Comments on: Commercial Dog Treats – Reviews from My Shiba Inu and Siberian Husky

By: shibashake

shibashake — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 17:40:53 +0000

when we give him the treat, he whines at it then picks it up in his mouth and starts running around (still whining).

LOL! Yeah Sephy used to do exactly the same thing. He also does this with bully sticks. As far as I can tell, this behavior is triggered by-
1. A high priority item. Something that he really likes but has limited access to.
2. Something that can’t be finished with just one gulp.

When faced with such an item, Sephy runs around to try and find a safe hiding place for it. He has tried to bury things under the sofa cushions before, and he has also buried a deer antler in the backyard. I think he does this because he doesn’t want to finish it right away, and wants to keep some of it for later. It is high priority though, so he gets stressed out about finding a safe hiding place for it.

We were able to stop the behavior for Greenies by doing the following-
1. We gave his Greenie to him at night for going into his crate.
2. He works on his Greenie inside his crate where it is safe and he knows that nobody will take it away from him. He also has the whole night to work on it.
3. Initially, we brought two Greenies with us. We gave him one and showed him that we have a second one that we will keep safe for him for tomorrow night.

Now he knows that he gets one every night for going into his crate so he is not frantic about it anymore. Bully sticks will still trigger the behavior though, because he doesn’t get it regularly and it is not in his routine.

This always reminds me of that insurance commercial where the dog takes his bone to the bank and puts it in a safety deposit box!

Big hugs to Sammi! Always great to hear from you both.

By: Frances Antonio

Frances Antonio — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 08:04:36 +0000

Hi again
Sammi turns 6 months old in 2 weeks time…
I just wanted to ask whether you found this behaviour strange. We give Sammi Greenies and he used to love them but lately when we give him the treat, he whines at it then picks it up in his mouth and starts running around (still whining).
We’re not sure whether he doesn’t like them or if he wants to find a place to bury or hide it? I follow him to see what he’s doing with it but when he sees me close by, he just runs again.
But he must like them because he finishes them… at some stage.
It’s the funniest thing to watch but we’re just stuck as to why he behaves this way?
Thank you as always,
Frances

By: shibashake

shibashake — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:48:58 +0000

Thanks Jake. I will have to check out these products and update the article.

By: Jake

Jake — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:31:33 +0000

Natural Balance makes a grain-free duck & potato dog food roll actually. My dogs are grain-free and love this product. They also like their sweet potato, salmon & apple Healthy Bones, and I also get them their L.I.T. treats as well (sometimes bison, sometimes venison) Natural Balance has lots of really healthy grain-free treat options.

By: shibashake

shibashake — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 04:34:14 +0000

They were called chummies and theres a husky on the front of the package you should try those.

Thanks for the treat suggestion. They look good, especially the grain free version – kindda reminds me of Zukes Minis. My Sibe is allergic to fish oil though, so she can’t take salmon; which is too bad.

I went to look for them on Amazon, and they actually carry them now.
Arctic Paws 2-1/2-Pound Yummy Chummies Gold 95% Salmon Bulk treats

My Sibes love Greenies and totally inhale them – you know how Sibes are with food.

I supervise them very closely initially to make sure they don’t try to swallow chunks that are too large. Hope Eddie likes them.

By: eddiesmom

eddiesmom — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:58:51 +0000

wow what a great treat list iam actually going to pick up a bag of greenies hope eddie likes them. Last year a friend brought treats for eddie from alaska that is made especially for huskies well ive never seen my dog like this he actually jumped on my kitchen counter and almost knocked his treat container on the floor. They were called chummies and theres a husky on the front of the package you should try those.
for some strange reason puparoni ( i know not the best choice) gives eddie terrible gas needles to say never gave him those again.

By: shibashake

shibashake — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:59:34 +0000

Thanks Stefanie!

I didn’t know about the duck and potato formula and will definitely check it out. Shiba Sephy thanks you too!

By: Stefanie

Stefanie — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 19:59:30 +0000

Great treat suggestions, I am always looking for new goodies to give my food allergy-ridden Shiba. Since your Shiba is allergic to wheat, I wanted to mention the Natural Balance treat roll, duck and potato formula in place of the Natural Balance dog food rolls in lamb, beef, or turkey. There is no wheat in the duck & potato treat roll, so maybe your Shibz can enjoy that

By: Jess

Jess — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 18:25:49 +0000

Thank you so much – that is exactly the information I was looking for. And I also must admit that I was thinking I already sent those to you but am realizing now that I didn’t! I’ll get to mom’s this weekend – my pictures of him are stored on her computer – and PROMISE to send you some to pick from. I also need to send you his series of pictures which I’ve dubbed “Shiba ‘Death to my Tail’ Chase”… yeah, you can imagine. ;o) Go hug those doggies for me!

By: shibashake

shibashake — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 17:20:12 +0000

Hi Jess,
I started with rawhide but several trainers warned me about them. The problem with rawhide is that sometimes dogs chew of pieces that are too large and when they swallow them, they may choke on them. Based on what I read, Shiba’s are susceptible because of their long sharp teeth which allows them to tear chunks off effectively.

Another problem with rawhide is that it is not digestible by dogs. As a result, it may also cause digestive issues if it absorbs water and expands in the dog’s stomach.

I now use bully sticks. I don’t give them too much of these, maybe about 1 per week or less. The nice thing about bully sticks it that it is digestible, and is mostly made up of protein.

However, they are more expensive and the dogs can get through them very quickly. Shania finishes one in about 15-20 minutes. Still though, she likes it very much. Sephy is weird and will only work on bully sticks that have first been per-chewed by Shania.

Bully sticks can also be somewhat smelly. Some of this is brand dependent.

Anyway send me some pictures of Zeus when you have the time so I can include them with his new poem.