Dog Treats

Shadow945

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#1
What kind of treats does everyone give their dogs? I was leaning towards Bright Bites since it's good for the dog's teeth and it takes the place of brushing. Any thoughts?
 

Buddy'sParents

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#2
Bright Bites does not take the place of brushing.

Potato flour, rice flour, glycerine, potato starch, natural flavor, gelatin, water, canola oil, lecithin, titanium dioxide, monoglycerides of edible fatty acids, flaxseed oil, citric acid, magnesium stearate, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, red #40 lake, natural cinnamon.
Do you want those ingredients to take the place of good oral health for your dog? I certainly wouldn't. Brush your dogs teeth and/or use an oral gel like PetzLife and then reward them with a treat like that. :)

ETA: Forgot to add, my dogs get mostly homemade treats.. chicken and beef and fruit, we use a dehydrator. We do have some commercial treats, but they really are "treats" and not given regularly. Kibble is a great treat for training and that is EVO.
 
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skittledoo

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#3
For training I generally just use EVO RM Small Bites, but that's actual kibble...

I know Bamm LOVES EVO cookie treats... I think they're chicken flavored???

Also I like stuff by Old Mother Hubbard as well

ETA: If you don't want to brush often maybe try giving your dog a bone... say... a soup bone maybe? or knuckle bone?
 

gale

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#4
For crunchy treats we give Natural Balance biscuits (the grain free ones). I actually buy the tiny dog ones as well as the medium dog ones. For soft treats, like training treats, we use Plato jerky treats.
 

Shadow945

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#5
Bright Bites does not take the place of brushing.

Do you want those ingredients to take the place of good oral health for your dog? I certainly wouldn't. Brush your dogs teeth and/or use an oral gel like PetzLife and then reward them with a treat like that. :)
Well you're right that there isn't anything better than brushing your dog's teeth. But it has been shown that Bright Bites do help remove plaque and also keep dogs' teeth whiter. I've even been told by a vet to use Bright Bites after the dog eats a meal to maintain oral hygiene and health.
 
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#6
I give my dogs greenies on occasion for teeth cleaning... (Sometimes the generic kind I find in the bulk bin..but yes, they still do work lol).

But usual treats are pieces of chicken, or hot dogs. ESPECIALLY during training they go crazy for those and will do whatever I ask them to. On occasion I have been known to give them the crappy type treats such as "Beggin Strips", etc....but only on special occasions like birthdays.
 

gale

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#9
well i always give the food that they want..
ok that confused me. First of all my dog always wants any kind of food. lol. She is not picky. Also how do they let you know exactly what food they want?
 

noludoru

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#10
ok that confused me. First of all my dog always wants any kind of food. lol. She is not picky. Also how do they let you know exactly what food they want?
Jv17 is a spammer. ;) Check the links in the sig. We have a crazy amount of spammers who post nearly-intelligible things on here in an attempt to look like real members and get hits to their website.
 

Southpaw

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#11
Although I don't like it too much, my dad gives the dogs Beggin Strips and Snausages and other horrible things.

The man doesn't like dogs, but God forbid he can't give them their treats.

If it were up to me, they'd probably just be getting some very simple biscuits once in a blue moon. :eek:
 

Shadow945

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#12
I give Sammy EVO dog treats and the occasional marrow bone for teeth cleaning. She loves them both! :D
The sound of bone marrow is painful...makes me think about doctors taking a sample of bone marrows:yikes:.

But aren't you afraid your dog will choke on bones? I've been told by vets and pet store employees to stick with normal treats since it won't break off into pieces, and one vet even mentioned Bright Bites to me (another reason I want to try it) because the star shape makes it easy to break apart and chew.
 

noodlerubyallie

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#13
I cut up Natural Balance rolls into tiny squares for treats/training. Heeling treats are Dingo soft treats.

