Homemade Dog Toys and Treats

[Duchess]

Good morning everybody,

I am soooo tired of buying dog toys and treats that are of poor quality and expensive!!

I went to PetSmart yesterday looking for some toys and treats.
They claimed to have a 25% off sale. I walked around and saw very few items that were significantly reduced.

My dog is a German shepherd/Shar-pei mix. She is a rescued dog about 45 pounds.

She is a very agressive chewer and ripper. We have brought home many toys just to watch her destroy them in minutes. So frustrating. Now, the winners have been the Kong toys, rope toys and Nyla bones.

As far as the treats. They cost too much for the amount you get. Some of them seem to be down right dangerous for the dog. Like, making her cough or having sharp edges.

O.K. dog lovers and ( parakeet lovers) give me some ideas.

Thanks,

Duchess

[angielyn]

I hear you!!!! I have a Great Dane/Collie mix and a Hairless Chinese Crested and that little Crested is our toy destroyer. Toys I have NO idea I'm stumped with anything home made other then some tin or steal LOL But this is the dog treats I make for my guys and they LOVE them. As a matter of fact they usually hang out in the kitchen while making them 

http://www.dogtreatkitchen.com/peanut-butter-dog-biscuit-recipe.html

[Joe S.]

Our daughters beagle would always rip the soft toys apart to get at the squeaker. We had her stay with us for a few months and got her a squeak toy. She started after it. I explained to her that chewing it apart would mean that she would not be able to play with it any more. When we go to baby sit she brings the toy of and we play fetch.

Have you tried talking to your dog?

[lighthouse33]

I pet sit for a west highland terrier whose favorite toy was a tennis ball.  We would play fetch in the back yard.  He would go until he was worn out. 

[MissyLouWho?]

What about one of those toy balls that is a treat dispenser?  When I was about 22, I had these two lab-pitbull mixes 'destroyers of everything' that just had so much energy they did really nice things like chew through my mother's kitchen wall into the living room  .  To keep them busy for a few hours, I was told to fill an empty cooked marrow bone with peanut butter or cream cheese.  My guys could clean 2 of those bones before I even left the driveway!  I tried so many things to keep them busy, including the 'indestructible' tire toys (yeah right, my guys chewed them to bits).  Nothing worked.  So on a whim I got the treat balls.  Being that they also ate their food so fast they would then throw it back up, I needed a way to feed them slowly.  So I filled 4 of these with food when I left and they knocked them around to make the food fall out a few pieces at a time.  They ate slow, and got out a lot of energy at the same time.  Then went to sleep .  A few hours later my mom came home and fed them again with the balls.  They were a lot less destructive after that.  Probably because they were so tired!

They loved the Kong ropes but ate them, too. It took a while but they still ate them... 

[Duchess]

Angielyn - Thanks so much for this link. She likes peanut butter   
               lot, so I will try this recipe. It'll be fun, for I like to             
               bake anyhow.

Joe -         Talk to her - okay. I guess that makes sense. We           
                a lot of talking to her anyway. It seems as though
                she listens at times. She does follow some
                commands. I guess it's about being consistent and 
                what and how you say it. I'll do that.

MissyLouWho - I will give this a try also.


Thanks,


Duchess   

[Pisces24]

Yes Please watch out for the store bought treats.

A coworker of mine gave one to her dog and the treat lodged in his esphoagus. It would not come out or deteriotate and ended up costing $3,000 plus to save the dog. Thankfully the company that made the treat has told her it is paying all the medical expenses and will relabel these packages.  The packages had said "suitable for all dogs".  Well for a small dog - no way.
I saw picture she had - treat was big and its makeup I could see where it would take a long time to break down in a pet's body.   Homemade is a lot better and safer.

Also watch websites, etc for any pet food recall. Unfortunately I think the recalls gets posted waaaaaay to late.  I volunteer for a pet group and we watch for recalls all the time.

PS: I talk to my cats, but I think they just listen to make me happy! 

[Duchess]

Pisces24'

Thanks for that important bit of information. I will certainly pay more attention.

I think my dog just listens sometimes to make me happy. At times it is obvious that she wants to walk away.


Duchess