When You Feed Raw... [Loaded Question]

deege39 · 10-29-2009, 09:39 AM

I'm not feeding Donatello raw <yet>. I'm still working on bringing in a steady in-come first; But I'm contemplating getting a small mini-fridge for in my room; You can usually stock those with water bottles and would even be surprised how much food you can put in there.

I think I can separate a space in the the deep-freezer, (it's downstairs and in the mudroom beside my bedroom) It's perfect because I won't have to trapeze up and down the stairs with it.

Anyway... To my question... For those of you that feed your dogs "raw", what do you give for treats? I have a treat jar beside my bed filled with three or four different brands/types of treats... I love giving my dog a variety of tastes.

It's amazing though he can still tell which one is his favorite. What kind of treats do you give throughout the day? Keep a jar of raw beef cubes? lol.

So, I kind of wish I could make my own treats... I've made Peanut-Butter-Poppers before, and they were a hit... But Donatello's favorite treat of all time is "chicken jerky". A few people online mention they use a dehydrator, is there anyway I can make chicken-jerky without that? Could I make something with chicken a different way?

Thanks in advance for all the suggestions.

ioreks_mom · 10-29-2009, 09:51 AM

i feed a bunch of different things for treats. cheese is a favourite at my house

also dehydrated liver. i buy this from a company in nova scotia that i used to get my raw food from before i moved. i would like to dehydrate my own but i don't have a dehydrator and liver is STINKY!!

they also get peanut butter, eggs, yogurt, any leftover cooked chicken, any leftover meat really. i stick away from commercial treats since i don't know what iorek is allergic to. i also use hot dogs, balogna, or meatballs but up really small if i want a really good treat for training.

another thing that i do is cut hot dogs (or balogna) up really small and cook it in the oven at 350 for about a half hour. i cook it until all the greasy bubbles are gone. this dries it out really well and makes for a really good treat for me to have in my pockets for brom for potty training or letting him know he is a good boy when he only watches the cat and didn't chase her. they don't get many of them because of the salt and all the preservatives and stuff but i do like to have some in my pockets at all times. i got this idea from someone on this forum, i can't remember who. the cooking time and temp was different though. i found that this is easier, just one temp and about 1/2 hour and that is it

deege39 · 10-29-2009, 09:55 AM

Well thank you very much!

Donatello used to go crazy over hot-dogs, but due to his allergy of corn I had to remove those from his diet...

I don't see why I can't try that with skinless/boneless chicken breasts, right?

trumpetjock · 10-29-2009, 09:58 AM

You can use anything you like for treats. We feed raw and typically use hot dogs and natural balance meat logs for treats. We've also used things like baked giblets, freeze dried liver etc.

Feeding raw doesn't mean you need to change anything about their treats, in my opinion.

ioreks_mom · 10-29-2009, 10:02 AM

hmmmm, i am not sure. i never thought to put chicken in the oven like that. we usually buy skinless/boneless chicken breasts like that for ourselves (not that often because it is usually at least $10/lb!

) and we bake them in the oven and cut them up and freeze them to make super fast suppers. it also makes for super fast kong stuffing. i will thaw it in the microwave, cut it up smaller, melt a cheese slice (processed) on top and stuff it in the kong. the cheese hardens again and it makes for at least a half hour of work

i guess if you want to do the same with chicken you will have to cut it up small and probably adjust the oven and the cooking time. you will have to keep an eye on it. chicken has way less fat than a hot dog or balogna!

i didn't know that hot dogs had corn in them!

briteday · 10-29-2009, 10:03 AM

I still buy my dogs a box of biscuits at the grocery store every now and again. For training treats we used the dehydrated hot dogs or Natural Balance rolls.

ioreks_mom · 10-29-2009, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trumpetjock

Feeding raw doesn't mean you need to change anything about their treats, in my opinion.

i agree with this. i have no problem with commercial treats as long as they are not loaded with sugar and dyes and stuff. iorek, on the other hand, has a different view on this. he actually threw back up a milk bone that my f-i-l gave him!

we do use some commercial treats sometimes. we had darford cheez hearts and the dogs really liked them

trumpetjock · 10-29-2009, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ioreks_mom

i agree with this. i have no problem with commercial treats as long as they are not loaded with sugar and dyes and stuff. iorek, on the other hand, has a different view on this. he actually threw back up a milk bone that my f-i-l gave him!

