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Dog treats that are easy on the digestive tract

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Moose I love sitting- in laps     Barked: Sun Feb 5, '12 9:28am PST  Moose seems to have a very sensitive tummy. The food I'm feeding him (mixed with boiled chicken and rice) is California Naturals. I was feeding Wellness, but that seemed too rich. I thought CN would be easier on his intestines. In the morning his stools are normal(ish), but after that his other poops are diarrhea. If I give him any kind of treat (for training) other than his kibble, his diarrhea gets watery. I need to up the value of the treats I'm using because I can not for the life of me get this dogs attention. My problem is I don't know what I can use that will keep his attention but be easy on his digestive tract. Any suggestions? I used boiled chicken, but believe it or not, it worked for about 4-5 walks, then that was it. It didn't grab his attention any more. I bought some of that Kong "cheese whiz" to put in his Kong when he goes in his crate and a little bit of that each day doesn't seem to bother him, but any more, he gets the rrhea. So, that's out. I thought of using hot dogs or cheese but I thought that might be too rich. Maybe it won't be. I need something. It's starting to become a bit of an issue not having his attention and in the next month or two, if I don't have his attention, walking him and doing other things with him will be very difficult. Maybe I'll just use cooked beef or pork. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Saya I want to play!     Barked: Sun Feb 5, '12 11:23am PST  No advice on treats sorry, but maybe give a probiotic or prebiotic or both? Might help with tummy issues. I read from people who use it ark naturals gentle digest is good probiotic to use. I plan pick some up eventually just in case for Bella. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Mulder Spooky Mulder     Barked: Sun Feb 5, '12 12:24pm PST  My first question is- which Cal Nat are you feeding? I only bring it up because some of their lines are way crazy high in calcium, and you really don't want to be feeding that to a giant breed puppy. For treats, my suggestions are as follows: Get a mixing spoon and some canned pumpkin and use that. Offer him just a taste on the tip of the spoon for standard good behavior, a big glob for doing something really special. Seems messy, but its the least likely to mess his system up. Use canned, no salt added veggies like green peas, green beans, carrots, etc. Drain the water out of them and offer them like treats. If you haven't already invested in a nicely lined treat pouch, now is the time to do so! Or make your own treats. Consider something like fish fudge. Simple treats you make yourself are often best, as they can be as limited in ingredients as you'd like them to be, and are FRESH... which who knows, may be the key for him. I've made the fish fudge several times using tapioca flour, and the consistency is great (very "chewy", easy to break apart but keeps its form), and is nice and smelly so the dogs love it. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Gus did someone say- 'cheese'??     Barked: Sun Feb 5, '12 3:50pm PST  Mulder had some good ideas. Gus likes frozen peas and carrots (diced carrots) String cheese (low fat) and apple The pumpkin is a good idea. I know with Gus it isn't really what the treat it - it is just if it is something new. He does best when I rotate his treats so he isn't getting the same one every day. Variety. I even do a mix bag when I'm out with him - some frozen peas, string cheese bits, apple. You could throw some meat in there. Then he is always getting something different. But only do the mix bag now and then. Rotate the treats my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Maxwell I'm triple- superior MAD- now!     Barked: Sun Feb 5, '12 4:02pm PST  Are you sure you aren't overfeeding him? Max would start out with normal poop that went to very soft if I over did the treats at agility trials. Now I measure out his food and he gets a tiny 'meal' and several sessions with tiny treats and less yucky stuff happens. Count treats as part of his diet. Just for a couple days cut back on the feed by about 25%. If poop firms up then you are on to something. Overfeeding can mean fat dog or the dog might just poop it out without gaining weight. If with the trimmed feed he still doesn't care about the chicken try lamb lung. It is low fat and not as rich as liver treats. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Moose I love sitting- in laps     Barked: Sun Feb 5, '12 8:52pm PST  Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately I can't give Moose any canned pumpkin because it has the opposite affect on him. It gives him loose stools. Maybe I'll try cottage cheese. He gets a pro-biotic with his dinner. I'll try cutting back on his food. I only give him kibble while walking and doing training. He doesn't get any when he eats breakfast and dinner, which is just rice and boiled chicken. I'll check out the calcium level of CN. Didn't think of doing that. I was thinking of switching him to another food this week. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Mulder Spooky Mulder     Barked: Mon Feb 6, '12 6:36am PST  The Chicken/Rice puppy/adult and the Herring ones are all ok. And the new grain-free fish one CLAIMS to be ok for LBPs, but they don't have the actual numbers posted on their site yet. So really its any of the lamb lines, and most of the new grain-frees that you should stay away from. The others are fine. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Tanuk, CGC Sherpa Tanuk of- Everest     Barked: Mon Feb 6, '12 12:47pm PST  Has he been wormed recently? Or tested for giardia or coccidia? I wonder if you're trying too many different things at once? How many probiotics/supplements is he on? How long has he been on the CN? Also, I'd try splitting the probiotic into a morning and evening dose. It's interesting that in the morning, after his dinner dose, stools are normal. ETA: As for the treats, I use PureBites. They're freeze dried meat or cheese, only 1 ingredient and can be broken into teeny pieces. Edited by author Mon Feb 6, '12 12:49pm PST my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Moose I love sitting- in laps     Barked: Mon Feb 6, '12 9:06pm PST  He's on CN Chicken grain free. I'll read up on the calcium levels. He did have giardia but it's been cleared up for over a week now, so that's why I thought it might be his food. I took a stool sample in a week and a half ago and the giardia was gone. I looked at those treats tonight Tanuk, but decided to get real (hydrated) cheese instead. I need a super stinky treat to even get 50% of his attention. Very frustrating. His poops today, all day, were somewhat normal. So, we'll see how it goes in the next few days and maybe adding the cheese as a training treat. Hopefully it won't set us back. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Lucille I am the Sock- Bandit!!!     Barked: Tue Feb 7, '12 8:51am PST  I find single ingredient protein treats to be the easiest on sensitive systems...Freeze dried liver and lamb lung work very well if your pup likes them. Easy to make yourself and they break up easily in to small pieces. When treat training, it's easy to forget or underestimate how much of the rich stuff is being given (it was for me, anyway). That does tend to result in the soft poos. Find out what the rough calorie counts are for whatever you're giving. I used to portion all of the day's worth out in the morning, both regular ration and treats, so that I wasn't overdoing it. That was especially helpful when I was working with more than one dog at a time. Getting a treat bag is a great idea, you can just measure it out in there for the day. Mulder's right...be very careful of the ratios of calcium you're giving a Saint or any LBP with a fast growth rate. Protein and kcal's per cup, too. Wolfhound breeders are very careful about those ratios for good reason. I swear you can hear their bones growing... my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

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