Allergy-free Kong fillers and bully sticks

[Melissa Bissell]

Hi-

We will bring our pup home on the 15th.  Any suggestions for Kong fillers that do not include dairy, egg, wheat, nut, fish.  My children are allergic to these foods and we avoid them in our house.  I was thinking about using coconut milk yogurt instead of cows milk yogurt.  Thoughts?  Also, are bully sticks ok for pups as young as 8 weeks?  If not, at what age?  Any other suggestions for treats or chewing type foods?

Thanks! 

[Shari Becker]

I second sweet potatoes. Our dog also loves frozen peas, cooked carrots and cooked broccoli and cooked green beans. Apples are her favorite of all time! Can you use sunbutter? I have never looked into it for the dog, but our preschool didn't allow nut butters, so my whole family got used to eating sunflower seed butter. We have dairy and gluten allergies in our house. They are not life threatening, so I don't worry too much, but I tend to cook without those ingredients with some frequency. I've made dog treats using GF flours. You don't need eggs. You can find recipes online that use applesauce and pumpkin and even pureed meats as binders. We do order those dried sweet potatoes on Amazon. Can your kids tolerate goat's milk products? That's another option, too. There are a lot of additives in mock milk products to make them milk-like, so that would be my only concern for the dog. But I don't know. We drink coconut milk in our house all the time, but I was under the impression that the jury is out on coconut and dogs. Or is it coconut oil? Does anyone know if it's safe?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's safe in moderation. It has no health benefits whatsoever, but it shouldn't hurt them. 

[Melissa Bissell]

Thank You - great suggestions!  I am going to look for some of those allergy/gluten-free dog treat recipes!  And also try the cooked veggies - maybe that will convince my son to eat some of those veggies also!!! :-)