Wet Noses Dog Treats

We have had a crazy 2 weeks! We've had a small rescued dog at our house for 48 hours followed by dog-sitting for a friend whose pup went into her first heat at our house. Then some friends came over with their doggy for a weekend, and finally, a family member came to visit with her new puppy.  In the midst of all these paws coming a going, we received a shipment of new treats from Wet Noses.  Their story is great! But knowing the following information hooked me.

"We bake our products within our own  facility using 100% human grade, organic ingredients. Our products contain NO CHEMICALS, NO ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, COLORS, PRESERVATIVES, CORN, WHEAT, OR SOY."

So, I ordered a variety of treats for my mutts to taste test.  It was even a treat for myself to open the box and find such cute packaging!  My kitchen counter looked like a doggy boutique but without the boutique price. Below is a list of the treats I ordered and their nutritional info (all of which is listed on their website).

DOGRANOLA

Ingredients:

Organic Rye Flour

Organic Peanut Butter

Organic Whole Oats

Organic Flax Seed

Organic Dried Cranberries

Organic Cane Molasses

Calories per Treat: 30

NO WHEAT, NO CORN, NO SOY… 100% ORGANIC

APPLES & CARROTS

Ingredients:

Organic Rye Flour

Organic Apples

Organic Carrots

Organic Whole Oats

Organic Canola Oil

Organic Molasses

Organic Ground Thyme

NO CORN, NO WHEAT, NO SOY

SWEET POTATO LITTLE STARS

Ingredients:

Organic Rye Flour

Organic Sweet Potato Puree

Organic Canola Oil

Organic Molasses

Organic Cinnamon

Organic Ginger

Calories per Treat: 6

NO WHEAT, NO CORN, NO SOY, VEGAN... 100% ORGANIC

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SWIRL

Ingredients:

Organic Rye Flour

Organic Cane Molasses

Organic Butternut Squash

Organic Canola Oil

Organic Whole Eggs

Organic Molasses

NO CORN, NO WHEAT, NO SOY, NO SUGAR, NO SALT

All the doggies that came over loved these treats!  That included my 2 large mutts, a chihuahua, boston terrier, jack russell and a long-haired dachshund.  However, if you have a picky puppy, they offer trial sizes in many flavors for only $1.99!  I should have gone with the full size, though.  Currently, they're offering a flat shipping rate of $5.  They also included one of their brownies for free!  We'll definitely be a repeat customer.

Defending Our Favorite Dog Treats

There has been a craze of people thinking that they can't feed their dogs anything not manufactured in the US. However, we personally eat many foods that are not manufactured in the US without knowing it. What many don't realize is that the threat of illness is actually from jerky (processed meat with additives) as well as raw hides (treated with lye and bleach that is absorbed into the hide and very difficult to digest).

A few years ago I found a treat that I could finally feed Maeby, who has food intolerances. The ingredient list is as short and sweet as a concerned pet owner could wish for! In my 2+ years of feeding my dogs these treats, I have never had a bad experience. As a matter of fact, my pups have had less stomach upset and less constipation. Here are the treats I am talking about.

The first in the line up is dehydrated chicken and duck tenders or chips. The meat does come from Thailand, however, it is cooked, dehydrated, irradiated and tested by the FDA. I have come across many other breeders and trainers who recommend these treats.

Ingredients: Duck fillet  .... that's it! Just duck!

Ingredients: Chicken   ... yep that's all too!

The second line up is the combination treats... meat plus veggies or meat plus fruit. 

Ingredients

Ingredients

You may also find some of the chicken and apple products along with chicken and rice poppers on Amazon... guess how short those ingredient lists are!

Lastly, a product that I love from VitaLife is their PrePro biscuits.  These have both prebiotics and probiotics that your pup needs to stay healthy digestively and keep a healthy immune system. 

PrePro Info

I give my dogs the PrePro treats pictured regularly to help keep them... regular.  However, there is an immune booster that I like to give them a few weeks before they go to the kennel. They love these treats! It's the only "soft" treats I give them, since I want to put off vet teeth cleaning as long as possible.  If your dog has issues with constipation, these treats will be helpful.  Once your dog is regular, you don't have to give them daily, just a few times a week will do.

Vitalife's website is very informative, and they seem to hide nothing.  Please, check them out.  Truly healthy dog treats are very rare!  Corporate companies love to throw the word "healthy" around and have degraded it. 

Other brands I am also a fan/supporter of:

Sojos

Blue Buffalo

Zukes

However, when it comes to price, Vitalife has these beat.  I use Zuke's minis for training and Zukes Z-bones for healthy chewing/teeth cleaning.  Sojos also makes mini bones that are great for the treat dispensing toys and training.  Blue buffalo has some of the highest rated foods/treats when it comes to quality and health, but they are the most expensive. 

Other great healthy chews to replace rawhide would include: pig or cow ears that are not basted, duck feet and cow or pig hooves.  These are all "leftovers" from the meat we eat that would normally be thrown away by any human, however, our dogs love them! And most of them are very affordable.

Happy snacking!!

Shedding

With the warm weather becoming a norm, Kingsley has started shedding more, and I'm sure you're fur baby is, too.  I wanted to include some basic tips that have helped us tremendously.

