Another Rawhide Story

Here's a story that is circulating the internet right now. It's a tragedy for sure:


To Whom It May Concern...(Is There Any Justice For The Loss Of My Bestfriend) November 08, 2007 5:40 PM

Well on Oct. 28, 2007 I had to get my most loyal and loving BlackJack put
to sleep because she was so sick and dying...I still can't believe she's gone forever. My baby was only about 3yrs old...I will not let go what happened and I want my voice to be heard !!!!! I purchased some rawhide bones from the 24hr Walgreens on Main St. here in High Point, N.C. when I gave my dog one within an hour of chewing half of the bone my BlackJack became sick, vomiting very badly...this went on for a few days and she seemed to get better or so I thought, I noticed her gums, tongue, skin, and white of her eyes was yellow...I was like no way, my dog has jaundice so I took her to the vet. They kept her for 3 days and done blood tests, X-ray, IV's, Etc. and they ruled out blood disease, foreign objects, any kind of blockage, and said my dog was way too healthy & had very good bloodwork prior to get this sick, this fast!! They sent her home with me and wanted to try medication...but nothing worked she just got sick more each day until she could barely walk & would not eat, she was suffering and the outlook didn't look good even with surgery as weak as she was...It was like she had been poisened, even the vet that put her to sleep said that...and she had from that bone. Now I'm at war with the company and want some justice for the life of my bestfriend, she was the kind of dog that if your lucky you might run into one once in your lifetime. Now take note on the information below:
- There sold at: Walgreens
- Brand Name ( Bag O Bones )
- Company Info: Specialty Products Resources Inc.
49 Harrington Rd.
Waltham, M.A. 02452 USA
Tel: (781) 894-1411
Fax: (781) 894-1811
Website: www.specialtyrawhide.com

Please Check Out & Sign The Petition To Make Sure Another Bestfriend Is Not Lost!!! http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/a-life-lost

---------------------EOM--------------------------

At first glance, I want to rush out and sign this petition. I know rawhide is a horrible product, and more is sold at this time of year than any other. But there is so much information out there about rawhide. You can google it, read blogs about it, talk to your vet about it, talk to your boarder, your local dog bakery, trainers, fellow dog parkers; I would think there has to be information about how rawhide is so bad coming at people from every angle. If that is really the case, then why do people still buy it? Stores wouldn't stock it unless people were buying it.

There is another part of me that thinks, with all of the information available at hand, how is this person not personally accountable for this? Stores simply sell what people want. If nobody wanted it, good or bad for you, nobody would sell it. Doesn't that make us, everyone who buys rawhide products, accountable for this also? Anyone thats purchased rawhide in the last year send this person one dollar, and she'll feel better. Like that will ever happen. Now, if this was something new, a new product that's untested, a mistake, never happened to anyone before. I could see some accountability on the part of the company. But rawhide, and the horrible stories that go with it, have been around a long time. I think it's really up to us to spread this word. The companies and manufacturers aren't going to stop making it unless everyone stops buying it. Stores like Wal-mart are going to continue to sell it, because it keeps making them money. It's only small stores like our bakery that take a stand on junk like this (See Rawhide is for shoes).

I won't sell rawhide, I've never sold rawhide, and I won't even sell the pressed rawhide, which is supposed to be the lesser of the evils. If there should be a petition, lets tell the retailers we don't want this in the stores anymore. Lets get this on the news so other people know about it and can make an informed decision. Let's not just sue the retailer for punitive damages. Put your money where your mouth is - or your dog's mouth anyway. Just say no to rawhide. There are plenty of alternatives. Be an informed consumer. Read the ingredients. Stores like Wal-mart are very much a democracy. If the public votes they won't buy something, it gets yanked pretty fast and replaced with something else. They have to move product off of their shelves to make money, and under performing products are always replaced quickly, or else it effects their year end numbers. Bonuses are at stake. Vote NO on rawhide! Spread the word!

The Funniest Thing I've Read All Week

I've been trying to come up with a new post today that is related to dog health, but I'm having a hard time getting past a comment that was made on our myspace page, so I thought I would talk a little bit about internet marketing and diverge a bit this week.

