Best treats for yorkies?

[pookiebear]

Pookie was getting too large there for awhile, so I started giving him green beans or carrots for snacks. He loves them both.

[bjh]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

If this is the same thread I read, the doctor wasn't sure what caused the illness (you have to read the link to another thread to get this information though), he thought it could have been anything, even the toys that multiple dogs used. If multiple dogs are using something, it's good to clean and dry it. I would recommend not buying any dog product made in China. I have never read about trouble with the Merrick brand.

This is the thread I read where the Bully Stick was actually tested by the vet:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...dangerous.html

Dogs can easily get a bacterial stomach infection from a number of things. If you leave dog food sitting out too long then bacteria can grow on it and make your dog sick. From my past experiences I am very careful what treats I give mine. I have had to many different store bought treats give my dogs loose stools so I just stick to those that I know work and will not upset their stomach.

[mybirdys2003]

I just put a handful of her regular food in my pocket and use that to ask her to come, go potty, etc. She loves it. I think it's the thing about praise and something from your hand that matters the most. As for a treat, I just give her one mild bone a day. Vet says it is better to use the reg. food for nutrition. They can get full pretty fast, and they need the nutrition that the reg food gives them. People can't believe that she will do her tricks for just her reg. food. Crazy, huh?
Pat

[mscat]

I got a sample of a beef stick for dogs.. they looked just like the stuff people eat, but for dogs. IT was soft too. OF course Suzi loved it. However, I do not think it was probably the healthist treat though. I won't buy them .

[ARCHIE]

There are so many healthy treats in your pet store, however, I would only
by those that were made from all natural products with no fillers, wheat,
corn etc. Like Wellness, Natrual Balance, Old Mother's Cupboard to name a few. I would not purchase anything made in China and all of the
chicken breast fillets that I have seen, Buddy's favorite, are all made
in China. Every American Co makes them there.
If someone knows of a brand made in the USA I for one would love to
know about it. I have been looking for months and all are from China.
I stopped buying them when the China scare was publishsized and that's
when I started looking and realized every single brand came from there.
There are several member's on YT that make natural yummy dog treats
too. Your always safe with those.

[diggy4]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

But didn't you say that the vet didn't know what caused this, and that he said it could have been anything even the toys? If you choose not to use Bully Sticks, I don't blame you, but since the sticks were not tested, and there was no correlation shown, it may have been a coincidence. I just know so many people have used this treat with absolutely no problem.

Yes I did say it could have been anything and I also said I choose not to use Bully sticks and that I could not sit here and 100% blame them. When i refer to toys I mean fleece ropes, and small plush toys. After seeing 3 vets and all said right away, have they chewed bully sticks or pigs ears? I kinda leaned towards them being the cause but again thats just my opinion. Do I think a fleece rope or plush toy caused this extreme infection? No I do not. I dont switch treats or food so wasnt that. Had not opened a new bag of food and it wasnt expired so I do not blame that. I dunno just all seemed to point to bullies. And after posting my thread about it a lot of people posted similar problems after giving bullies. I too used Bullies for 2 years before I had a problem. This is just my opinion and experience. No big deal. Im not anti bully or anything my sister still gives them to her yorkie I personally would never use one again. Just me.

I hope the original poster and others looking for treats find the perfect treat for their babies and all goes well!

[diggy4]

Originally Posted by bjh

I buy the Natural Balance Lamb and Rice Dog Food rolls from Petco and every evening I cut some up into bite size pieces for treats. My dogs love it. Also I give the a few cheerios for a snack, they are crazy about Honey-nut cheerios. For chewing I always give them cow ears (I cut them in half with tin snips) and cow hooves. A while back I read on YT that a lot of yorkies were getting sick from the bully sticks because they seem to harbor bacteria, I am not sure if it was just some bad batches or if people should just use caution with them. I also occasionally give bites of raw carrot, steamed broccoli or green beans or boiled sweet potato.

Yes i agree 100% I could have very well had a bad batch of bullies as i used for 2 years prior no issues....but now i an scared to death of them!! I just cant give to mine what I feel in my heart for whatever reason got them sick. I also agree 100% NEVER USE CHINA PRODUCTS!!!!!

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by bjh

This is the thread I read where the Bully Stick was actually tested by the vet:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...dangerous.html

Dogs can easily get a bacterial stomach infection from a number of things. If you leave dog food sitting out too long then bacteria can grow on it and make your dog sick. From my past experiences I am very careful what treats I give mine. I have had to many different store bought treats give my dogs loose stools so I just stick to those that I know work and will not upset their stomach.

