Hi
I have just been discouraged now of giving pigs ears as treats (which my dog adores). Please can someone give me some other ideas as i obv don't want to feed the processed kind you get in supermarkets.

Anyone got a couple of nice ideas my little one has something nice to look forward to!:)

thanks!!

Why have you been discouraged from giving pigs ears?
I don't give my dogs them, but thats because they look like pigs ears, lol.
I give my dogs natural hide chews, you can buy them from most pet shops. Another good one is Burns ocean bites (i think thats what they're called). Dried fish (be warned though, it's VERY smelly). :)

How about raw pigs ears from the butcher or a raw marrow bone :)

That will not be possible as butchers are no longer allowed to sell bones and pig ears to their customers.

Butchers can still give bones away though! ;)

We give Abby tripe strips or tripe burger also great for training they break into small pieces. Very popular down the park i get through an extra bag a month just with other peoples dogs. i dont know if you can get them easily in this country I get mine through our dog trainer she imports them from Sweeden, you can order them off the net from her site(not sure if I can put the address on here)
Mary

Are you talking about pig's ears from the butcher that are soft? In another thread, I mentioned that one of my dogs had a real problem with one. But that was one of those hard, dried things. I give rawhide, but have to watch very closely that they don't get a small piece broken off to choke on. Mostly for chewing though, I use Nyla type bones...hard plastic. Then for cookies, I get the ones made by the same people who make some of the premium foods, so they're better than the regular store bought. And I make homemade ones which are good for training. They're cut up tiny and they're soft so they hurry up and get done inbetween tasks.

Carrie

Snoopy, there can be problems with dogs choking on 'wedged' pigs ears. NEVER leave a dog alone to eat them. If it gets stuck the dog can die. Run a search using the search facility. It will bring up lots of information on them.

How about making a liver cake, dogs go mad for it! :D  You can cut it up into little pieces and use it for training or just as a treat. 

Thanks admin.
I never knew that, but then like i said, i never give pigs ears either. Yuck. Lol.
I never leave my dogs with treats unattended.

Rachel, how do you make liver cake? Sounds Good

Kay

Hi Kay

Here is the liver cake recipe I use:

LIVER CAKE
8ozs liver preferably lambs
4ozs S/R flour
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic

Blend in blender until smooth, pour into greased swiss roll type tin place in oven gas mark 4 or 180c/350f for about 30/40 mins leave to cool and cut to size, can be frozen.

Jax :)

Personally I never feed rawhide in any shape or form, you don't know where it comes from or what chemicals have been used to bleach, preserve etc not to mention what they put in to the coloured ones   Also dogs have died from being impacted with rawhide "gunge"; pigs ears are fine raw (preferably attached to a pigs head) but if you do feed them you need to be aware that they are deep fried!

Healthy treats can be dried tripe sticks or pieces available by Webbox etc available in supermarkets and pet shops, also beef jerky which is dried lung also in supermarkets; I would steer clear of paddywhack, that is deep fried tendons.

Fruit and veg pieces can be treats, as can dried or cooked liver or meat of any description.  Small amounts of cheese are ok.

Commercial treats are full of sugars, salts, colourings, preservatives etc that no dog needs.

There are of course raw bones (never leave a dog alone with one) that are available free from your butcher (they have to pay to get someone to take them away so they love dog owners) :D

... or not free as the case may be!  I've obviously got a mean butcher as he charges £1 a bag for smaller bones and £1 each for marrowbones.  He also now charges £1 to cut a marrowbone in two, so I bought a saw and did it myself for free!

Perhaps I should change butchers, that is if I can find another butcher as they are becomming few and far between.

We give tripe sticks from Wilkinsons and their dried jerky, its very popular with all the dogs I know

Not sure I would call your butcher mean Jackyjat; after all we do live in a free market place and the laws of supply and demand govern the value of anything.

Horse manure is "free" but some people charge for it because they can.  Same with bones or any other "waste" product.  How did commercial dog food start.........................................? :D

After all, would you not want to make money out of refuse if you could....................................?

Butchers have a hard time of it since supermarkets, BSE, etc etc etc so I would be inclined to support him myself.

The Dried tripe sticks are good, and easily available from the supermarket.

Lindsay

That was just a tongue in cheek comment Tohme and I apologise if it came across in any other way. 

I always support my local butcher rather than supermarkets.  He is a knowledgable chap and a dying breed of 'craftsman'.

my butchers great, he puts pigs trotters, marrow bones, and all the off cuts of bones that dont normally get used aside for me, he lets me have the bones etc for free if im buying other meat as well but if i just want bones he charges a £1 a bag (3 bones) which is fine by me, where else can you get a treat for 3 dogs that lasts a couple of hours for a £1?
:)
tanya

Personally I will never never never feed raw hide anything or pigs ears.  I had to rush my BC off to the vets not so long back with a piece of raw hide stuck in his throat.  We couldnt get it out and it ended being stuck in his chest.  The vets had to put him under to put a camera down his throat. Cost me lots of money and lots of heartache at the possibility that I could lose him.  Luckily I didnt and the raw hide disolved fairly quickly and he passed it but never taking that ever again.

Personally feed liver cake, Burns ocean bites, marrowbones and the like. Stuffed kongs always being a favourite.

Claire

And they know all those names of cuts of meat that I forget and you don't see in supermarkets!  I like the charts where they show what parts of meat come from where too; used to be an endless source of fascination for me when a child :)

Hi i dont know if this is any good for you
But my dog loves carrots and sweeds espesally if you stuff it in his kong ,i also stuff his kong with can meat and freeze it so that keeps him happy for at least an hour or two
You can also get sterilized bones stuffed with meat from most pet shops
I dont really like giving him rawhide so we use veg as an alternative.
It wont harm him and it helthy too!