We are, of course, a small business. In Rogers, AR. I believe whole heartedly in our treats that we make, so selling this is easy for someone like me who isn't so strong of a sales person. But how do I tell our story to everyone out there that wants to hear it? There are definitely people who want our treats for their dogs and cats. I see them every day. But how do I reach you? Traditional advertising has not worked very well for us. We'd run coupons in the newspaper, radio ads for a month at a time, attend dog events as much as we can. There's only so much time and money you can put towards advertising.

A new trend that is emerging is "Flop Shopping". This is where someone will shop for what they want on the internet, and when they find it, they will go to the local store to get it "right now, without paying shipping". You may even do this and not even know it. Scour the internet for the best deal, find it at Best Buy, then hop over there the next day to pick it up. Even walmart.com is allowing you to ship to a store where you can pick it up for free now.

What does this have to do with marketing you say? Well, in order to be considered for a purchase, you have to have your sign out there for everyone to see, and with Flop Shopping, that sign has to be on the internet, especially if you are in a competitive market. And this doesn't mean you can just put a website up and pray people will find it. Those days are gone. You have to promote your website, optimize it for search engines, create quality links back to your site as much as possible. I have managed to get our website (www.bigwag.com) ranked in the top 12 on google if you search for "gourmet dog bakery" - all for free. I think that is a huge accomplishment, if you consider the unspecified nature of the above search query, and how many dog bakeries are out there. "Dog Bakery Arkansas" and we are number one, or any city we are next to in Northwest Arkansas.

Part of my execution has been to create as many links to my website as possible, this blog included. I love the blogs, because they give me a chance to tell you how great our treats are, or share some marketing wizardry like this. One of these links is myspace. If you have never been to myspace, be prepared to spend some time learning the ropes. Start by just creating a user page for yourself, before you delve into creating one for your business. See how this social networking phenomenon works. Find some friends, and then let the magic take hold.

Understanding your customer is a key component to any marketing, and our ideal customer target is a 46 year old female. The dating mechanics of myspace lets you zero in like a bullet to find your ideal customer (if you know them) within any mileage radius of your location. You can be as pinpoint or as aggressive as you want. It is slightly time consuming to search out these people, but the trade off is that it costs you nothing. If you have a small marketing budget, this is a great way to target your ideal customers for your marketing message, and to open 2-way dialogs with them.

So, as part of our marketing scheme, I have been "befriending" hundreds of people on myspace trying to find our target customers within Northwest Arkansas, as well as Little Rock, where we have our treats for sale at local pet boutiques. Most people either quietly ignore us or add us. Every once in awhile someone is so excited, they rush over to the store, or order online. Some people who are not very conversed with myspace do email back and question how we found them.

Someone actually responded back to me "I don't like dog people! And oh yeah, bones either! Have a nice day". Wow. I was a little taken back by this response. I wanted to respond, but what do you say to that? I finally came up with " Thats ok, I'm 100% homo sapien. Those dog people scare me too. I've never seen one, but I've heard about them. Atrocious. You too!" I didn't want to offend anyone, so I hope this wasn't too crass. She definitely was not in our red zone as far as marketing goes. Probably too young. She still might have made comments to her friends or family, and I wanted them to hopefully be positive comments, not that I ripped her a new one even if she was asking for it. I still think that was too funny. Who doesn't like dog people? I guess cat people maybe. We have a kitty corner too.

Either way you look at it, it could potentially be marketing that works - if this gal goes to work and mentions to her friends that a dog bakery tried to be friends with her - even if it were short sighted on her part in her own marketing efforts. She works at a hair salon, and all across her myspace page were adds to go to the salon where she worked at and ask for her. I won't be asking for her, since she doesn't like dog people. I am definitely a dog person, but I do have a cat too. Maybe if she were a cat person. Might depend if she were declawed I guess. I think the marketing bang I got for my buck will be more than she just got with her comment. I had never heard of her salon before, but I have now. And boy do I have a story about it, not to mention this was a missed opportunity. Did I mention our target market is female, aged 46, with disposable cash to spend? If they like pampering their dogs, they might like pampering themselves. Who does a salon and spa sell to? We have at least three salons that are on our friends list now - and they get it.

The point here really, is that you are always marketing, especially on the internet. I think this gal's comment was negative marketing and she didn't even realize it. Most of my friends are dog people - unfortunately for her. Hopefully I was positive marketing, even if she doesn't like dog people. If she tells one person about us, than it worked. If you can create some positive buzz around your business, then you are doing your job. People tend to email and comment without really thinking about it. This gets lots of people in trouble and sometimes fired. If you are trying to market yourself or your business, you need to give positive responses no matter what.

