Does anyone know some healthy treats I could give my dog?

[DogFan77]

Hi I've been usually giving my dog Tiger some carrots, beefy steaks(dog treats), and sometimes some grapes. I was wondering what other types of heathy treats I could give him. thanks.

[Rottie]

If you like to cook then check out this site:

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ranch/1011/dog.htm

I've made a couple of the different kinds and my dog loves them!! :D

[*LabLoverKEB*]

Have you ever tried Milk-Bones? They are VERY popular, and are healthy for dogs, too!

[crow_noir]

i have to dissagree about milkbones being healthy. at one time i would have agreed, but now i know better. corn and wheat (any grain for that matter) are bad for dogs.

any fresh fruit or vegatable would be a healthy treat. both of mine love bananas. most dogs that i've met love green beans. and raw scraps of meat are wonderful too. (as long as you would cook it up for yourself too, it is fine.)

i found an expensive dog food called Pet Botanics. it doesn't seem too bad. (compared to the natural/barf diet. i compare everything to that. to me mostly everything else is junk.) King loves it. since i can't afford to feed that or the natural diet to him, he gets those types of things for treats. Pet Botanics comes in a plastic wrapper and can be chopped up for treats. it sort of is like a sausage texture but alot dryer. so far i've only found it at Petsmart.

p.s. dogs get the most nutrition out of vegatables if they are finely chopped or mince, rather than whole.

[ July 10, 2001: Message edited by: crow_noir ]

[Rottie]

Originally posted by crow_noir:
<STRONG>
p.s. dogs get the most nutrition out of vegatables if they are finely chopped or mince, rather than whole.

[ July 10, 2001: Message edited by: crow_noir ]</STRONG>

But dogs are carnivores, meat eating animals. Wouldn't they be best on meat?

[ilovehounds]

I put Hannah on fruits and veggies as a snack to help her lose wieght and it worked, so I agree with the fruits and veggies. Also Science Diet has great dog treats.

[crow_noir]

dogs ARE carnivores, but they do need veggies in their diet to stay healthy. but they will not do well on a vegitarian diet. (w/ the exception of some dalmations. i don't know all the details, but i know it has somthing to do w/ their domestication.)

[petspoil]

Is cheese or yogurt good for dogs? What kind of vegetables and fruits are good for them? Mine don't eat bananas.

[*SimButtTwo4U*]

Simba will not touch and kinda of fruit. He will eat raisens though.. are they good for him? If they are me and Simba have found his new snackie!

[crow_noir]

dairy is a debated subjuct. it all depends on an individual's views. personally after i saw both sides of the issue debated and reading about it, as much as it pained me i vowed to never give any dog dairy stuff ever again.

almost all vegitables and fruits are good for dogs. yes, bananas are good for them. onions are another debated topic. has to do w/ them being toxic. the only scientif answer that i have found as to way they are toxic is because it thins their blood. (the same w/ garlic.)(and both have the same effects in humans and it's considered a health benifit.) another thing where it is up to the individual doggie guardian. i still give my dog garlic and onion in small amounts. (i make sure to give him 1/4 tsp. once a week to two weeks.) i personally don't suggest this is someone's dog has heart conditions or anemia.

i forget why, but raisins can be dangerous. i forget the evidence. i don't feed them as i used to, but i do limit what i feed to dogs from now on. (not that i've met too many dogs that like them anyhow.) if anyone has heard anything about rasins please post something.

sim: what kind of fruits have you tried? king likes sliced grapes, bananas, plums, apples if he's in the mood. the only one he's ever strongly turned down was starfruit. and heaven forbid if (yes i know i switched topic to veggies) you have green beans and don't share....lol

aside... i am discovering more and more garden fresh tastes! everything tastes so much better when it comes garden fresh! spinich, snow peas, green beans. if parents did it this way i think more kids would eat them. i NEVER want to go back to canned. (now only if i can create snow peas that actually grow in the snow!!!)

[shais_mom]

I am following 3greys and a mutts advice since I have greyhound, and giving Shai a tablespoon of plain nonfat yogurt a day, to help with gas. At first she wasn't sure about it, now she eats it just fine. Alth when I limit her soft treats she doesn't have the deadly gas near as much. I limited Kylie to 1 tsp of canned food mixed with her dry until its gone. Her smell was deadly, she smelled worse than the dog!!!!!
I can't get Shai to eat veggies, I tried lettuce, carrots, green beans, bu when I dropped a sweet pickle on the floor it was gon in a flash!!!! GO FIGURE!!! :rolleyes: :p

[3-greys-and-a-mutt]