we do use some commercial treats sometimes. we had darford cheez hearts and the dogs really liked them

Even when we used to feed kibble, I refused to feed anything like milkbones. There's a limit to how cheap I'll go.

ioreks_mom · 10-29-2009, 10:25 AM

oh, i wouldn't do milk bones either! my in-laws have treats like that for their dog (and they also feed their dog beneful...) and they asked if iorek would want one. i told them to try it and see - iorek generally doesn't eat things like that, he won't even take a beggin' stripe! haha! the milk bone didn't go over well. they always ask before they give him anything and don't bother offering treats anymore!

deege39 · 10-29-2009, 11:31 AM

The hot-dogs I had, had corn-starch in them... And when I cut everything "corn" out of his diet I was reading the ingredients list on everything, lol.

Yeah, I'll try the chicken breast idea... I'll fillet them, and just keep an eye on them the entire time they're cooking... I doubt it'll be "just like" chicken jerky, but it should still be healthier. The Chicken Jerky I find has a good amount of sodium in it, and I'm hoping I could give Donatello more of it if I cut the salt out.

AmStaffsMum · 10-29-2009, 12:16 PM

I feed raw, but I give my dogs all sorts of commercial treats....the way I figure it, I eat healthy most the time, but who doesn't love the occasional piece of pie, cake, soda or junk food! For training purposes or dog shows though, when they're going to be getting more than just a cookie, I make my own venison or chicken treats....slice the raw meat super thin, place on a cookie sheet in the oven at 150 for 6 hours....basically, you could do the same thing with the dehydrator, but I do not have one.

ioreks_mom · 10-29-2009, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AmStaffsMum

I make my own venison or chicken treats....slice the raw meat super thin, place on a cookie sheet in the oven at 150 for 6 hours....basically, you could do the same thing with the dehydrator, but I do not have one.

that is a great idea! i will have to do that for sure

AmStaffsMum · 10-29-2009, 12:22 PM

and the great thing is that you don't have to refridgerate it....so, when I take it to shows or class, it can just go in my bag.

I even found some in a blazer pocket about a month after I wore it to a show....still smelled great, looked great...and according to Indy, tasted perfectly fine! I wouldn't advise trying to keep it around that long though!

ioreks_mom · 10-29-2009, 01:03 PM

i have TONS of moose so i think i will make some today

i can't wait!

deege39 · 10-29-2009, 01:52 PM

Oooh! Moose! Send me some via USPS!

ioreks_mom · 10-29-2009, 01:53 PM

i don't think i can...i have canada post here!

Nargle · 10-29-2009, 07:24 PM

When I fully transition to raw, I'll probably make dehydrated sweet potato pieces and chicken/turkey jerky. Right now I'm using his EVO Small Bites kibble as treats

I also put the Jif Natural peanut butter in Basil's Kong, and I also baked some sweet potato treats to go into his Kong, and they looked like orange fish sticks XD

Tankstar · 10-29-2009, 08:04 PM

I will still fee Blaze junky" treats. Like another poster said. we eat junk (or atest I do...to often lo) so why cant he. For times wenI need lots of treats such as agity classes. I cut up beef liver in to smalllll pieces, put them on a baking sheet for 2 hours at 200 and they jut dry out, works perfect for training, I get about a whole zip lock bag full for about 2.50, and it lasts about 3-4 agility classes and a few other training classes for the month

misty073 · 10-29-2009, 10:07 PM

I feed a dog treat called Northern Biscuit I was supprised to find them in Petcetera (I was actually wasting time in there with my kids while waiting for the lady who suplies me with ground chicken and bone)

They are grain free, (Potato, Bison liver, Bison meat, brewers yeast, Blueberries, Lecithin and Rosemary). They looked better than any other treats I have found (except the dried liver) and Maggie seems to like them.

FilleBelle · 10-29-2009, 10:37 PM

In my experience, Natural Balance rolls dry out into something that is sort of crunchy and tough, but edible for quite some time. They're low on preservatives, so they don't last FOREVER, but I can leave the same cubes in my treat sack for about a week before they become unusable.