Yak cheese treat

[Kirsten]

I was at a pet store yesterday picking up some TOTW food for Cole to try.  I looked around at other things they had to offer.  One was something I'd never seen before and am curious if any of you have any experience with it.  It was a hard chewie made out of Yak milk.  It felt very hard in the package, perhaps harder than a greenie.  I'm looking for safe chewies for my senior dog (Cole).  He adores cheese, hence the pet name "Cole B Cheese."  I think he would be very attracted to it.  But the questions are:

1.  would it hurt his teeth?
2.  if he swallowed chunks, would it make him sick?

He does okay on new greenies (which he does adore).  He does sometimes bite off largish chunks, but not large enough to choke or block his intestines (about 3/4" to 1" diameter).  When he does this with old greenies, he simply throws up the chunks.  When he does it with new greenies, they stay down and dissolve in transit because they never come out the other end.

Here's my problem.  I made a mistake and gave him an irradiated bone.  I now know these are not safe and count as cooked bones.  But he LOVED it.  He looked so feral, nibbling on his bone like a wild beast.  With a greenie, he eats it and it is gone.  With that bone, he carried it around all day nibbling.  I would dearly love to find something he could enjoy in that way that was safe for him.  The old guy has a lot of free time on his hounds now that the next generation is stepping  up to the plate.  He doesn't play with toys by himself.  He no longer chews on kongs and the like (hasn't for many years, not since adolescence).  He turns up his nose at Nylabone edibles.

So is the Yak cheese thing safe for him, or can anyone else suggest some sort of "all day sucker" type of chewie for him?

[Spectrum]

I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be safe. However, I've never seen them or even heard of them before. Can you find them online maybe and post a link? I'll take a look too and see if anything pops up.

They sound safe at least.

The new Greenies will completely dissolve in water in a couple hours. It's pretty coll if you have a greenie to spare (we were sent a sample just for this purpose at the clinic).

[Kirsten]

If it's not this brand than it at least looks very similar, right down to the sort of fabric-y texture on the side:  http://www.himalayandogchew.com/?input=product

[k1maplewd]

I have heard of these and heard the are safe but never tried them myself for my dogs or know how easy they would be on an adult dog's teeth.  I've seen them sold at some dog shows and on-line.

[Kirsten]

I went back to the pet store and got Cole this yak cheese treat thing.  The man at the store said that with a dog that is not an aggressive chewer it would last a couple of days.  We just got home from our second trip, to a grand opening of a PetSmart, and I gave Cole his special cheese "bone."  He's INSANE over it.  Mostly he's licking it.  The girls are looking on, longingly, and every once in a while he gives them an "It's mine, all mine," grumble. 

In my house Cole has to be allowed to grumble at the girls because they pester him mercilessly if he's not allowed to tell them to bugger off.  "But Daddy, I WUV WU."  "Watch me shake my bootie, I'm so sexy!"  "I just want to watch your tonsils flap while you eat,"  "Mind if I stare up your nostrils while you're trying to sleep?"  And so on.  Just let the old dog eat and sleep in peace, I say.

The girls are not allowed to grumble at anyone.  Yes, it's a double standard, but oddly I've found that with dogs you can pull it off without hurt feelings.  Cole is the senior dog and has always had privileges the girls have not had and they don't seem to think anything of it.  He's earned his special privileges with good behavior and hard work.  Dogs who don't snack in the litterbox or peer into the trash get free access to the whole house.  Those who do are forbidden entry to the kitchen and bathroom without a chaperon.  Dogs who do not poke cats are left loose in the house when I'm away.  Those that do poke are crated.  Simple.  Fair.

He's now arranged himself carefully reclining with the water bowl at his left paw and the cheese bone at the right, and he's going back and forth between the two with a smile like a Cheshire cat.

[k1maplewd]

What a lucky boy!!    Sounds like the cheese treat is a huge hit!

[fledchen]

Sounds like it meets with his approval! 

My birds' favorite chew toy is one that's made out of yucca wood. Unfortunately, they don't get fresh ones very often because the darned pet store is out of stock most of the times I go there. Fortunately, Kaz still likes to gnaw on the hard bark of the "used" ones that have all the soft parts stripped.

[PupFashionista]

How about bully sticks? Mireille ADORES them... and they last to her power chewing. Both Lizzi & Rocco's and Treats Unleashed have them for modest prices... but I've found online for dirt cheap (about 1/2-1/3rd of their prices).

[Kirsten]

He does like bully sticks but has a problem with the last little bit if I don't catch him and take it away.

You're right, you can get them at really good prices online.  I looked at them at PetSmart today and they came out to around $4 per 6" piece.  A lot of the prices at PetSmart were outrageous.  $50 for a cordless Dremel I can get at Walmart for $20.  Cole's canned food $1.49 per can and I can get it for $1.29 at Orscheln's OR at Borne (our Purina Mill).  I was surprised.  In the past when I visited a PetSmart it seemed to me that the prices were fairly good, better than Petco.  They were even having some trouble competing with Lizzie and Rocco's (local Mom and Pop pet store boutique).