I hope the yogurt works! We are dogsitting another greyhound right now, and her family warned us about her terrible gas. Sure enough, the gas was CONSTANT for the first day we had her here. We started giving her the yogurt, and the gas is now a mere occasional distraction! I swear by the stuff - from my viewpoint, it is a Godsend! I've also heard that non-flavored canned pumpkin can cut down a dog's gas problems, but I've never tried it. As for the snacks, our dogs get the usual crunchy milk-bone type treats, but they also love their veggies! They get a couple of spoonfuls of non-salted canned veggies with dinner, and occasionally as treats. None of our dogs get table food... except when I'm making a salad. I can be cutting up a steak in the kitchen, and they all ignore me, but if I cut a head of lettuce, they are all right there by my side, waiting for bits of lettuce, carrot, celery, etc.
P.S. Can anyone give any more input to the thought that dairy is bad? The yogurt thing is a tried and true trick used by many of the greyhound owners in our area, and so we've done it with all our dogs - with the complete support of our Vet! We haven't seen any adverse reactions in the year and a half we've done it, but if there is evidence pointing to long-range problems, I'd stop! Any more insight?

[*SimButtTwo4U*]

ive tried aboput any fruit and veegies there are and he will take it and then spit it out.. he also likes mushrooms but thoose r a fungi... hes also ate a black olive before that was dropped on the floor. i have a very picky dog though. How could raisens be bad when all they are, are sun dried grapes!??!?!

[crow_noir]

as far as dairy, it has something to do with how the sugars are broke down. the same with grain. one, it can deplete energy and two, cancer cells thrive on the sugars.

however, i say if something works for you, stick with it. (from what i've been seeing, yougert is nothing new to greyhound owners...lol)

there are times when benifits out weigh the bad. goodluck!

[crow_noir]

Raisins and Grapes:

as odd as it is, they just started talking about this on another board i am a member of and here are two links that were posted.
http://www.peteducation.com/newsviews/01_may_grape_toxicity.htm
http://terrier.com/breed/raisins.php3

[CoraNewf]

Raisins, and possibly grapes are toxic for dogs! A Basenji here in Dayton died after eating about a 1/2 cup of raisins. He was rushed to Ohio State Veterinary School, but there was nothing they could do. The Vets at Ohio State said that Raisins are toxic. This was also written about on the ASPCA's website. It is un-clear about grapes, but I'm not taking any chances!!!!

I have heard that green beans are good for dogs, especially those on diets! :D

[Karen]

But grapes can't be bad! Maybe it has something to do with how raisins are made, or the fact that they're "cured" or concentrated or something. My Uncle Mac's dog, Sal, a Border Collie mix that was his farm-dog when I was a kid, would leap six feet into the air for grapes. I think if you had a hot dog or a grape, she'd go for the grape every time. She was never sick, and lived to a good old age, from what I remember!

[Karen]

Okay, I guess Sal was never over-indulged in her love for grapes. As in many things, limited amounts are okay, I found the following at http://VetInfo.com:


Grape and raisin poisonings in Dogs

Recently, there was a letter in the AVMA Journal from Dr. Gwaltney-Brant and others at the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center discussing grape and raisin poisoning in dogs. Apparently, grapes and raisins can be toxic to dogs when ingested in large quantities.

The grapes and raisins came from varied sources, including being eaten off the vine directly. The dogs exhibited gastrointestinal signs including vomiting and diarrhea and then signs of kidney failure with an onset of severe kidney signs starting about 24 hours after ingestion of the grapes or raisins. The amount of grapes eaten varied between 9oz. and 2 lbs., which worked out to be between 0.41 and 1.1 oz/kg of body weight. Two dogs died directly from the toxicity, three were euthanized due to poor response to treatment and five dogs lived. Due to the severity of the signs and the potential for death, the veterinarians as the poison control center advocate aggressive treatment for any dogs suggested of ingesting excessive amounts of grapes or raisins, including inducing vomiting, stomach lavage (stomach pumping) and administration of activated charcoal,
followed by intravenous fluid therapy for at least 48 hours or as indicated based on the results of blood tests for kidney damage.


I have fed my dogs a few grapes every now and then for years, so I don't think there is a need to panic if a dog eats three or four grapes but if the whole bunch is missing from the table one day, it would be good to think about watching for any signs of a toxic reaction.

Michael Richards, DVM
6/5/2001

[RachelJ]

Thanks for posting that Karen. I had no idea. My dogs love grapes although I haven't given them huge amounts, it is not worth the risk knowing this.

Because my Hannah is such a mouthy little bitch, my husband often tells her "You can't bust a grape". So it was our little inside joke to give her a grape and say, show daddy you can too bust a grape.

[TollSettFK]

Bannanas and Ice cubes and peantut butter.

[TollSettFK]

Ohh yes, I forgot to mention this. GREENIES!!!!! Thier VERY healthy, good for the teeth and gums. They are just green, edible dog bones, that don't dissapear in fifteen minutes. My puppy has had one for five days, and it's still going strong, even though it is chewwed practicly 24/7. I highly recomend these. And also, Old Mother hubbards dog treats. My puppy just LOVES them in beef flavor( thats the only flavor he has tryed). They are all natreul, good for the teeth and gums, and, just really good for the dog.