So, in an attempt to have your sign on out there in the Flop Shopping world, remember that honey gets you more flies than vinegar. It's important to have yourself out and visible where people can search and find you, but just be careful of what message you are giving out - especially with these new mediums like myspace. It's very easy to get caught up in it and not realize whats going on. Not everyone will be a fan - just don't take it personally.

BTW - I found some more people that worked at her salon on myspace, and I'm currently asking them to be friends too - we'll see if it's just her or the culture of that salon in a follow up.

The Dilemma of All Natural Soft Treats

There is a growing trend for people to search out soft treats for their smaller or older dogs. The reasons are usually "they can't chew the hard ones", "their mouth is too small", or "they don't have any teeth left", that sort of thing.

I don't know how else to break the news to you, but there is no such thing as a soft treat that is all natural. There are only two ways you can get an all-natural soft treat - bake it yourself fresh in your kitchen, or load the treat up with preservatives, glycerin, and sugar to give it a soft, gummy texture. Those treats that seem like bacon flavored gummy bears, well, thats basically what they are. Gummy bears with bacon flavoring. Not the healthiest thing you can feed them on a regular basis. Now, once in a blue moon, I'm sure they won't hurt your dog, but would you want to eat a gummy bear every day of your life? My dogs won't even eat these gummy bear treats anymore. They just get them all wet then spit them on the carpet to make a nice red stain.

The "cake" treats that are out there are really best served as the bake it yourself variety, where they are made in small batches fresh right there in your kitchen. There are lots of recipes floating around the internet for these. They can be a great option if you have the time and inclination to make them yourself, and should pretty much be a cookie recipe (eggs, milk, flour, etc) without sugar or salt so they are healthy for your dog. Add some ground meat or peanut butter and watch them salivate. You should feed these quickly or freeze them, as they can sour pretty quickly.

There is also a difference between crunchy and crumbly. We do have a treat we bill as "soft bites". They've been called that for over a decade, so I don't think I can change the name. We make these crumbly, which makes them easier to chew for older or smaller dogs. We still bake out most of the moisture, but despite that, their shelf life is still only 3-4 weeks. We'd rather throw some away then add preservatives. But they last a lot longer than the cake cookies, simply because we remove most of the moisture.

One last note: There is at least one brand of treats that are out there, that claim to be soft AND natural. The ingredient that enables this is guar gum. I guess they claim that guar gum is natural, as it comes directly from a bean. I might hesitate feeding this to my dogs, simply because it has a myriad of uses, such as a waterproofing agent for explosives. According to the wiki article, it is a non-digestible ingredient, and can actually bind with other ingredients, making them indigestible as well. I really don't like these all-purpose, one-million-uses ingredients like these. Glycerin is also one of these. It's a sugar alcohol that is used in tons of things, including soap. I think it's hard to avoid these at all times, simply because they are so prolific, but I don't want to eat them on purpose.

The Lone Ranger Gets a Partner

For those who haven't checked out www.zootoo.com yet, this is a website that is trying to build a pet owner community and knowledge base centered around user experiences for different pet services, retailers, animal shelters and rescues, products, you name it, it's probably there. Their goal, I think, is to become the number one destination if you want a review of a pet product or service, and they are doing a good job building it up with a million dollar makeover contest for your local animal shelter.

Anyway, my point is, as I was perusing some of the reviews for some of the dog treats on this website, I started out mildly disappointed. After all, I own a dog bakery, and my whole mantra is healthy, natural, no sugar, no salt, no preservatives. Some days I feel like I am on a crusade to improve the diets of all of those disbelievers out there. With the humanization trend of pets, we can compare our dogs to our children in many cases. We wouldn't dare feed our kids nothing but sugar, salt, and artificial coloring all day, would we? They need to eat their vegetables, the food pyramid, good stuff in the tank, right? But so many of the treats you buy in the store is contrary to that stance. Sugar and salt help all the other nastiness go down easier - make the dog want to eat it.

Sorry for the digression - back to my point. I started off mildly disappointed, as I read one mom after another quip how these treats must be yummy, their dog "wolfed them down". Ick. Then, the tide turned. Someone actually mentioned that they should look at the ingredients of these treats. Too many chemicals - 1 out of 5 stars. Then another low review - look at all of the sugar. Look at all of the artificial coloring. These colors can't be natural.

