Nutrition: Treats

Let's face it...the easiest way to get a dog to do something (learn new tricks and behaviors, come downstairs to go out for potty, leave something alone that could get eaten and shouldn't be, etc) is with food! Particularly, the treat variety.

I love to make our dogs homemade treats. Our dog recipe app on iTunes (available for download at the app store, search: dog recipes) has a bunch of our tried and true recipes for treating our babies to something special.

Quality of treats is as important as having a good dog food regimen. We think of a dog biscuit as the equivalent to 1 M&M to a human, when really, for an average dog, it is more like the whole bag! So, quality of treats and how frequently they are used are pretty important.

I've recently found a great brand of treats that are wheat, soy, and corn free and made of healthful ingredients at, of all places, Target! They are also on Amazon.com, but for the same price, so I just get them at Target. We have all enjoyed Big Bark Bakery brand's Bare Bones Oatmeal Cinnamon treats. In fact, I've tried them and they really are quite tasty, if not a little bland (for humans, they could be a bit sweeter, but honestly, they are pretty good, though I don't suggest buying them as a human snack in general). I often try our dog treats. It helps me determine if the treats are worth our boys having the extra calories. If they taste salty at all, I know they aren't worth it. Extra salt just isn't something I want to add to their diet.

We love Innova's small bars (the large bars don't fit in their kongs, but the small bars do easily), Wellness treats, and Zuke's. Zuke's has a line of edible bones with carrot and parsley in them that are great for our Saint Bernard's teeth, which are always a big problem.

Mostly, we use treats as a very special, only occasional type item. Our boys might get one treat in a week's time, and then when we have company over, they often get a kong filled with goodies, so when they get it, it is incredibly special. They really value the time they get a special treat, so it is always a good experience.

We like to stuff kongs with just about anything, but a combination we like a lot is reduced fat peanut butter and treats or Laughing Cow spreadable light cheese with treats. We spread a little of the peanut butter or the cheese in the bottom of the kong, then we shove in three Innova small bars (we use large sized extreme (black) kongs), and then top with more peanut butter or cheese. Then, when they crunch on the kong and break the treats, the peanut butter or cheese clings to the treats and it takes them an extra long time to clean out the kongs entirely. This makes a great babysitter if you have to be away for a lot of hours, or if you have company over and need your dogs out of the way. They have a good time and don't mind being ignored for a 30-60 minute period, depending on how long it takes them to annihilate the kong.

Our boys used to enjoy raw beef marrow bones, but they ended up being too rich for Gordie's tummy (gave him the runs and a tummy ache) and Angus can't have the bones because he is prone to urate stones and the marrow bones can contribute to the stones forming. However, that is just two cases. Our previous bulldog, Rosie, LOVED marrow bones and had no issues with them. If you have never tried them, ask at the butcher counter for beef marrow bones (usually, they are frozen) and I always ask for them to cut them into halves, a managable size for any size dog, unless you have a fierce chewer who is large breed. Even Angus, Mister I'll Destroy Anything I Chew, was perfectly content with this size. Give the bone to your baby in their crate, because it will stain your carpets, plus if you have multiple dogs, they will usually fight over these (raw bones make the primal side come out of even the most docile, submissive, non-food aggressive dogs, so don't underestimate the power of the marrow bones!) and you can keep them separated by putting them in their crates.

This is also a trick we use for crate training. Marrow bones are like the ULTIMATE snack for almost every day, so almost no dog can resist spending time in their crate when there is a marrow bone to distract them. I'll be posting on crate training soon, but for now, if you need help with crate training, try the marrow bone trick a few times a week for two weeks, and see how it goes. Then step down (marrow bones are fatty, caloric, and rich, so you don't want to feed them often for very long) to filled kongs, then down to chewing bones like Nylanbones (the durable brand are usually a good option for even the tough chewers, though flexible brand are okay for some dogs).

For big celebrations, like their birthdays, we make a special cake or cupcakes (we call them pupcakes), or we make frozen yogurt. They have no idea it is their birthday, but we get a real kick out of them going nuts over a special treat!

Car Rides and Travel Safety

When I see someone driving down the road with a dog in their lap, I cringe. I want to slap these people. Same with idiots who do not wear their seatbelts or allow their children to roam free in the car. Seatbelts save lives people! And there is no exception for animals!

Animals really need to be contained in moving vehicles, for their safety, and the safety of all the other passengers in the vehicle and all the others on the road. Jumping and hopping around in the car can distract a driver to the point where they get in an accident because of it. It isn't worth having your pet on your lap for a car ride if you both end up in the hospital, or worse, you in the hospital and your beloved pet splattered on the highway or splintered into your windshield. Totally uncool, man.

We use a safety hammock for our bulldog, and our Saint Bernard travels in the very back cabin of our small sized SUV. Separating pets is a good idea when traveling, especially on long trips when they can get cranky and start fights while you're driving.

I found a great option for a hammock on Amazon here. It looks inexpensive, but functional. We bought ours a few years ago and spent about $50.

We also keep a crate on hand for car trips, but as we don't have enough room in our vehicle to crate both boys, we typically just rely on the hammock.

We've tried seat harnesses, and I'm all for them, except that our Rosie got herself strung up in it when she got excited and nearly choked to death while I tried to slam on the brakes, reach over to the back seat, and pull her free while still trying to keep the car on the road and not alarm other drivers. It was a terrifying experience for both of us. My guess is that harnesses are fine for dogs who are completely stationary in the car, but for any furball who likes to move around even the slightest bit, I can't say I would suggest a seat harness. The hammock is our best option. Though they can still jump it if they want to, and perhaps fly out if in a serious major car wreak, it will protect most dogs from most collisions and if they are trained and not a behavior problem, they should be fine. If there is a behavior problem that keeps your dog from remaining in his place on his own accord, time for crate in the car, and a visit with a good behaviorist. That is not a behavior that you want to let linger.

Please, do not let your baby hang his or her head out the window in the wind at any speed higher than 25 MPH. Driving around the neighborhood can be okay, but any speed higher than that could put your dog at risk to be hit in the face (eyes!) with debris kicked up on the road. I have seen some horrifying pictures and heard some awful stories about dogs who have been injured (or killed!) while doing this. The few minutes of joy they get isn't worth the risk. Do it on your way out of your neighborhood, or your way back in, but not once you start going at a decent pace. One story I heard from a friend about a friend of her's included details about getting sideswiped and having her dog's head get crushed between her car and the car that hit them. That doesn't sound worth risking.