In that particular thread where the chew stick was tested, it didn't mention Bully Sticks, but said that is the smoked variety and "had expired 2 months ago" and the vet thought it had spoiled. There are all sorts of chew sticks out there and the ones that I've read about causing problems are made in China. Although later in the thread people mention Bully Sticks by name and say they got sick after chewing on it for 10 minutes, but in that case it wasn't tested. When something like this is reported, sometimes people aren't always careful with the facts.


The case I'm referring to the test results showed the bacteria that caused the problem was a very common bacteria that is often found in a dog's mouth. I don't sell Bully Sticks or any dog treats for that matter, I'm only posting this because Joey loves them so much. They are one of the few chews out there that are one hundred percent digestible, and these chews have been shown to be excellent in preventing tartar, which as you may know, is a huge problem for Yorkies. Sometimes these reports can blow up so big without all the facts being known. Like I said before, in the cases of multiple dogs there could be difficulty. The bacteria responsible is one that is in a dogs mouth at all times, if the dog chews on the toy or Bully Stick or anything for that matter, and this doesn't ever get a chance to dry out, bacteria will grow. Bacteria need moist conditions in order to grow, if the surface is allowed to dry, the bacteria dies. That's why multiple dogs come in the mix because this might lead to a surface never drying. If you are concerned, all you need to do is dip the Bully Stick in a glass of water with a tablespoon of bleach added. Allow the sticks overnight.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by diggy4

Yes I did say it could have been anything and I also said I choose not to use Bully sticks and that I could not sit here and 100% blame them. When i refer to toys I mean fleece ropes, and small plush toys. After seeing 3 vets and all said right away, have they chewed bully sticks or pigs ears? I kinda leaned towards them being the cause but again thats just my opinion. Do I think a fleece rope or plush toy caused this extreme infection? No I do not. I dont switch treats or food so wasnt that. Had not opened a new bag of food and it wasnt expired so I do not blame that. I dunno just all seemed to point to bullies. And after posting my thread about it a lot of people posted similar problems after giving bullies. I too used Bullies for 2 years before I had a problem. This is just my opinion and experience. No big deal. Im not anti bully or anything my sister still gives them to her yorkie I personally would never use one again. Just me.

I hope the original poster and others looking for treats find the perfect treat for their babies and all goes well!

Yes, the bacteria which can be found in most dogs mouths grow in any moist environment, and the dogs then spread the bacteria to new surfaces and each other. Obviously, the longer it takes the surface to dry the more bacteria has a chance to grow.

[Yorkie Luv of 3]

All my girls VERY favorite treat is dried sweet potato,, with Yorkie Yummies running a very close second,, they also love Diggy Kisses,, yogurt drops,,Little Jacs,Appawtizers,,wellness bites,,,(yeah,, they are way too spoiled LOL)

[diggy4]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

Yes, the bacteria which can be found in most dogs mouths grow in any moist environment, and the dogs then spread the bacteria to new surfaces and each other. Obviously, the longer it takes the surface to dry the more bacteria has a chance to grow.

Im not anti bully stick nor do I sell them. Im just sharing my experiance and learning from others as many posted they too had bacterial infections after giving bullys. Mine loved them so much and I hate that I am so scared of them now. I really do. I cannot comfortably give my dogs a long lasting chew that they love so much anymore. It bothers me. It bothers me more what i seen my dog go thru and having to leave her in the hospital even more. My sister has Bella's sister, Ada. Her favorite thing is flossies so I even buy those for her and thats my sisters choice. She knows very well what I went thru and sat at the hospital with me but she chooses to give them and thats ok. I have been warned Merrick food is bad but thats what i feed. Its really no big deal. I researched and came up with my own personal conclusion on it and thats it. I do however appreciate all the info I can get on something before I buy it and thats all I was trying to share. Im sorry if it offended you and if Joey loves bully's by all means give them. I would never say a word about it. Just sharing my experiance and what i felt in my heart caused this. I could not tell you if they were expired or not they were a gift for Diggys birthday I got like 5 of them from all different people and places. Again no offense intended nor will I ever preach anti bully Just sharing my experiance.

[bjh]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

In that particular thread where the chew stick was tested, it didn't mention Bully Sticks, but said that is the smoked variety and "had expired 2 months ago" and the vet thought it had spoiled. There are all sorts of chew sticks out there and the ones that I've read about causing problems are made in China. Although later in the thread people mention Bully Sticks by name and say they got sick after chewing on it for 10 minutes, but in that case it wasn't tested. When something like this is reported, sometimes people aren't always careful with the facts.


