Reintroducing Jerky Treats

The only "store-bought" treats our girls get are Beggin Strips. Made in Iowa and New York (according to the package). We figure they're safe, and the girls LOVE them! Say either "treat" or "bacon" and they come a running :D

Milkbone Analysis wrote:
GUARANTEED ANALYSES
Crude Protein 15.0% min.
Crude Fat 5.0% min.
Crude Fiber 3.5% max.
Moisture 12.0% max.
Calcium 0.54% min.
Phosphorus 0.45% min.
Copper 6.6 mg/kg min.
Zinc 108 mg/kg min.
Iodine 1.4 mg/kg min.
Vitamin A 4500 IU/kg min.
Vitamin D 450 IU/kg min.
Vitamin E 45 IU/kg min.
Riboflavin 2.0 mg/kg min.
Pantothenic Acid 9 mg/kg min.
Vitamin B12 0.020 mg/kg min.
Choline 1080 mg/kg min.

They do have food value. Whether or not the calorie content is worth the supplement is another question.

Lots of problems with tainted snacks, and obesity. I think the answer is pretty obvious.

DD brought over a bag of Beggin Strips and a box of small Milkbones for our two little dogs. They've never had either of those before. I will give them a Beggin' strip broke in half (It's not a big bag of them) but the Milkbone worries me. I can't see any food value there, and Darcy is overweight from supplementing her diet with snack size wildlife. Should I just toss the Milkbones?

We just use pieces of the dogs' kibble for treats, or if they're really lucky, very small pieces of apple or green beans.

Seeing things from the manufacturer's side, when you've gone through everything and have not found the source of the product failure you have only two choices: make another lot of product (using what you believe are the best raw materials and best production methods) or stop making your product (deal with unfulfilled orders and lay off employees).

I've been through this process before (product failure but no source of the failure found) and I can tell you it is very unsatisfying for the manufacturer to not find a cause. Without finding a cause you're just waiting for the product to fail in the same way again; sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't.

We bought a meat slicer and dehydrator about two years ago. Originally we tried the oven on low but that was a bit messy and hard to clean up. We now run two dehydrators after slicing around 42 lbs wet weight of chicken breast. After dehydrating we freeze it. Works great and last over a month for two dogs. You need to slice the breast while still semi frozen for best results.

Ground beef works great in a dehydrator, and you can add spices to make it tasty....use to make this kind of jerky for my son when he was overseas..........The whole unit loved them........

I'm lucky enough to get scraps from my deer-hunting friends, often stringy lower-leg sections. Those gristle/tendons sections make beautiful "jerky treats" for my rat terrier. I just whack them into strips and dry them out on low in the oven.

I do store them in the freezer just in case my "cure" method hasn't completely dried them out....not that Millie probably wouldn't PREFER them a little on the rotten side!

We give our gang cheddar cheese for a snack of if I cook up some chicken breast or what we feel is safe for them that I cook up.