day but they are made from natural stuff and contain garlic which helps repel fleas. Also very cheap i buy a pack of liver for just over 50p and add the flour etc etc and it makes 4 take away tubs full of treats which i freeze and use a few at a time.