I will be picking puppy up a week today :D :D

I want to get his treats organised now, he will be fed on Beta to start with but im moving him over to Burns.  Ive got some of the Burns treat biscuits but they wont really be any good for training treats.  I would rather give puppy something natural like liver, cheese etc rather than giving him those pedigree things with loads of colours in (he is going to be hyper enough being a setter :rolleyes:

Being a veggie ive never even bought liver let alone cooked it, so which liver do I buy ? and how do I cook it ? I was going to cook it in bulk then freeze it - is this ok ? I want the liver so it is hard (so I dont get slimy stinky fingers/pockets ) 

Any tips/advice on treats would be great - im also after ideas of what to put in his kong :)

Also what to chew ? ive bought him a nylabone but from experience dogs go off these pretty quick.  Would a marrow bone from the butchers be ok ? what about those hide cigars ?

Im acting like ive never had a dog before but I things  change all the time and some of the stuff we used to give our dogs I wouldnt dream now of giving my pup !!

All help appreciated

thanks

claire :)

I'd stick with something simple like chicken to start with - his tummy doesn't need to be overloaded with stuff like cheese or hotdogs!  Liver?  Any sort of liver will do - lamb liver is probably the mildest.  You could just boil it to start with - his little teeth won't be able to cope with the hard stuff just yet, and if they could he wouldn't get the taste - which is part of the idea of giving treats (think of the feel of a piece of chocolate in your mouth - even the tiniest piece feels ymmy!)  Once he's got his full set of teeth then dried liver is fine - I boil it first, to make it easier to cut into small pieces, then bake it very slowly in a low oven (on a piece of non stick parchment paper) like this it will last unfrozen for ages and ages.  In the mean time you could keep the small pieces of boiled liver in a plastic bag or tub in your pocket - or get a bum bag!

Kongs can be stuffed with allsorts - but bear in mind as a tiny puppy you don't want to be over loading him on top of his normal diet.  Low fat cream cheese or yoghurt usually goes down well - my girls had some left over mash and gravy with a little bit of sausage in theirs last night.  Don't be disapointed if he's not too interested to start with - once those teeth are through he'll be using them on everything!

Nylabones can be good - my girls don't like them though - you can also get some bones made of vegetable (potato?) which they demolish with glee.  Marrow bones are fine - as are raw rib bones.  I don't feed any hide product, I don't trust the supply and find them dangerous as they tend to stick in the roof of mouths or congeal in the stomach :(

HTH - one of the best things you can do for your pup is to socialise him - and get him signed up with a good, reputable puppy class who do NOT allow 'free play' but arrange the pups so there isn't a free for all bundle......

Thanks for your help, all points are noted im off to sainsburys tonight to get some chicken and liver, I ll have a word with the local butcher about some bones.

He will certainly be well socialised, I intend taking him everywhere with me (when I can - but obviously make sure he gets used to being left too :) ) he is booked in to puppy classes, its the same class I took my parents pup to and they do a fun puppy training and whilst it isnt a "free for all" the dogs are allowed to interact on leads under supervision.  He will also be going to ringcraft once he has had his jabs.

Thanks :)

Hi

i also use burns for sirs lunch and tea (boxer) and in the morning he gets a couple of burns kelties or oceans bites.

for training treats i did use cheese but he got bored with it so i searched on here for liver cake recipes and make this for training/treats.

its easy to make, smells awful when cooking but sir is always keen to eat it :-)

i've always used lambs liver, not sure if it makes a difference.

HTH

oh and if you do make liver cake i would open all the doors and windows and fan extractor set to maximum :D

Hiya
we have found that rubbing cheese on a nylabone is really good, nylabone do a "stickle brick" one which is ideal to ruba bit of cheese on, tally loves hers!! and means you dont need to put too much on!!

Being a bit of a lost cause in the kitchen, I got my mum to cook and dry out liver for me which came in handy but didn't last all that long and I was a bit paranoid that she had done it right!  Then a friends mum sent over some liver cake, which chopped up into little cubes was fab but I couldn't be doing with making it myself! 

The other week I finally ordered some Pro-train liver bits - little liver cubes already cooked, dried, cut and packaged.  These are ideal and being a vegetarian, you might find these easier than having to cook the liver.  I can't remember where I got them from (but will look if you're interested), but most online doggy sites sell them.

