|
Welcome to the YorkieTalk.com Forums Community - the community for Yorkshire Terriers. You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. You will be able to chat with over 35,000 YorkieTalk members, read over 2,000,000 posted discussions, and view more than 15,000 Yorkie photos in the YorkieTalk Photo Gallery after you register. We would love to have you as a member! Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today! If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please click here to contact us. |
|
| LinkBack | Thread Tools |
06-24-2011, 08:11 AM | #1 |
YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: NY
Posts: 6,582
| Stella & Chewy's for my picky eater My Gracie turned 1 on May 25 of this year. I have spent the better part of a year trying to get her to eat dog food. She would always beg for people food or try to steal the cats food but hated and would actually run away from dog food. Finally I got her to eat a grain free and white potato free food called Brothers Complete but she was not even getting 1/4 cup of food a day. I ordered Stella & Chewy's food and started crumbing into her kibble. It worked wonderfully for a few days then she started eating all the Stella & Chewy's and leaving the kibble. She will even put the kibble in her mouth to get all the S&C and then spit it out! She loves the S&C and I know it is good for her but does she need to eat kibble for her teeth? She would eat as much S&C as I would give her she loves it so much. I am so glad she is eating something that is good for her but now my concern is for her teeth. Is kibble necessary? |
Welcome Guest! | |
06-24-2011, 09:16 AM | #2 |
Donating YT 5000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: MD
Posts: 10,908
| My vet said that kibble is not necessary. But since she is not eating any, you will have to really keep an eye on her teeth. Mine eat S & C also. I give them a rinse in their water and i need to be more diligent about brushing.
__________________ www.kissecollar.com Soft Cone Collars for Post-surgery and much more! 10% (non-food) - Discount code YT10 |
06-24-2011, 10:35 AM | #3 |
Owned by Rory & Lane Donating Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 1,893
| Kibble is definitely not needed to "clean" the teeth. That's kind of an older school of thought, and I've heard it compared to us eating saltine crackers to clean our teeth. All that being said, it would be good to get in the habit of brushing her teeth as frequently as you can since yorkies are prone to bad teeth. I've seen up to 2x per day recommended. My girls' teeth are brushed every night before bed with an enzymatic toothpaste 5 nights and Petzlife gel the other 2 nights.
__________________ Rory and Lane now have a dog blog, Doggie Debutantes. Find us on Facebook here. |
06-24-2011, 03:46 PM | #4 |
YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: NY
Posts: 6,582
| I had a Shih Tzu for 15 years before I got Gracie. He always ate his kibble with no problem but he did have problems with his teeth as he got older so obviously kibble is not the solution for teeth. I have seen a few products advertized that can be put in the food that is supposed keep plaque from forming on the teeth. Has anyone tried a product like that? |
09-24-2011, 11:47 AM | #5 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Austin, TX USA
Posts: 10
| Stella and Chewy's My Deathie loves this but I worry about the bone fragments in it. Can she choke? I've been using the mallet to crushed them. Comments on that? Alma mom to Death Machine |
09-24-2011, 12:29 PM | #6 |
YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: NY
Posts: 6,582
| The Stella and Chewy's that I feed Gracie is freeze-dried. It is already very fine and there are no bone fragments in it. I break up the little disks with my fingers and it is very fine, almost like what peat moss looks like only dryer. I would not worry at all about the bone. Dogs eat raw bone naturally in much bigger fragments without a problem. The bone that is put in raw dog foods are very finely ground to the point where you do not even see them usually. Your certainly cannot see or feel them in Stella and Chewy's. I have to guard Gracie's food now so that the cats don't eat it. They all love the stuff. |
09-24-2011, 01:37 PM | #7 |
BANNED! Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Washington DC
Posts: 4,183
| |
09-24-2011, 02:31 PM | #8 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Austin, TX USA
Posts: 10