Anyway, back to bully sticks.  I'm looking for something Cole can enjoy while I'm out.  While he handles being left home apparently fine, I know it must be difficult for him.  For the last decade, he's been like my good right leg:  practically a part of my body.  We were rarely separated.  He's not showing stress at being left, but he must be at a loss for what to do since he's basically been on call for the last ten years straight.  He has to be supervised for bully sticks and most other chewies because his teeth are so bad, he's gotten careless about swallowing pieces that are to big, and his digestive system cannot handle the chunks.  The girls have got him beat on all three counts, but they still get supervised with most chewies too.  Luna has a hoof she's been working on for a few weeks.  Ruby's allowed Busy Bones on her own.

I need to win the lottery and soon.  There are all kinds of disgusting things they enjoy, like porky pumpers, ear puffs, moo tubes, bully sticks, these yak things...

Hey, Chriss, did you know Greenies are vegetarian?  And yes, I've tried them.  Old Greenies taste better than new Greenies and they're, well, kind of addictive.

[PupFashionista]

I need to win the lottery and soon.  There are all kinds of disgusting things they enjoy, like porky pumpers, ear puffs, moo tubes, bully sticks, these yak things...

Hey, Chriss, did you know Greenies are vegetarian?  And yes, I've tried them.  Old Greenies taste better than new Greenies and they're, well, kind of addictive.

I worry about you. I truly do.

No, I have not tried Greenies. I don't even allow the girls to have them since there were several reports of the old ones causing dogs to have intestinal blocks and I was paranoid about them swallowing a piece.

I HAVE tried the cranberry oatmeal ones at Treats Unleashed and Sweet Potato Buddy Biscuits when the vet said Esme wasn't allowed to have high amounts of protein or potassium due to the kidney problems last year. (She now no longer has those diety restrictions.)

M and I walked out of PetSmart with 5 new squeaky toys and 3 mini squeaky balls. (I think I spent $13... two of the toys were free and we got the $5 coupon out of the paper.) The funniest thing I saw... disposable surgical booties for dogs. http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3416003 Except for some of the toys, you're right L&R is much cheaper. L&R is cheaper than Petco though on the all natural treats.

Oh, and I had a dream last night that I won the lottery (even though I don't play).  **shrug**  If I do, I promise to supply Cole with all the nasty Yak stuff he wants... so long as he doesn't hug me afterward. (I hate to imagine the dog breath after dried yak cheese.)  =0)

[Kirsten]

The problem with greenies wasn't the greenies themselves, but people feeding them inappropriately.  If you follow the instructions on the package with regard to what size goes with what size dog and do not give to a pup under 6 months, they are fine.  They are no more dangerous than any other chew and no more likely to cause a blockage than any other chew.

However, they did reformulate them.  Cole stopped chewing them effectively and started swallowing 1" sized chunks.  He'd then throw them back up.  With the new greenie formula, he continues to swallow chunks, but does not throw them up and they do not come out the other end, ie they disolve in route.

At the time of the whole thing with greenies in the press, I consulted with emergency room vets at the university.  I was there with Ozzie, so took the opportunity to grill them on several points.  Their veterinary dentist said greenies were the only chew he recommended, that they were safe and the only one that was effective in actually reducing tartar (dunno if it has changed since then, this was five years ago).  Several ER vets agreed that they were no more likely to cause blockages than other chews.  The real problem was how popular they were.  They were the number one dog treat at the time.  That meant more dogs were eating them than any other.  It's like suggesting that GSDs are more likely to bite and kill someone than a Presa because there are more reports of GSD bites than presas in the CDC database.  Of course there are something like 1,000 GSDs for every Presa in the country so that stat isn't accurate.  It's that way with Greenies.

I like supporting local businesses, like Lizzie and Rocco's whenever possible.

I need to run back to the chat room.  Come on in and join us, the water's fine!

[Nianhel]

I gave Coco her first bully stick today. A 24 incher. So far, she's gone through the first 6 inches in just under 2 hours. I'm actually impressed. I figured it'd go much faster. I'm curious to see how long the rest lasts.

[Kirsten]

Chriss shared a link with me for a free bully stick.  Let me see if I can find it.  Their prices are pretty good and I think I've ordered from them before several years ago.

Here's the article:  http://freedogsamples.blogspot.com/2009/10/free-bully-stick-sample.html  It's one Chriss wrote for one of her blogs, but includes a link to the free bully stick offer and a really cute photo of a rat (and I know rats are popular around here).

[k1maplewd]

I get bully sticks at a really good price at www.bestbullysticks.com  I generally get the 6" ones and buy 100 at a time which I split with a friend.  Costs about $0.88 per bully stick that way plus shipping which is minimal and the 50 I keep lasts a REALLY long time! 

[Nianhel]

oooo...fun. Thanks I do admit though.....I kinda regret finally looking up what they were made of. I never bothered, cause I never bought them. Oh well lol