[1605]

Zio is a "cookie whore". :wink:

Basically, he'll do anything for Iams Puppy Biscuits, which make them good training aids/treats. However, given what has been happening with them the last few months, I won't be buying them anymore.

Back in April I brought home a box from the local Petsmart, opened it & found it infested with bugs (possibly flying ants). Back the box went. Bought another box from the nearest PetCo. No problem.

Two days ago bought another box from the local PetCo. Opened the box.... you guessed it. TOTALLY INFESTED WITH ANTS. Back went the box. Didn't buy another one.

So I call Iams Consumer line to inform them of this problem. They are of course very shocked by what I tell them. So sorry. Sending me lots of coupons for lots of free stuff. Yadda, yadda yadda. However, it was abundantly clear that this was a problem that originated at Iam's manufacturing level because:

- both companies are large enough that they get products directly shipped from Iams to their distrubution centre.
- in both cases there was no external indication of infestation: the boxes are shrink wrapped and there was no evidence of bugs between the cellophane & the boxes.

Frankly, no matter how much Zio loves their bikkies, we won't be buying any more of them.

So now the search is on for some good dog biscuits. I must have stood at the PetCo for an hour after returning their Iams looking at them all!

I'm thinking something with peanut butter maybe? I think it needs to be something with a similar texture to the Iams so they can also be used as training treats. (Hey, he's going for his CD this Summer... gotta keep him sharp! :biggrin

Thoughts?

 

[whiteleo]

Well, if Iams is anything like their dogfood then you just did yourself a favor. Their are many good for your dog treats out there you just have to do some research and look at the ingredients. I personally have moved on from buying my treats and such at Petco and Petsmart, although I'm sure a lot of people on here can give you great ideas. I use dehydrated treats that are 100% natural with no corn wheat or soy. Good luck!

 

[Unosmom]

thats disgusting

the only ones I can think of is Old Mother Hubbard and Blue Dog Bakery cookies, theyre sold at Petsmart. I think Petco sells Buddy Biscuits.
I recently came across these treats from cloud star and decided to try them since theyre grain free, Uno loves them!
Cloud Star Provenance Dog Treats, Grain-free Cheese & Potato Flavor, 16-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 4): Amazon.com: Home & Garden

 

[lorih1770]

Yes, I would stay away from Iams anything.

My dogs love the Wellness treats, Zukes treats (they have a peanut butter biscut), and Natural Balance Rolls treats. I just bought Natural Balance treats for the first time a few days ago and my dogs are CRAZY over it. I also like to use boiled chicken or all natural hot dogs for training treats.

 

[rannmiller]

Blue Buffalo also makes a decent crunchy biscuit, but don't get them from PetCo, they're twice as expensive as Petsmart! If you want to try Buddy Biscuits, you can get them cheaper at Trader Joe's too, if you have one.

Also, you can dry dehydrated beef liver, he should love that!

 

[wags]

Put low fat peanut butter or fat free peanut butter in a kong freeze it overnight and wala :biggrin: wonderful treat for the pups and takes a bit of time to get through it!

Wellness makes good treats bars, bites, pure rewards great products! I also go for the low fat treats. My dogs at first were like nope not having that low fat yuck but once they figured ok I am not getting anything else, well they decided they were good. Innova health bars are very nutricious and good! Cloud star peanut butter buddy biscuits are a good choice! Merrick offers nice treats also!

If you have a dehydrator you can dehydrate chicken breasts cut small and little and also beef liver, chicken liver, you can of course do this in the oven for treats, but with the liver stinks up the whole house!:frown:

 

[1605]

Once again Dog Food Chat comes through... lots of great suggestions for biscuits!

During actual obedience classes we use low sodium turkey hotdogs that we nuke & cut up into small morsels that are "just a taste" enough for Zio to know he's getting an exclusive reward when he does something right in the ring. We only use them during those training sessions to reinforce the special nature of that time & place.

Originally we were using chicken hotdogs, but after noticing how thirsty he was after classes, I looked more carefully at the labels and was shocked at how much sodium they contained. So I went on a quest to find low-sodium chicken or turkey dogs at our local supermarkets and was able to find some at one particular Sweetbay. As an aside, it also got me looking more closely at the hotdogs we were eating. Now when we indulge, we also have much better beef 'dogs. So thanks, Zio! :wink:

Meanwhile, for training sessions at home, we have been using the Iams, because they broke into small pieces without crumbling. Obviously looking for something else now....

So thanks again for all the recommendations! :biggrin:

Cheryl

 

[jeffitup]

I am the Senior Executive Stocker at our local PetsMart, I help put the products in the store shelves when it comes in on the eighteenwheelers. Speaking only from my own experience-we are pretty good at our store about removing contaminated or out of date consumables from the shelves. There is actually a written procedure we have to use to check each item. But it is possible I guess for something to get contaminated during shipment or while in short term storage. We once at 4 in the morning had a stray cat actually run into one of the trailers while we were unloading it with the forklift-the cat chewed through & ate some of the food! Ants in the box sounds like a definite product problem though!
:smile:

 

[TippysMom]

CloudStar makes peanut butter cookies - you can order them & they're sent right to your door! I've been getting a variety of CloudStar treats for my dogs for years & never had a problem with any of them. Reasonably priced & come in different sizes - no wheat or corn in most of their treats too! (CloudStar.com)

 

[1605]

Well, as expected, we wound up with a whole bunch of coupons for free 4# boxes of Iams puppy biscuits. My husband says we should at least redeem ONE box, but at this stage I would rather give them away to people than take another chance on bug-infested bikkies!

The only problem is that they sent me all these coupons and they have my name on them, so I don't know how much of a hassle it would be to "gift" them to others.

Meanwhile, we bought a big bag of assorted Ol Mother Hubbard biscuits, and Zio seems to be enjoying them. They are not so small that they can't be broken into a couple of pieces for "treat training", yet a good enough texture that they don't crumble when you DO break them.

And, while they do contain SOME wheat, I don't think that they will have a big impact on his diet, since they don't make up that much of his diet.

Thanks for the input!