Now, I know that I am not personally responsible for these readers opinions, but I don't feel like I am the lone ranger trying to help your dogs live longer and healthier. These women get it. If you are reading this, then I think you are getting it too. And that makes me proud. Most people don't know that the pet food industry was born to dispose of the people food waste. Fancy marketing was used to lull us into a sense of complacency of what we feed our pals, our best friends, our park play buddies, and our sappy movie snugglers. Even if you don't buy your treats from me, just read the ingredients. Just because it's cute and looks like a mini spare rib doesn't mean it's good for your dog. Thats all I ask. Oh, and vote for your local shelter at zootoo.com. I guess thats really two things.

Our Customers Are The Best

As most of you know, BigWag is a family business. From the outset, we wanted to create a comfortable, homey atmosphere where you could bring the furry members of your family and get quality treats that would be just like the ones grandma made. (If grandma had baked cookies for the dogs!) We knew that as we added employees, we wanted them to become members of our family, not just paid help. We wanted to be that little corner shop where they actually know your name, or at least your dog's name. What I never expected was the outpouring of generosity we get from our customers. Sure, I quickly learned no one ever buys their dog treats when they're in a bad mood, which makes working here a joy. But I never expected people to respond so warmly to us and especially to our dogs. A few days ago one of our regular customers stopped by Andy's and picked up puppy cups for Sam and Hannah. (They thoroughly enjoyed them by the way! I'll post the pictures later.) Another customer and I were discussing the difficulty of finding somewhere to board the dogs at Thanksgiving, and she offered to watch them for us if I couldn't find anywhere. I was totally blown away at this extremely generous offer. And there are countless other examples that I can't even begin to completely list here. The numerous customers who donate treats to the Humane Society. The customers who put their spare change in the bottle to help defray vet costs for rescue animals. The customers who made our angel tree a huge hit last year at Christmas time. The customers who advertise for us, taking business cards or treats to their friends, family and co-workers. The ones who post fliers for our events at work. We even had a customer write about us on her own blog, complete with a link to our website! (You can visit her blog by clicking the link to Scott and Kelly under our favorite blogs) It means the world to us that our customers love us so much. So, I just wanted to take a few moments to tell all of you how much all of these gestures mean to us and that we do notice all of them. And we want to say thank you for embracing us so completely.

How To Crate Train Your Dog In 30 Minutes

I hear complaints of people who can't potty train their dogs, or they destroy furniture at night, or the sleep in their bed with them and become aggressive if the owner wants them down. The simplest solution to all of these problems is to crate train your dog, but how do you do that? they ask.

First step is to buy a dog crate. I got mine from Wal-mart. I like the metal ones with the slide out plastic liner to make accidents easy to clean up. The only trick here is to make sure you get the right size. You don't want too small, but too big, and they will feel like they can use the bathroom at the other end of their "house". It needs to be just small enough to where they won't want to go to the bathroom - dogs have a natural sense to not potty where they sleep. If they do use the bathroom and then sleep in it, I will address that at the end.

The second step is easy. Now, your job is just to make the crate a fun place. I usually place it in the living room, or someplace they are familiar with, and let them be around it for a little while. Let them smell it, walk in it if they are brave enough, explore it, and become comfortable with it. Then, once they have had a chance to become familiar with it, I try to entice them into it with a treat. I try not to push them in - I want it to feel like their choice. Once they go in, I give them a treat, call them out, and hug and praise them a whole bunch. I repeat this, using the phrase "Do you wanna go to bed". This does two things. First, it associates the crate with someplace fun, where there are treats involved, and lots of praise. Second, it gives them a verbal cue "Bed" that they know with the crate, and the associated treats and praise. This usually takes about 30 minutes, maybe a little more with reluctant or scaredy cats.

Dogs are natural den dwellers. Sometimes draping a towel over the crate will make it more appealing. I like to put a towel with my scent on it (I rub it all over my body) and place it with a favorite toy at night so they feel close to me. Overall, the crate makes them feel safe. They will run to it when they are scared or frightened. All I have to do is mention the word "bed" and they are racing down the hall to see who can be first in their crate.

