Dehydrated Snacks

[mackbob]

I'm sure many of you have heard about the dangers of those chicken jerky treats and such! Not to mention they are quite expensive. So I bought a Nesco dehydrator on Amazon (think it was around $40 at the time). I buy either organic chicken from the butcher (you can use regular chicken too) and have them make thin strips for you. You just throw them on the dehydrator and usually after about 14 hours you've got a ton of healthy treats. I also use ground venison and flatten it out and dry them. The dogs go CRAZY for both! Venison also dries a lot faster! Within a few hours. You can buy the filets at mexican markets as well and slice those up. Also, my ex's bully that I take care of, has arthritis so i sprinkle Dasaquin on the venison. Just thought I'd share. It's a lot cheaper and safer!

 

[nycbullymama]

I dunno, I don't fee jerky because I think it's a chocking hazard.
Bulldogs tend to swallow without chewing, so a piece of jerky can easily get stuck. If it's soft and you can easily break it into small pieces, then maybe jerky can be made safer?

 

[bullmama]

Great idea!


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[cali baker]

I get nervous when feeding them jerky too...at least the commercially bought ones. I've never made my own. They do tend to inhale these snacks and when i give them a piece I hover and watch them super closely to make sure they won't gag. I do like the idea of home-made though.

 

[bullmama]

Home made is ideal I'm thinking because you can size them appropriately. The only dehydrated jerky style treats I've ever gotten were salmon bites and they were nice and small.


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[2BullyMama]

good info

 

[Davidh]

Seems like a good idea, even though we don't give ours jerky, but you could also dehydrate some fruits. We give ours "Fruitables" treats.

 

[mackbob]

I dunno, I don't fee jerky because I think it's a chocking hazard.
Bulldogs tend to swallow without chewing, so a piece of jerky can easily get stuck. If it's soft and you can easily break it into small pieces, then maybe jerky can be made safer?

these are actually really flaky. you can cut them into any size you want. My puppy did try to swallow one giant one today and choked on it! But the big guys have never had an issue. They tend to eat it piece by piece.

 

[mackbob]

Home made is ideal I'm thinking because you can size them appropriately. The only dehydrated jerky style treats I've ever gotten were salmon bites and they were nice and small.


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I put in big thin piece and then break them apart. Sometimes I'll give a big giant one as a mini-meal. But they tend to crumble on their own. Especially the chicken ones. The key is to make sure the raw meat is thinly sliced.

 

[mackbob]

I get nervous when feeding them jerky too...at least the commercially bought ones. I've never made my own. They do tend to inhale these snacks and when i give them a piece I hover and watch them super closely to make sure they won't gag. I do like the idea of home-made though.

Definitely something to be nervous about. A friend of mine had a pooch that got extremely sick from treats she bought from Costco. I don't trust even the made in USA ones.

 

[Marine91]

Harlea's main treat is dehydrated bananas. They tend to get crunchy and she actually chews them.

 

[yulia]

I'm sure many of you have heard about the dangers of those chicken jerky treats and such! Not to mention they are quite expensive. So I bought a Nesco dehydrator on Amazon (think it was around $40 at the time). I buy either organic chicken from the butcher (you can use regular chicken too) and have them make thin strips for you. You just throw them on the dehydrator and usually after about 14 hours you've got a ton of healthy treats. I also use ground venison and flatten it out and dry them. The dogs go CRAZY for both! Venison also dries a lot faster! Within a few hours. You can buy the filets at mexican markets as well and slice those up. Also, my ex's bully that I take care of, has arthritis so i sprinkle Dasaquin on the venison. Just thought I'd share. It's a lot cheaper and safer!

have you tried using it on stomach tripe? for example, ground one, flattened, like you do with bison? once the meat is dehydrated, does it need to be stored in the fridge? Yesterday at a natural pet store I saw a treat made of dry grass-fed green stomach tripe, $13 for few stripes of it. I thought it was waay overpriced, so I did not buy it. now I wonder if I can do it myself...