As to the kong stuffing, fill it with rice pudding and freeze it.  My dogs loves especially as one of them is currently teasing.  When you take it out of the freezer leave it for about 10 minutes just to start to soften.  The only problem with it is one of them has worked out that throwing the kong on the floor makes the rice pudding come out quicker and makes quite a mess but luckily I have wooden flooring so I am not too bothered about.  They love it and thats what matters.

You could also try making up liver cake mix and putting it in the kong and then microwave it to cook it and giving it to him after it has cooled.  Havent tried this one but my trainer suggested it.

Home made rice pudding or tinned stuff?  I like the idea of having some rice pudding with Millie!

We had pie and mash recently (Manzies of course, for those in the know!) and we ordered extra mash for her kong to which I added a tiny bit of the liquor.  So we all sat there scoffing our pie and mash in rapturous silence, and so did Millie :-D

I just use the tinned cheap value from tesco, about 15p a tin and they love it.  And yes I do share it with them which is nice as well.  I am still giving it now to the older one who loves it.  The younger one loves it at the moment as he is teething and because it is cold it is really soothing for him.  Give it a go and good luck.  Dont know if you read dog magazines but either Dogs today or Your Dogs did an article this month about stuffing kongs with various recipes.  Might be worth checking out.

Will do, thanks.  I love tinned rice pudding more than the home made stuff.  In fact I've never made the real stuff myself so that's fortunate!

me neither Jess.  Rely on my ageing aunty for that!  Just remember when you take it out of the freezer to leave it for a few minutes before giving it to them - they tend to get their tongue stuck to it otherwise!

Hi
Could I ask please where you get the Pro-train liver bits from. I'd like to try them with my dogs.
                                                                   Thanks
                                                                       Wendy

Thanks for all your advice, I couldnt actually find any liver when I went to sainsburys so ive brought some chicken instead (fillets that is, I cant be doing with chopping up a bird )  I also would like to try the pro-train liver bits if you could find the site, there was a site advertised in Your Dog this month which was a dog deli website maybe they will have them, I will check tonight and post the address.

try here Wendy

Thanks, ive ordered some liver ones and some fish ones :)

You are welcome

There's sardine cake as well

"4 tins sardines or 1 large tin pilchards put into a bowl and mash with a fork.... add 4 eggs, as much garlic or garlic powder as you like. Stir in plain flour to make a consistency that will 'just' about drop off the spoon...put into a greased dish and cook for about 7 minutes in the microwave or cover with a greased paper and pop into the Aga until cooked. Freezes really well and if you get the mixture right it bounces too......."

I'm a non meat person too so can't handle soft raw meat but mashing up headless sardines I can just manage

Thanks Moonmaiden
I have ordered some too, hope they like them!!!!!
Wendy

LOL mine love them all

Hi Claire!!

what sort of Setter are you getting?? I have a 7 month old Gordon Setter who is totally adorable, and mad!!  He has been on Burns from about 12 weeks ( started on Pro-plan ) and has thrived on it, his coat is beautiful, and he is alot less hyper on it than on the other stuff. I have given him Burns treats though, and they gave him the runs, so be careful, some Setters have easily upset stomachs!! For treats I give him either liver cake which I make batch of then dice it up and freeze it - which he will do pretty much anything for!! or else strong cheese - he is a very food orientated dog and those are the two that work the best. Re the nylabone thing, Murphy loves them - there is a 3 pack set you can get especially for puppies, careful of the edible ones though as they too upset his stomach!! he has the "stickle brick" type now, and adores it, nice idea in this post re rubbing cheese into it, will try that one too!!  As for his kong, I soak a hand full of Burns in gravy, then stuff the kong, and freeze it- keeps him occupied for at least 10 mins!!!!

Have fun!!

Be wary of cheese, some dogs are allergic to the milk protein (casein) and a lot of dogs do not have the digestive enzyme (lactase) to digest the milk sugar (lactose) in which case you may get gas and diarrhoea!

I got mine from http://www.thingsfor-pets.co.uk/ as I was able to buy 5 little bags for £4.99.

Petcetera.co.uk also do them.

Hi,

I am getting an Irish Setter, I think we are going to call him Fagan (that could all change though :rolleyes: )

thanks for all the tips im going to have great fun mashing fish and stinking the place out :D :D

I will keep you posted on how I get on

Claire (not the best chef in the world ;) )