Chewy's??

[Bassetpup]

I was wondering what you give your dogs to chew on? With all the information on Rawhides, I am avoiding those but am having trouble finding an acceptable alternative. I don't want to give her something that will take 10 minutes to demolish. I use them to keep her from chewing the furniture and stuff and to keep her occupied. She has lots of toys but she doesn't like her kong AT ALL. I have tried putting peanut butter, liver treats, dog biscuits, cheese, and hot dog pieces in it and she will try for about 1 minute to get it out and then says forget it. I have also tried Greenies but they are gone really fast. I don't want to give her pigs ears because i have heard too much about them making dogs sick. I did find something called Better than Ears that looks like a pigs ear but is made of corn startch etc. She likes them but they don't last too long either and she doesn't like nylabones!! HELP!!

[BassetMommy]

"Whole foods" has a line of dog bones they sell. We bought Ellie a knuckle bone (I think) and she loves it, carries it around with her, keeps it safe. I think she'd be lost with out it. I just think you have to try new things to see what they take to. And with this breed, it could be something different every other week. ;D

[harleysmomma63]

Dogs can not digest rawhide and is one of the top killers every year!!!!!!!!!!![/color]

I managed a pet store for the last 2 years till october you should see all the x-rays and vet reports We saw when a dog could not pass rawhide or got it caught in there thoat or intestions I would not allow it to be sold in our store we sold Lots of Red Barn treats like bully sticks pigs ears strips, pigie snouts,flossies, Bully sticks, liver treats, smoked turkey jerky and the likes we then carried Merricks liver breath biscuits and greenies and had hundres of happy customers and we carried natural dog biscuits. I hope you don't feel I am standing on a soap box but I don't wish to see any dogs suffer

Chocolate and Grapes are both deadly to dogs for some reason they are toxic to dogs!!!!!!!!!! Dont't take a chance lock them up away from your innocent pets!!!Fresh raw carrots and apple slices are great for your pets and Gracie and Harley adored raw and cooked up salted green beans! you can use unsalted can green beans in place of kibble one meal a day to help a over weight hound loose some excess pounds and they help the coat shine and softens it also .. Watch feeding your hound a corn based dog food lots of bassets have a reaction to corn in there diet ( it also makes there coat harsher and less soft and can cause erratic behavior) use a rice based food make sure the first ingredient is a meat product then rice ( if you think your pet may have a food allergie try a diet of rice with a little chicken broth for a couple of days and see how they do you may be suprised how well it works... ) Then put them on a lamb and rice food or chicken and rice food you will see a remarkable difference that I can guarentee ...Sorry to be so long winded but this is one subject I am very Passioned about[/color]

[Bassetpup]

Thank you for the info! I saw bully sticks and thought they might work but aren't they just flavored rawhide?? I know what you mean about not wanting to give them something that will hurt them and I am trying to be VERY careful. If you could please answer a question I would appreciate it. Have you ever heard of the Bil-Jac brand of food and treats? Apparently it is based here in Orlando and they use that food at Orlando studios for their performance dogs. The main ingredient is chicken. Not chicken meal but human grade chicken. It is a small business and the owner was at Petco. They sell his foods and treats there and at PetSmart in our area. He gave me a little box of puppy food to try with Lily. Well, she thought I was giving her TREATS!!!! She loved it so much and it really did cut down on the poopie production. At first I just gave her some from my hand like a treat and then I just added a little bit to her regular food so as not to upset her tummy. She gobbled it up like it was going out of style! I was thinking of switching over so if you have heard of it, please let me know what you think.

[harleysmomma63]

Betty

Bill Jacks is one of the best producers of dog treats there liver treats are wonderful for training treats and I have only heard good of there food have thought of putting Harley on it myself ( the proffesional trainers I have worked with all swear by Bill Jacks treats). Bully sticks are not rawhide they are beef tendon smoked and dried they will not stain furniture and clothing in any way ;)and are totally digestable if Lilly is a chewer they will work wonders with her and help in building good strong teeth Harley used them for the fist 4 months all the time and loved them greatly.

Make sure you let her chew on fresh vegtables like baby carrots and harley loves caulaflower and apples. anymore questions just drop me a note at [e-mail] or anyone else with questions I will assist anyway I can bye for now[/color]

[MowgliBaloo]

I, of course, am the one that was up ALL NIGHT with Mowgli when she tried to eat a smoked rawhide and was violently ill. The emergency clinic said NO WAY to those types of treats for Bassets. So, I've been experimenting with other things and Mowgli LOVES her greenies and her Lamb & Rice compressed Nylabone.

Harley is also right about the carrots....Mowgli LOVES carrots and green beans. Baloo likes to play with the carrots more than eat them...but they both LOVE apple slices.

I had no idea on the dangers or rawhides until I spent $600 and a night at the emergency clinic. Of course this happened when my husband was out of town, the kids were asleep and the weather was bad! So please be careful...it happened to her out of no where!! Mowgli was so ill that she was throwing up blood! Yuck.

