Healthy Pets

[Sassy]

Hey fellow pet parents,

I wandered over into this thread to ask if anyone had any suggestions for a replacement for rawhide chews?

My 9-year-old mini doxie loves-loves-LOVES her rawhide chews. She gets a small one in the mornings while I have my coffee. And a second one sometimes if she's having a stressful day. (Usually lawn-service day -- *grrr/gnaw/grrr* "We hatesssezzz the lawn man we does, yes we does." *grrrr*)

But lately, I've noticed she doesn't necessarily act like she feels so good after she's had her treat. She does better if I keep the chews small -- she's a glutton and will devour whatever I put in front of her until it is gone gone gone. And I've tried a few different brands but I'm not terribly satisfied with any particular one yet.

She's so small she fattens up easily. So filled rawhide treats are a no-no. We use carrots for treats throughout the day. And she's got some food allergies so she's on a raw food (lamb) diet.

She's a hardcore chewer. It's got to be something tough enough to keep her interested for a while. I tried to get her to chew a nyla bone but she's adamant she doesn't like them. And I tried natural hooves once but *gag* those stank. I won't bring another one back in the house. But if the item is too hard she loses interest -- I tried antlers boiled in broth (the pet store salesman swore they were a big seller) and she wouldn't even take a second glance.

So, any suggestions?

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by Sassy

Hey fellow pet parents,

I wandered over into this thread to ask if anyone had any suggestions for a replacement for rawhide chews?

My 9-year-old mini doxie loves-loves-LOVES her rawhide chews. She gets a small one in the mornings while I have my coffee. And a second one sometimes if she's having a stressful day. (Usually lawn-service day -- *grrr/gnaw/grrr* "We hatesssezzz the lawn man we does, yes we does." *grrrr*)

But lately, I've noticed she doesn't necessarily act like she feels so good after she's had her treat. She does better if I keep the chews small -- she's a glutton and will devour whatever I put in front of her until it is gone gone gone. And I've tried a few different brands but I'm not terribly satisfied with any particular one yet.

She's so small she fattens up easily. So filled rawhide treats are a no-no. We use carrots for treats throughout the day. And she's got some food allergies so she's on a raw food (lamb) diet.

She's a hardcore chewer. It's got to be something tough enough to keep her interested for a while. I tried to get her to chew a nyla bone but she's adamant she doesn't like them. And I tried natural hooves once but *gag* those stank. I won't bring another one back in the house. But if the item is too hard she loses interest -- I tried antlers boiled in broth (the pet store salesman swore they were a big seller) and she wouldn't even take a second glance.

So, any suggestions?

Pig ears.
-------

[Sassy]

Originally Posted by DapperButch

Pig ears.
-------

I tried those once, too. *wrinkles her freckled nose* They also stink.

OK, maybe things that get chewed on naturally stink? *laughs*

Hmmm. OK, I'll try a pig ear one more time and see how that goes.

Thanks

[Starbuck]

There are pig ears that don't have any flavoring or coloring added to them so they shouldn't stink, maybe your pooch will like those?

[Sassy]

Hmmmm... OK, I'll look for that kind next time I'm shopping. It is possible that the ones I bought before were flavored or something. I do remember I only let her chew them on her pet bed because they seemed to want to stain fabric. Thanks!

[Rockinonahigh]

I have a fur kid thats alergic to heart worm pills of any kind,she gets so sick she pukes then has the runns all day.I cant use any kind of bug drops on her cause she acts like its burning her so all I am doing is bounce dryer pads,they worked on my horses face so I tryed them on her.I keep her tested so far she has tested clean.I keep her wormed with pills from the vet,she has no prob with her shots,just the bug drops and heart worm pills.My yard is sprayed for everything under the sun so no probs there.Any ideas folks?

[Sassy]

Originally Posted by Rockinonahigh

I have a fur kid thats alergic to heart worm pills of any kind,she gets so sick she pukes then has the runns all day.I cant use any kind of bug drops on her cause she acts like its burning her so all I am doing is bounce dryer pads,they worked on my horses face so I tryed them on her.I keep her tested so far she has tested clean.I keep her wormed with pills from the vet,she has no prob with her shots,just the bug drops and heart worm pills.My yard is sprayed for everything under the sun so no probs there.Any ideas folks?