As for normal treats, my husband is obsessed with the cheapo beefy Milkbones for the girls when they go in their crates LOL.
 

gale

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#14
Jv17 is a spammer. ;) Check the links in the sig. We have a crazy amount of spammers who post nearly-intelligible things on here in an attempt to look like real members and get hits to their website.
Ah ok, thanks. I have signatures turned off so I didn't see that.
 

kitty1234

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#15
I thing dogs need to bite things instead people brush theyre teeths thats te point dogs dont need teeth brushing, they need to get theyre teeth strong for theyre own good becouse if you dont its worst for them people need to be countience abut the dogs.





kitty
 
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DogLuvvr

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#16
Cheese. I have purchased so many different kinds of treats for my pup and he just looks at them like "um, what is that?" LOL. Cheese is the ONLY treat that gets him excited... and not the reduced fat kind (the kind I eat, LOL). He only likes the real deal. :p
 

ihartgonzo

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#17
I got about 500 free Bright Bites forced upon me at a dog fair this weekend!

The ingredients are frightening, but I've let the boys try a couple. They weren't incredibly interested in them, but they chewed them up. I didn't notice ANY teeth cleaning or ANY breath freshening qualities. They don't even seem as beneficial as Greenies, but meh, that's just my experience.

I prefer to buy two big, meaty knuckle bones once a month and give them one each. Supervise for 10-15 minutes, and voila! Clean, sparkly teeth. It's a lot more cost effective and HEALTHY, in comparison. Dogs will not choke on bones if you feed them RAW bones, that are the appropriate size for your dog, and you superivse them. Plenty of dogs have choked on rawhides, cookies, kibble, greenies, and other store-bought chews.

As for treats... they have a bunch of different treats. There are training treats, which are really smelly and high value, like dried chicken hearts, hotdogs or liver. I also bake them cookies, and occasionally buy Old Mother Hubbard or Mother Nature cookies, just as daily rewards and for their bedtime snack. They occasionally get cheese, or small pieces of apples or carrots as treats. But I think their favorite treats will always and forever be raw meaty bones. : )
 

Shadow945

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#18
I got about 500 free Bright Bites forced upon me at a dog fair this weekend!

The ingredients are frightening, but I've let the boys try a couple. They weren't incredibly interested in them, but they chewed them up. I didn't notice ANY teeth cleaning or ANY breath freshening qualities. They don't even seem as beneficial as Greenies, but meh, that's just my experience.

I prefer to buy two big, meaty knuckle bones once a month and give them one each. Supervise for 10-15 minutes, and voila! Clean, sparkly teeth. It's a lot more cost effective and HEALTHY, in comparison. Dogs will not choke on bones if you feed them RAW bones, that are the appropriate size for your dog, and you superivse them. Plenty of dogs have choked on rawhides, cookies, kibble, greenies, and other store-bought chews.

As for treats... they have a bunch of different treats. There are training treats, which are really smelly and high value, like dried chicken hearts, hotdogs or liver. I also bake them cookies, and occasionally buy Old Mother Hubbard or Mother Nature cookies, just as daily rewards and for their bedtime snack. They occasionally get cheese, or small pieces of apples or carrots as treats. But I think their favorite treats will always and forever be raw meaty bones. : )
yeah the ingredients in Bright Bites don't SEEM to be good, but from what I've been told by a vet, it's very effective at cleaning and preventing gingivitis.
 

SmexyPibble

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#19
For most of Molly, Elly & Oliver's training I use a tennis ball or a rop kong [that is, until Bales hid it]. For Bailey & Georgia, I use treats. Normally I feed small bits of people food for obedience training [unless the dog is very toy motivated]. Tiny chunks of cheese or baked hot dogs. We don't usually have dog treats around, but if we do it's Beggin Strips [my mom buys them]. We've definetly stocked up on liver treats before, and a garbage bag full of free samples from one dog show, lol.
 

ihartgonzo

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#20
yeah the ingredients in Bright Bites don't SEEM to be good, but from what I've been told by a vet, it's very effective at cleaning and preventing gingivitis.
As far as I'm concerned, NOTHING is better than raw meaty bones. Ingredients aside; watching my dogs eat them, I fail to see how these hard, plastic-like Bright Bites can even begin to clean the many crevices of a dog's teeth, particularly the front teeth and the canines. A raw meaty bone (especially knuckle bones) encourages the dog to use both their front and back teeth to nibble and tear off meat, as well as scrape the teeth clean on the tendons, cartilege and bone.

For proof, here's my 7 year-old dog's teeth:


Honestly, I would not believe everything the standard Vet says... after all, they make loads of money with those yearly teeth-cleanings.
 

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