Skip to content

Best treats for sensitive stomach & picky eater!

Basenji Feeding
  • Greetings all!

    Our 9 yr old girl Zhandi does really great on her dog food, and has been consistent in this, but seems to get loose stools, gurgling tummy, but NO vomiting whenever we try to give any kind of treat that is anything other than her dog food.
    I'm assuming it may be because she's so used to what's been good for her so far that now anything new is causing an upset tummy! At this point we've gone through several nice brands all to the same effect of getting poops, but always passing fairly quickly within a day or two at most (definitely the treats, nothing else, as she isn't allowed to eat any human scraps).

    I'm wondering what would be good to give her as treats other than store-bought ones, such as fresh carrots or other fruits and veggies (although she won't eat them raw) and how to best prepare (such as steaming, raw, sliced thin, boiling)?

    I figure if her stomach is sensitive to store-bought treats, then fresh snacks should only do her good! What are some of everyone's B's favs?

    I want to find something her stomach can handle, I feel bad she hasn't been able to enjoy a consequence-free treat in a while!

  • @zhandizoo - Make your own... get yourself a dehydrator, well worth the money both for doggy treats and humas treats. I make chicken for mine...along with many fruits/veggies.

  • @tanza said in Best treats for sensitive stomach & picky eater!:

    I make chicken for mine...along with many fruits/veggies.

    Do you have specific recipes for this, or are you just dehydrating for long term storage?

  • Sometimes it's just the ceremony, so giving her kibble as "treats" works fine.

    One thing you don't want to do is keep giving different treats. Pick one, give only a pea size bite several times a day. You can use the dehydrator for meat or fruits or veggies.

  • @elbrant - No recipe.... I use chicken tenders, pound them fairly thin and into the dehydrator for about 12 hours.... fruits/veggies cut into bit size and into the dehydrator. Nothing added.
    Never last long term... LOL the Basenji love them as treats.... and/or training rewards.

  • Try RBBB (raw beef brisket bones). The dogs enjoy them, and good for their teeth. No debris to pick up as the bones get consumed - I find two to three inches per bone, more larger than smaller, gives good crunchies that they enjoy.

  • @redial - That would be nice if they were available in the US.... but they are not... at least not in California.... there are no local butchers so to speak and the super markets do not get the brisket bone with the meat

  • @tanza said in Best treats for sensitive stomach & picky eater!:

    the super markets do not get the brisket bone with the meat

    I don't get Brisket, but I am able to get beef "Neck Bones" from my local market. Call your grocer early (6 or 7am) and ask them to put the Neck bones to the side for you. They should have some whenever they cut their Chuck Roast, so most likely every day. I usually get 5-6 in a pack for ~$1# (USD). I don't think I've ever paid more than $2 for a package. The bones are different shapes with varying amounts of meat on them.

    I put them on a cookie sheet, freeze them about an hour, then store them in a zippered freezer bag, the same way I do the canned Pumpkin. doodle gets one almost every day. Our summer heat index is typically in the triple digits, so this is her "beefsickle". Don't forget to count the calories as part of their daily intake.

  • I know this topic is old, but I give my B freeze dried salmon bites as treats. I usually find them in the cat section

Suggested Topics

  • Picky Basenji

    Basenji Feeding
    13
    0 Votes
    13 Posts
    5k Views
    CrazySenjiC
    Zande’s recommendation is spot on for a healthy dog who is simply picky. I cried myself to sleep many times over one of my dogs. I was convinced he was going to die! He’d like a food a few days and then stop. I mixed everything into it, tried raw (he hates it), tried every protein, every type of food, etc etc. Same results!! The only thing that worked was finding a food he liked and I felt comfortable feeding and stuck with it. Yes he’d skip some meals but at 5 years old he now eats his food with very little issue. You REALLY have to practice tough love and sick to it. If your dog is healthy it WILL work! For the record, I feed Fromm and rotate flavors. He does not do grain free as the good carbs help keep weight on him.
  • 10y/o with a sensitive stomach