The case I'm referring to the test results showed the bacteria that caused the problem was a very common bacteria that is often found in a dog's mouth. I don't sell Bully Sticks or any dog treats for that matter, I'm only posting this because Joey loves them so much. They are one of the few chews out there that are one hundred percent digestible, and these chews have been shown to be excellent in preventing tartar, which as you may know, is a huge problem for Yorkies. Sometimes these reports can blow up so big without all the facts being known. Like I said before, in the cases of multiple dogs there could be difficulty. The bacteria responsible is one that is in a dogs mouth at all times, if the dog chews on the toy or Bully Stick or anything for that matter, and this doesn't ever get a chance to dry out, bacteria will grow. Bacteria need moist conditions in order to grow, if the surface is allowed to dry, the bacteria dies. That's why multiple dogs come in the mix because this might lead to a surface never drying. If you are concerned, all you need to do is dip the Bully Stick in a glass of water with a tablespoon of bleach added. Allow the sticks overnight.

You make a very good point. Thanks for clarifying that.

[diggy4]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

In that particular thread where the chew stick was tested, it didn't mention Bully Sticks, but said that is the smoked variety and "had expired 2 months ago" and the vet thought it had spoiled. There are all sorts of chew sticks out there and the ones that I've read about causing problems are made in China. Although later in the thread people mention Bully Sticks by name and say they got sick after chewing on it for 10 minutes, but in that case it wasn't tested. When something like this is reported, sometimes people aren't always careful with the facts.


The case I'm referring to the test results showed the bacteria that caused the problem was a very common bacteria that is often found in a dog's mouth. I don't sell Bully Sticks or any dog treats for that matter, I'm only posting this because Joey loves them so much. They are one of the few chews out there that are one hundred percent digestible, and these chews have been shown to be excellent in preventing tartar, which as you may know, is a huge problem for Yorkies. Sometimes these reports can blow up so big without all the facts being known. Like I said before, in the cases of multiple dogs there could be difficulty. The bacteria responsible is one that is in a dogs mouth at all times, if the dog chews on the toy or Bully Stick or anything for that matter, and this doesn't ever get a chance to dry out, bacteria will grow. Bacteria need moist conditions in order to grow, if the surface is allowed to dry, the bacteria dies. That's why multiple dogs come in the mix because this might lead to a surface never drying. If you are concerned, all you need to do is dip the Bully Stick in a glass of water with a tablespoon of bleach added. Allow the sticks overnight.

would freezing them kill the bacteria? I always wondered if that was a safe option.

[paulapoo]

Thats what i was wondering diggy. After you went through all that, i hadn't given the boys any bully's until today. I put them in a ziplock baggie and put them in the fridge. Hopefully they will be safe. It's the absolute, ONLY thing Otis will chew on. I wondered about freezing or boiling them.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by diggy4

would freezing them kill the bacteria? I always wondered if that was a safe option.

Freezing doesn't kill bacteria; it just retards its growth. Let say bacteria X lives in a dog's mouth and a safe number of bacteria X is 1000. If the dog has 1000 or less of this bacteria in his mouth, he is just fine. Well suppose the dog chews on something; some of these bacteria go to this object. As long as the object is moist, the bacteria continue to grow, allowing the bacteria to grow in numbers over the 1000 safe level. Then if a dog, especially one with a compromised immune system licks the object, he might have these bacteria grow in his own mouth way over the 1000 safe level and spread it to other surfaces and other dogs.

As soon as the object dries all the bacteria die because they have to have a moist warm environment in which to grow. With multiple dogs, the first dog could give the object bacteria, and other dogs keeping the surface moist and spreading it.

If you place an object in the freezer that has bacteria on it, the bacteria will be at the same level when you remove it from the freezer. As the object thaws the bacteria will begin to grow again. Chlorine bleach kills most bacteria and some viruses, allowing surfaces to thoroughly dry is usually enough. Truthfully, some of those rope toys can take an awfully long time to dry out and I wash those often, even with just one dog.

Diggy 4, you have not offended me, and if something like this had happened to me I probably would feel the same way, I just think stories such as yours can cause undo alarm. I have done a lot of reading on this subject and do feel like they are safe to use.

If any of your dog chews or toys feels moist when you check them, either wash or rinse them and allow them to dry.