First of all, when I can afford it, Kingsley goes to the groomer to be raked... vacuum powered raking.  But when we can't afford that luxury, we try to work as hard as the groomer does to get all the excess hair off of him.  The benefits include not just less hair to vacuum off the floor or furniture, but a happier more spry dog.

Step 1: Brush Regularly

All year, it is good to brush your dog weekly.  This removes lose dead hairs and keeps the skin and coat healthy.

Step 2: Rake

Raking is a great way to get excess hair off of your dog.  Beware of the rakes with razors, because they are very irritating to your dog's skin.  They're safe to use, but you shouldn't rake over the same area twice.  I prefer the style of rake as pictured to the right.  It grabs any loose hair from the undercoat without being overly irritating to the their skin, so you can repeat multiple times.  When raking, it's best to take your doggy outside if it's a pretty day, or non carpeted area to avoid getting dog hair on your furniture or clothing.  There will be a lot of hair.

Step 3: Wash

Washing is a great way to get excess hair off of your dog.  Make sure to lather well and massage your dog's skin to promote a healthy coat.  If you wash your dog frequently, weekly, it's best to use a puppy formula or shampoo with oatmeal to prevent skin irritation.  If your dog's fur gets matted easily, you may want to use a conditioner after washing.  Rinse well.  Most lose hairs will rinse off in the bath tub keeping more hair off of your floors, furniture and clothing.

Step 4: Dry and Brush

Completely dry your dog's hair before brushing again.  If you have a young dog, you may be able to teach your dog to tolerate a hair dryer or vacuum brush attachment.

After your dog's coat has dried, use a regular brush to smooth and remove any final lose hairs.  Continue to brush once or twice weekly.  I am in love with our new brush that has a quick clean button on the back.  Just place your fur filled brush over a trash can, press the button and watch all your dog's hair neatly fall into the trash can.

Happy brushing!

Click here to shop great deals on self-cleaning grooming brushes.

Ikea Hackers!

I'm very excited to show off our Ikea hack we came up with for our doggies! It's a steal of a deal. You'll know what I'm talking about if you've ever shopped out elevated dog bowls. For only $27, you can make a very modern doggy diner. Ikea offers this table in a variety of colors, too.

Home made dog diner

Project made of:

Ikea Lack side table, white     $7
2 small stainless steel bowls   $10
1 large stainless steel bowl     $10

Grand Total                         $27



My husband simply used a dremel to cut out the holes to set the bowls into.  It may be smart to line the inside edges with foam to keep water from seeping into the table.  I haven't dont that, yet.  I also need to saw the legs down at least an inch or two, so their heads can be even with their shoulders when they eat.

The purposes of elevated bowls are two-fold.  1) The dog ingests less air, so they don't get as bloated.  This was Maeby's problem before the elevated dog bowls.  She would regurgitate her dog food frequently after eating.  2) It takes less stress off of the dogs joints.  Would you like to stay standing in a squat the whole time you eat?  I wouldn't!  This was to help Kingsley, who is predisposed to joint problems.  I highly recommend it for your doggy.  Dog diners come as short as 3" and as tall as 18."  If you would need a shorter version, Ikea also has a Lack rectangular shelf that would work perfectly!  I've actually seen people mount them to the wall at whatever height is appropriate for their dog and cut the holes in it for their dog's bowls.  It's very doggy chic when done that way, however you would have less color options.


I have seen some very good deals for dog diners that you don't have to build yourself.  I have to share a favorite of mine I found on Etsy.  How cute are these?!  Sold by ModPet, they are very unique!  If I had the space for multiple doggy diners, one for each of my dogs, I would do it!  They are only $38 - $48 depending on size.  ModPet also makes some very modern chic dog furniture.  You'll have to check them out!

There are plenty of other awesome doggy diners out there.  I just wanted to show off ours, really.  =)  I hope you check them out for your dog.

Dog Food

'We are what we eat', they say. Most of us know what a healthy diet is, even if we don't always put that knowledge to use. The same goes for dog food! Have you ever read the ingredient list on your dog's food container? If you have, do you understand it? I admit, I didn't do this until a couple of years ago when I got my newest addition, Maeby. She didn't tolerate the well known brand dog food I was buying at the time. My vet informed me of the importance of the ingredient list, and if you can't pronounce an ingredient, it probably isn't good. A friend and myself quickly started researching online to learn what other options were out there. We finally found a very helpful tool: Dog Food Advisor.

Dog Food Advisor categorizes dog food brands into star ratings; 1 star - 5 stars, 5 stars being the best. I discovered that the brand name dog food I was buying only had a 2 star rating. The website also breaks down each ingredient and tells you how it may benefit or harm your dog. It is very informative! You'll quickly learn what ingredients are wanted and what ingredients to avoid.

Because of this helpful website, I now buy a 4 star dog food at the same price I was paying for the 2 star dog food! It's amazing! I would buy a 5 star dog food, but it is simply a matter of price. I'm very content knowing that I have doubled the quality of my dogs' food without having to spend any more than I was. There seems to be a big price gap between the 4 star and 5 star dog foods. I will say, I tried a 5 star dog food for a couple of months, but my dogs simply didn't enjoy it. They're like me; they need a little junk to maintain a level of happiness.

I encourage all of you to check out this website and at least review the dog food you're currently feeding your pups. Who knows? Maybe, you can increase the quality of your dog's food without spending more. I hope you can!