By the way, Baloo is Harley's sweet little girl. She recently came out of her spaying surgery and is doing just fine. All the vets and techs said they loved playing with her. A few dogs came to check her out, but she told them she was already taken by her special "Hawley."

[harleysmomma63]

We are so releaved to hear Lady Baloo is well and safe from her surgury ...Baloo I love you Harley ...I am sorry I was not around to warn you of the fate rawhide can cause I guess I should get on my soap box more offten with that warning we don't want any pups hurt even unintentionally Harleysmomma and Harley off to take baby bella out to pottie

[Bassetpup]

Thank you so much for the info on Bil-Jac. We have been using the liver treats since the day she came home with us and she just LOVES them. I am going today to get more food and I have decided to switch to the Bil-Jac. The owner was super in answering my questions and gave us a couple of coupons. I will also get a couple of bully sticks to see how she likes them.

Thank you again,
Betty

[MowgliBaloo]

Can you get this Bil-Jac food anywhere or a certain site? How is it priced compared to say, Iams???

Baloo & Mowgli wanting Bil-Jac food AND liver treats!

[Bassetpup]

I am not really sure of the price of the food but the treats are about half the price of other liver treats and are great. I can get the treats and the food at PetCo and PetSmart here but not at any discount stores or anything. I am not sure if they have a website or not but I am seriously impressed with the content of their products. I will let you know about the price tomorrow. After the vet, I am taking Lily to Petco as a treat.

[harleysmomma63]

Hey folks don't get me wrong but since proctor and gamble bought out Iams it is not as good a food as it once was Bill jacks is a premium food and in the long run your dog wont need to eat as much of it to fill up as some of the other foods so take that into consideration on choosing a food. Pet supplys plus here in Indiana and petco and pet smart all carry it in the indianapolis area. The main thing you want to see is that meat protien should be the top of the list of ingrediants and that they don't use a lot of corn filler it causes lots of food issues with bassets ( its like giving candy to a a kid all the time sugarsugarsugar and lots of basset can not digest it properly)[/color]

[Bassetpup]

I went and got a big bag of Bil-Jac yesterday and it was about $12 for a 7lb bag. It might sound like a lot but the serving recommendation is smaller since it doesn't have a lot f the fillers so I think in the long run it will not turn out to be too much more. I mixed a tiny amount in Lily's regular food for her last feeding last night (about a tablespoon) and she gobbled it down like it was going out of style. However, she had diarreah in her crate in the middle of the night! Poor Baby! I spent an hour cleaning her and everything else this morning. YUCK! What a way to wake up. She also had her last shots yesterday so I am not sure what it was that triggered that. I will try again today to mix a little bit in and see if she still has it. She is acting just fine and playing normally so I don't think her tummy is too upset.

[bassetlvr15]

Hi, I am Cheryl and the slave of DJ and Gracie. We are a severe allergy basset family. Gracie has terrible allergies and is on Science Diet Salmon/Rice dog food. She was rast tested over a year ago and lives on Benedryl. I inject her once a month with her allergens. I tell ya, we have been through chewy's, etc. We are pretty much a pig ear strip family as one of her major allergens is beef. Gracie is on a first name basis with her vet. The have an understanding and this month is Dental Health Month. My goober girl and sexy boy are something else. They are both 4 yrs old and our hearts belong to them.

Thank you for the chewy information. I learned things I didn't know. DJ is rather obnoxious about getting a chewy. His demanding demeanor causes him to bark in my face while stomping up and down on my legs. He has jumped his big butt in my lap unexpectedly from time to time. When he says Mamma, clearly, my heart melts and he gets what he wants. You should see him roll that tongue around trying to talk. Gracie, the smart one, watchs and figures she should let DJ do all the work. She always gets one too. Thank Goodness for Chewy's.

[MowgliBaloo]

Well...Bill Jacks it is! Mowgli & Baloo have been eating Iams since they came home...but I can't say Mowgli loves it, and Baloo never seems satisfied.

Baloo said if Hawley recommended it, then it was EXACTLY what she wanted. ;D Who can argue with that?

Thanks for all the info!

[harleysmomma63]

Glad to be of help might as well use all of this info stored up in my head and try help others at the same time. If your dog is not satisfied on there food then there not on the right food for them!!!! The diaria lillian had may be a comination of things give the food a chance it will take a bit for the old food to work out of her system also. Price wise the better the ingediant guality the better for your pets!!!!!!!! are you aware some allergie foods for dogs are made of horse meat Ak Hills science diet KZ it runs over $40.00 for a 14# bag ( would you do that and most dogs have to eat double the amount of food to fill up on it!!!!) If you suspect your pet may have a food allergie send me a note and I can make some suggestions on how to test yourself before having to spend a lot of money at the vets on fancy test to get the same answer. Darla off to feed Bella and Harley