If they are young, especially puppies, they may not want to remain in their crate throughout the night. You have to determine if this is just because they want out, or because they really have to use the bathroom badly. If they just want out, then I would ignore them. They should eventually quiet down. I have used a glass of water thrown on them so that a really stubborn dog knows this is unacceptable behavior.

What you want to avoid is having them use the bathroom and then lying or sleeping in it. If this happens, you can undo any good crate training cold do. It's like it psychologically damages the dog, so that they will urinate on themselves and not care anymore. It can undo pottie training they may have mastered. I use the rule of thumb that for every month the puppy is old, they can go an hour before needing a bathroom break. Hopefully, by a year old they should be able to go all night without a problem. I have a dog that can get so distracted on their end-of-the-night outside trip that he forgets to go to the bathroom. Each dog is a little different, and you will have to find that balance and learn with them.

Getting this technique down is a great way to potty train a dog too. When you let them out in the morning, have a treat ready, and go out with them. They will more than likely have to use the bathroom if they went all night without going outside. As soon as they start, start praising them (but don't touch them - let them finish their business) and then when they are finished, give them a treat and praise and hug them. This will reinforce going outside is good. It's about the only time of day you know with 100% certainty that they will go to the bathroom, and it's really a slam dunk. The more you praise them for going outside, the faster they should catch on.

Owning a dog is not a spectator sport

I was chatting with someone this week who had no idea what a puppy mill was. I guess I take it for granted that everyone knows what a puppy mill is, just like everyone knows what Wal-mart is. It really kind of dawned on me what the true meaning of being a responsible dog owner is. It is continuous education about your dog, and helping in the education of those around you. This would have been a great message for "Responsible Dog Ownership Day" that the AKC sponsors in Sept, but it's better to be late then never, right?

Ok you couch potatoes! October is the mega "Pet Event" month of the year. There are at least 10 events that you can go to with your dog in Northwest Arkansas this year, and those are just the ones I am aware of. Taking your dog to a pet event may sound a little absurd to some of you, but the main reason you should participate in these is that this helps in the continuing education of your dog ownership skills, and may even present an opportunity to help educate those around you, with stories on how you pottie trained your dog, or how you keep them from chewing your slippers. The most comprehensive listing of pet events in NW Arkansas can be located here:
http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=jk2nb44v141rb7r29boddrh2u0%40group.calendar.google.com

So, besides the education reason to attend some of these, there is also the fact that these generally help a cause. Many good folks dedicate even more hours to help rescue stray dogs, to keep them from being euthanized, to mobilize legal actions for governments, and to provide enrichment activities for you and your dog. Often proceeds go to help with vet bills for dogs that have been abandoned, food and supplies for no-kill shelters, gas to transport dogs to far off places where there are homes waiting for them. or to cure cancer. I want to cure cancer too! If I can help cure cancer and walk my dog at the same time, gee, thats a no brainer.

Finally, the last reason to attend one of these, is that they are just plain fun. There are often games and goodie bags to take home, you get to mingle with fellow dog lovers, swapping funny stories, making new friends, two and four legged. Dogs need socialization just as much as people do. Events like these help them keep alert, give them something new and exciting to experience, and a new rear end to sniff. I'm sure sniffing the same ole rear ends day after day gets a little old.

Rawhide is for Shoes

More and more people ask me what they can give their dogs for chew toys other than rawhide. I know I have had to dislodge a piece from my dogs throat more than once. That was before I found better chew toys for them. My dog's favorite chew toys now are moo tubes. These are cow trachea that have been smoked and dehydrated. What makes these so great is that they are completely natural, 100% digestible, and chocked full of Glucosamine and Chondroitin, which is great for hips and joints. These are gentler on the tummy than rawhide too. Make sure you buy FDA and USDA inspected, made in the USA moo tubes.

Here are some tips for safe chewing:

• Rawhide is the same product your leather shoes and couches are made of. It’s durable, NOT digestible.
• If consumed too rapidly rawhide can cause vomiting or diarrhea.
• Large chunks of rawhide can cause intestinal blockages, as it swells up to 4 times its dry state size.
• Rawhide produced outside the United States may contain arsenic and/or formaldehyde.
• Greenies have been surgically removed from the intestinal tracts of many dogs because they are not fully digestible. (They are currently reformulating Greenies).
• Cow hooves can cause teeth to break. They can also splinter, causing obstructions or in worst case scenarios, perforations of the intestines.
• Pig ears imported from Chile were recently recalled due to Salmonella outbreaks.
• The best chews can be consumed in one sitting because this prevents bacterial infections including salmonella.
• Always wash your hands after handling any of your dog’s chews, to prevent potential salmonella or e. coli infection.
• Always monitor your dog while he is chewing, to prevent choking.