I've never heard of using bounce dryer pads to keep pests off pets. And it works? Sounds Cool. I'll research. I bet they smell nice that way too. *giggles*
My dog takes interceptor to prevent heart worms. For my little dog it costs about $65 every 6 months. It's the only thing I've found that doesn't make her nauseous. Once, I tried some heartworm prevention pills that also included flea control and those were a very bad idea. I had a very sick dog for over a month.
I read somewhere that teatree oil repels fleas and ticks -- put it on a handkerchief and tie it around the hound's neck when they're outside. But only for really big dogs. You can't use it on little dogs -- something about their metabolism and size, the teatree oil screws with their nervous system. So, since my dog is a mini, I haven't tested that idea.
Our yard is treated. But with every other neighbor's cat thinking the back deck is a great bird-watching spot, it's impossible to really control the occasional outbreak of fleas.
I've looked for alternative flea and tick repellent for my li'l dog -- with no success. (See above mention of teatree oil.) So, right now I use the drops.
Tia, my dog, has a lot of scratching/chewing issues related to stress. She develops skin infections easily. And she doesn't not approve of flea spray on her pet bedding or drops on her fur. She and I negotiated and what I decided on, was instead of giving her a full dose once a month. I put about half the drops on every 2 weeks. This way she gets regular baths (weekly to every 2 weeks, depending on how soon she walks into the bathroom and demands a bath. Or whether she's found something stinky to roll in outside. LOL.) and I don't feel like I'm wasting money on medicine that gets washed off. She has pet beds in each room and I put old sheets on them for her to nest in. Each week the pet beds get sprayed and she gets clean sheets. Fleas don't have anywhere to breed but she doesn't have to lay directly on the chemical stinky stuff. Which she won't. She'll protest loudly first. Ever hear a hound dog cuss? I should video that sometime. I'd get a lot of hits on YouTube. *laughs*

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by Sassy

Hmmmm... OK, I'll look for that kind next time I'm shopping. It is possible that the ones I bought before were flavored or something. I do remember I only let her chew them on her pet bed because they seemed to want to stain fabric. Thanks!

Natural ones won't stain. Should be able to find them in a pet store. My store sells them in paperbags by the baker's dozen!

[Sassy]

I have a huge (HUGE) serrated knife in the kitchen for cutting up rawhide chewy things. So we're definitely practicing portion control.

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by Sassy

I tried those once, too. *wrinkles her freckled nose* They also stink.

OK, maybe things that get chewed on naturally stink? *laughs*

Hmmm. OK, I'll try a pig ear one more time and see how that goes.

Thanks

But maybe only once a week, not every day? (you say she is small...they are larger).

Get the natural ones. Those shouldn't smell.

Give your dog those small carrots if you want to give her something every day.

[Guy]

Originally Posted by Sassy

Hey fellow pet parents,

I wandered over into this thread to ask if anyone had any suggestions for a replacement for rawhide chews?

My 9-year-old mini doxie loves-loves-LOVES her rawhide chews. She gets a small one in the mornings while I have my coffee. And a second one sometimes if she's having a stressful day. (Usually lawn-service day -- *grrr/gnaw/grrr* "We hatesssezzz the lawn man we does, yes we does." *grrrr*)

But lately, I've noticed she doesn't necessarily act like she feels so good after she's had her treat. She does better if I keep the chews small -- she's a glutton and will devour whatever I put in front of her until it is gone gone gone. And I've tried a few different brands but I'm not terribly satisfied with any particular one yet.

She's so small she fattens up easily. So filled rawhide treats are a no-no. We use carrots for treats throughout the day. And she's got some food allergies so she's on a raw food (lamb) diet.

She's a hardcore chewer. It's got to be something tough enough to keep her interested for a while. I tried to get her to chew a nyla bone but she's adamant she doesn't like them. And I tried natural hooves once but *gag* those stank. I won't bring another one back in the house. But if the item is too hard she loses interest -- I tried antlers boiled in broth (the pet store salesman swore they were a big seller) and she wouldn't even take a second glance.

So, any suggestions?

I give my kids the waggin train big blast. Its a baked pork skin twist with chicken liver center, without the mess. I pick them up at walmart, but have seen them at target.

They love' em