| Bone fragments in Stella and Chewy's I'm feeding her Duck, Duck, Goose - the freeze-dried disks. I rehydrate it in her bowl and since it floats like a light hockey puck, I do break it down for her. This is when I noticed the bone fragments. I was breaking it down slowly in the water with my fingers. They are very small but still, I was worried that they may scratch/puncture her throat so I used the meat tenderizer's flat part to break them down. I realize that any raw food will have bones, I just expected that they would be pulverized to the point where the dogs get the nutrients without the splintering. I just got back from the pet store where the gal was very surprised to hear I found bones. Not a lot of people re-hydrate this food, let alone do it slowly with their fingers, so it's no surprise that not too many people would've noticed them, but there are definitely bones in there. I cannot stop feeding her S&C though, because she may revolt! She loves it. I have been mixing it with some Orijen and she totally ignores the Orijen in the bowl. |
09-24-2011, 02:32 PM | #9 |
Donating YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Posts: 12,693
| Kaji loved the S&C freeze dried patties. He got a free sample at the groomers a long time ago. I think brushing is the answer to helping with teeth. Everything else out there makes me nervous, especially if they have to ingest it. Whatever it does to their teeth, it will do to their insides. So it's either minimally effective (so as not to hurt the dog) or it will hurt the dog somehow. With brushing, minimal amounts of toothpaste are ingested (just like us) and you have more control on the actual cleaning process.
__________________ Littlest JakJak We miss you Kaji |
09-24-2011, 07:23 PM | #10 |
YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: NY
Posts: 6,582
| I have been giving Gracie the chicken and lamb. No bone fragments. I break up the little discs so that it is all taken apart and I have never felt even the hint of a bone. I can't imagine why the duck would have it. There is nothing in the discs that would harm an animal. The food is just a very fine powder like substance once it is broken apart. I sprinkle it over kibble sometimes as she hates kibble by it's self. Even dogs who eat kibble get bad teeth. I would get one of the new enzyme cleaners to keep your fur babies teeth clean. |
09-24-2011, 11:24 PM | #11 |
YT Addict Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Posts: 467
| S & C is what my two get for breakfast every morning before I go to work. I'm not allowed to leave the house until I fix their bowl for them with some S & C, a few green beans, a sprinkle of coconut chips and their glucosamine treat. They practically inhale it they like it so much. Their teeth are in pretty good shape. I do free feed TOTW kibble in addition to the S & C so they get surf and turf every day LOL. Beef S & C and salmon TOTW. |
09-25-2011, 04:25 AM | #12 | |
BANNED! Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Washington DC
Posts: 4,183
| Quote:
| |
09-25-2011, 04:38 AM | #13 |
Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Chessington, Surrey, UK
Posts: 5,062
| Good afternoon! I was looking at the Stella + Chewy's website as I keep hearing such good things about the food - and on the chicken dinner, the first ingredient listed is 'Chicken ground with bone'. Sally + Harry x |
09-26-2011, 03:09 AM | #14 |
YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: NY
Posts: 6,582
| Yes, most raw dog food producers are GRINDING bone into the food for calcium and other nutrients that dogs would get naturally in the wild. It is healthy and it is ground so fine that it cannot be seen or felt. The idea of feeding raw is to get the nutrients a dog would naturally receive and that their bodies need without adding a bunch of ingredients that their bodies do not require and that their bodies are not made to digest. |
09-26-2011, 06:03 AM | #15 |
Snick&Viv= BFF Donating Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,755
| I feed a frozen premade raw called BRAVO! and I see bone fragments all the time. They are super small and will not hurt your pup. Actually I've fed whole raw chicken thighs as well bones and all and my little guys crunched those bones right up and gobbled em up. They LOVE them but it's a but messy so I stick to the clean premade frozen raw. Stella and Chewy's is a GREAT brand, I gave my boys their freeze dried raw for mid day snacks before but it gave them red eye gunk so I don't give it anymore. Viv
__________________ -Vivian Mommy to my cuddlebug baby boys-Snickers & Reesie |
Bookmarks |
|
|
| |
|
|
SHOP NOW: Amazon :: eBay :: Buy.com :: Newegg :: PetStore :: Petco :: PetSmart