Moo tubes are relatively new, so i don't know if they are counted in the same statistic, but Bullysticks are the only chew treat without any documented complications like rawhide or greenies.

For dogs that are allergic to beef or pork products, they do make lamb ears and bones. These are also not as messy as the pig counterparts, if you are worried about your carpet. I have not tried the ostrich bones yet. I am slightly afraid they would splinter like turkey bones.

Another chew toy that is good if you are looking for something to last for an aggressive chewer are deer antlers. These last a long time, they are digestible, do not splinter, do not make a mess on the carpet, and dogs seem to love chewing them. I am planning on testing these out, and I will post later if they live up to their reputation.

Nothing but the best!

I had my three dogs TC, Yoda and Maisy with me one afternoon while running errands. We made the usual stops, paid the water bill, got some flowers for mom, went to the bank etc. While at the bank drive through the teller told me how cute little Maisy was and inquired about her breed. I told her that she was a Pompatese, which is a Pomeranian, Poodle, Maltese mix. Maisy being the performer that she is took this opportunity to let out a bark and wiggle just to make sure that everyone knew how cute she was in case there was any doubt. The teller smiled as I received my receipt and noticed that she had sent along some milk bones with it. I laughed a bit to myself as I took them out and tried to give them first to Yoda who being a Boston Terrier let out a snort and laid back down on the backseat. TC my Lab Collie mix licked one and looked back out the rear passenger window longingly hoping for a magical tennis ball to go flying by for him to chase. Maisy at this point was fully engrossed in entertaining the people in the car next to mine through the passenger side window. Apparently she had realized from one whiff that these treats weren't exactly up to snuff. I looked back at the teller who had witnessed this failed transaction and had a confused look on her face. I sent the treats back and explained that ever since I started giving my dogs Bigwag treats they won't eat any others. I never knew dogs could be so picky. When it comes to their treats though, nothing else will do.

Is That Chocolate?

I have lots of customers walk into our store for the first time, look around the table, and then ask me one question. What is that stuff that looks like chocolate? Our customers are well informed, and they know chocolate can be deadly to dogs. So obviously, we don't use chocolate. Instead, we use carob. Carob looks and tastes similar to chocolate. It grows in pods on trees, usually in the Mediterranean, although there are some plants in South America. But the great thing about carob is what is doesn't have - no caffeine, no theobromine. These are the two substances in chocolate that can be potentially toxic to dogs, because they affect the heart and nervous system differently than in human because dogs metabolize food differently.

And while we're on the subject of chocolate and chocolate substitutes, a lot of people tell me their dog ate chocolate and was just fine. This is true even for me - Sam ate two huge chocolate cupcakes and was just fine. So what's the deal? The toxicity of chocolate depends mostly on two things. The first is the purity of the chocolate. This means that the chocolate cupcake was probably a good choice for Sam, because the chocolate was mixed with a lot of other ingredients that diluted it. This also means your typical milk chocolate candy bar is not as dangerous as the high quality dark chocoalte bars that claim 60% or more cocoa. Baking chocolate would be the most dangerous, because it's in it's purest form. Luckily, it's also pretty bitter, so it's less likely to taste good to your dog. The second factor affecting chocolate's toxicity to dogs is the size of the dog. Sam's a boxer mix, he's pretty big, so chocolate isn't as likely to be toxic to him as it would be to a Yorkie. Moral of the story? Well, first of all, don't leave chocolate where the dog can get it, because like Cary said, dogs like fats and sweets. (Is there anything that combines those qualities better than chocolate?) Second, if your Yorkie eats baking chocolate, get him to the vet immediately. If your lab licks chocolate icing off your birthday cake? Keep an eye on him, but most likely he'll be fine. Oh, and give someone else that slice of cake :p

Combating Separation Anxiety

There are lots of "How-to" books, training techniques, and procedures to help you and your pet alleviate separation anxiety for your pets when you leave the house. Here is a simple remedy that I use that works pretty well.