    Basenji Feeding
    11
    0 Votes
    11 Posts
    8k Views
    S
    @Baxterandbailey – my 12yo male just went through something very similar and he too had diarrhea issues with the rimadyl. He actually had better relief from prednisone than the rimadyl/tramadol combo. He had a sensitive tummy too and does well on Wellness Senior. Also for his stiffness and arthritis, (this may sound crazy) I use a dog-sized dose of horse vitamins my mom uses for her Arabian mares. I just mix it in his food and he loves it. It's called For-a-Flex Joint Support. It is pricey, but it'll last a long time for a dog vs a horse lol.
  • Best Puppy Food

    Basenji Feeding
    5
    0 Votes
    5 Posts
    6k Views
    ?
    It is also important to consider the breed of your dog when choosing the food. Larger dog breeds will always require higher levels of nutrients that prevent bone issues and other health problems later in life. Discuss nutrition with your veterinarian if you aren’t sure about the levels of protein your puppy might need.I would recommend Nature's Variety, Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance, and Solid Gold.
  • 0 Votes
    9 Posts
    4k Views
    lvossL
    You can get Fresh Digest at Petco. Prozyme you can order from Drs Foster and Smith online. Both are probiotics. The size sold at Petco is about 100 servings.
  • Making dehydrated treats

    Basenji Feeding
    12
    0 Votes
    12 Posts
    11k Views
    Steadam2011S
    I wash the sweet potatoes first then dry them off very well, depending on how thick you cut them will determined either how crisp or how chewy they will come out. I do not put anything on my potatoes at all. I slice mine about 1/8 of a inch thick and then dehydrate them for the dogs. I than keep them in a zip lock bad in the fridge. The thicker you slice them the more chewy they are. It takes mine about 12 to 14 hours to get to the point where my dogs like them. You'll have to just test times to see where you want them for your dog. World news of celebrity Famous Gossip Celebrity News bulletin World Entertainment News
  • Picky eater

    Basenji Feeding
    14
    0 Votes
    14 Posts
    7k Views
    C
    I have learned a lot by going back through old threads. I was wondering what to feed and if what I was feeding was good. Beeji was being fed a dry only diet while at the vet hospital and they said he was a picky eater and wouldn't eat all his kibble at one time. When I got him home, I used a combo of Pedigree and Purina dry but he wasn't eating very much as was losing weight and some tone. I decided to get some Purina wet food, I think I got Mighty Dog and just put a tablespoon of wet into a cup of dry and mixed it completely. Beeji attacked that bowl of food as if he hadn't eaten in days, which he really hadn't. Now that I have read all the other threads and esp. Bryans notes on feeding, I am going to recheck the Kcals and see what wets and drys are best for Beeji. I like Purina so will probably check on their foods first. For treats, Beeji loves peanut butter inside his Kong, and we were given a box of I think milk bone dog bisquits from the vet so I have been giving him a couple of those per day, but want to find some other snacks that he will like. We are having a bit of an argument (hate to say battle of wills with a Basenji LOL) about if Beeji is allowed to get up on me or the table. I say absolutely no paws on the table and so far he is accepting that, but in typical clever dog mode, he puts his paws on my leg, rises up and he isn't technically on the table, but amazingly his head and nose seem to always tilt toward my plate no matter which side he is on!!! So now, we are working on the command off and putting him in a sit away from the table. This has just started and so the success rate isn't there yet. However, he is trying to be a gentleman and tries to stay where he is. I am so lucky and amazed at how well he is behaving given I have no history of him at all. He will let me handle him anywhere on his body. Lets me take food away if he is at his bowl, (we went very slowly with that one!) but he was fine. He lets me check his teeth etc. The only thing I am finding is when he gets excited he wants to mouth me and I don't allow that. Whenever I feel teeth he gets a correction and I ignore him till he calms down. so far he is trying, but occassionally, he has to climb up in my lap and then "nibble" on my ear. What a lover boy! but he immediately stops when I say no. then licks me. And he loves getting in his crate at night. I usually give him just a finger full of peanut butter inside his Kong and/or a treat and he hops right in. He must of had some training before me. Sure wish I knew his history. Thanks for all the good advice. Aloha, Cheryl