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Thursday 5 April 2012

Treats with no wheat

Can anyone recommend good quality treats that have no cereals in them?

I have an inkling that my JRT is allergic to wheat so I'm trying an elimination diet but can't find any cereal-free treats in my local pet shops (even the fish treats I looked at had cereal in them!).

Anon, by email

Alison Logan, vet, advises...

When I am supervising a patient on an elimination diet, the question of treats always crops up. Best advice is to avoid complicating the issue. Sticking to the elimination diet can be hard enough without then trying to find a suitable treat which does not inadvertently add in different foods, so I always advise using the elimination diet as a treat as well. If you are using a manufactured kibble, then simply give a nugget of that when you want to give your dog a treat, as it is the receiving of the treat which your dog is expecting, not necessarily what the treat actually is. If you are home-cooking an elimination diet, then a piece of that food can be given as a treat.

If you have any concerns, please ask your vet for advice. You have not mentioned what has made you think your JRT has a wheat allergy, so do be careful with pursuing an elimination diet in case there is a different health problem present.

9 comments:

  1. We run a dog creche with almost 100 dogs so we have a number of different dogs with sensitivities.

    We use various treat depending on those allergies some of these include Sweet Potato and Pet Munchies

    See DogsNaturally.co.uk (this is also us) even if it is just to get some ideas as we have a whole section of natural treats that maybe of use. Happy to help if you have questions

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  2. Why not simply try raw chicken wings? If new to the wing, your dog may well play with it for a short time but, once it realises it's edible, will wolf it down.

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  3. Cube up a can of Spam and keep it in the fridge

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  4. My swissie also has trouble with cereals - we feed all of our animals with food and treats from Natural Instinct http://www.naturalinstinct.com/ I honestly cannot recommend them highly enough - their food is wonderful and so is their service.

    The liver treats are always a HUGE hit - but bear in mind that they do need to be refrigerated. For out-and-about training treats, we use freeze-dried liver, which we buy from amazon in big tubs. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003L6HZGW/ref=wms_ohs_product

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  5. Have a look at Burns?

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  6. fish for dogs fish skins shouldnt have wheat in them, or cube cheese, chicken or liver ! Barf are now selling turkey and other meat treats so maybe worth a look at those as they are used along with the raw diet!

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  7. I have a wheat allergy so have wheat and gluten free flour in the house. I make liver cake for my dog so use wheat free flour to do so. The recipe does include egg of course so beware if dog has an agg allergy.

    Good luck, Margaret

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  8. Inka was 'diagnosed' with a corn intolerance recently, and corn is just as difficult to stay away from as wheat!

    I tend to make my own treats using eggs, garlic, meat, 'alternative' flours (rye, soy, etc), meat, and corn-free gravy; blend it all up & then microwave it; however, I also want something "ready-made" to have lying around the house, so I turned to the company that manufactures his food - CSJ - and their fish-based 'Trainers' are 95% fish and 5% rice. He adores them, though for training treats they're a bit large, but apparently they can be moistened without losing their shape, so they might be able to be further cubed by soaking them in water for a short while.

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  9. I tend to use meat, cooked meat pieces, as they are really high value to my dogs. Chicken pieces and cut up hotdogs are a favourite.

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