We play the "Gobble the treats" game when we leave the house. They have played this enough to know and expect it. We grab a handful of BBQ Trainer chips, call them to the door, and then toss the treats into the living room. This then becomes a mad dash to see who can gobble the most treats as fast as they can.

Why does this work? I believe most of the damage was occurring in the first 5-10 minutes of me leaving the house. That period of awkward silence, with us not in the house, when they seem to destroy anything they can find. This game does two things. It distracts them while we high-tail it out of the house, and it fills up their bellies, which induces a reaction not unlike what you feel right after thanksgiving dinner. Sleepy time. Every time I have come home after playing the "Gobble" game, I find them sleeping on the couch (which is also supposed to be off limits), but is much more acceptable than chewing all of the mail off of the kitchen counter, or eating a phone book.

What kinds of treats do dogs like?

So, in the ever swelling sea of dog treats out there, what kind of treats do they actually like? There are so many choices. Recently, I found some dog treats that sort of resemble gummy bears. I couldn't believe this. The first ingredient is corn syrup, aka sugar. I can't imagine what these tasted like, I wasn't brave enough to stick them in my own mouth. Thankfully, my dogs spit them right out, and didn't want any part of them. My biggest fear is that most dogs would have actually eaten these, since their normal treats are of so poor quality, that these might have actually tasted good to them.

The challenge in most pet treats is to make them, what the industry labels, "palatable". This is a fancy way of saying tastes good, and most of these companies use such sub standard ingredients that they have to add something to make them palatable. The first choice in palatability enhancers in IAMS is Liquid Digest.

"Liquid digest is simply protein that is enzymatically broken down into amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. The enzymatic process reduces large protein pieces to smaller protein pieces and free amino acids. By adding small amounts of acid, the enzymatic or digestive reaction is stopped and a stable liquid ingredient is produced. After a dry food formula is cooked, formed into kibbles, and dried, the liquid digest is sprayed evenly on the outside of the dry kibbles. This is called "enrobing". Not only does the liquid digest make the food highly palatable, it also adds to the overall digestibility of the food." (Taken from IAMS website)

Mmmmmm. This sounds yummy, doesn't it. Or, How About "The palatability enhancer, which preferably includes from about 0.1% to about 99% by weight of one or more sodium tripolyphosphate salts, is preferably topically applied to dry pet food pellets or kibbles after extrusion. Other constituents of the palatability enhancer can include one or more ingredients selected from meat, meat by-products, fish, fish by-products, dairy, dairy by-products, microbial proteins, vegetable proteins, amino acids, and carbohydrates. Additional ingredients, including other natural and artificial flavors, other palatability-enhancing acids and salts thereof, vitamins and mineral supplements, antioxidants, preservatives, inorganic salts, and the like, may also be utilized." (Taken from the World IP Website)

Salt. Sugar. Chemicals. We've all heard the stories of rancid restaurant grease being used as pallatability enhancers. Who wants to eat this stuff? I know I don't, and I seriously doubt your pet does either.

My first question is, why do we have to make things "taste better"? Shouldn't things taste great already? I mean, I completely understand adding chocolate syrup to ice cream to make it taste better. That makes perfect sense to everyone. But, would you add chocolate syrup to spoiled milk so that you could stomach it? Or how about some meat by products. What does it take for you to be able to eat some rancid, stomachs or intestines? A little A1 steak sauce perhaps? No offense to the A1 Steak Sauce people, but there isn't enough steak sauce to make me want to eat those, ever. OK, maybe if I was starving to death, could I get two or three bottles then please?

I am a big believer in that things taste good because they are supposed to, and because you like it. You shouldn't have to add so many chemicals, salt, and sugar to something so that every dog will find this food irresistible.

So, from my experience, what kinds of treats do dogs like? Believe it or not, they like a lot of the same things you and I like. They like peanut butter, cheese, eggs, liver (well, maybe some of you). They like human grade whole wheat, bacon, and they prefer KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce, just like I do. They like sweet, and fat. Not so big on the salt, even. That doesn't mean that you should run out and feed them the fattiest, sweet treats you can find, but you can look at ingredients of the treats that you are buying, and know that honey and molasses are a great all natural sweetener, and a little animal fat has GOT to be better than partially broken down amino acids or sodium triphosphates. My treats I feed my dogs are the simplest I can make, and they do voice their opinion now and again. They can just refuse to eat something. They haven't bitten my hand yet, though I am careful when I try and feed them something less than great.