Buddy's Kitchen Off-Leash treats?

[Renee Hacker]

I'm sorry if this has been asked here already, I don't have any luck when I use the search function here...

My Mom came over today with a bag of Off-Leash grain-free training treats made by Buddy's Kitchen.  Before I give any to Lily I wanted to check with all of you to see if you know anything about them and if you think they're ok.  The bag says "No Grain, Wheat, Corn, Soy or artificial flavors added".  They are made in Canada, and the website says their ingredients are "sourced locally".

Here's the website link to them:  http://www.buddyskitchen.ca/treats?product_id=91

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, I'm confused, because the treat in the link you provided lists the ingredients for these treats as:

Ingredients: wheat flour, chicken, dried apple pomace, vegetable glycerin, natural flavors, citric acid, mixed tocopherols

Perhaps the treats your mom gave you are different ones, and not the fire-grilled chicken? 

As far as the company itself and the sourcing, that seems fine to me. But it's odd that they make a chicken treat that contains more wheat than chicken, lol.   I would not give my dog a treat that had wheat flour as the first ingredient. In fact, I wouldn't give my dog treats that contain wheat at all, as it is the single ingredient most likely to cause an allergic reaction or a digestive upset. 

[Lori, Daphne, Lucy & Pippa]

Karen, I bought some treats yesterday that I thought were good based on ingredients only. The name of them is: "100% Natural Peanut Butter Plus" by Pet n Shape. They contain only Peanut Butter Bluberries & Strawberries and gelatin. Sounded good, till I got the bag home and read that they are made in China. Can fruit from China be bad? If so I will take them right back! Here is their website:

http://petnshape.com

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The problem with any edible ingredients from China, including fruit, is that you can't be sure that's actually what's in there. In the massive 2007 recalls, in which thousands of dogs and cats died or were made permanently ill from food ingedients imported from China, it was found that the companies that supplied the glutens substituted melamine to cut costs. Under chemical analysis, melamine looks like protein due to the high nitrogen content. It took forever for them to figure out what was making the animals sick. (Subsequently, melamine ended up in baby formula in China.)The recent chicken jerky from China recalls are similar in that something is making dogs sick, but they can't figure out what it is. There is no oversight of the supply chain with ingredients from China. There are so many middle men that nobody is sure what's in any given product. I'm not even going to look at the website, take them back. 

[Lori, Daphne, Lucy & Pippa]

Thanks Karen, I will take them back ASAP! I will also read your suggested reading below. I know that you have put a LOT of time and effort into all the knowledge you give us so freely!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thank you, Lori. I promise you will not be sorry that you took the time to read it. :-)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I implore every FG member to read Pet Food Politics by Marion Nestle. It explains all of the above and more. I cannot emphasize this enough. You can get it from the library, or rent it for your e-reader, you don't have to spend a lot of $, and it is a very fast easy read, not dry or boring; Nestle is even humorous. Until you read this book, you cannot really grasp the issue of importing ingredients from China and how the way many companies do business now is threatening the health & safety of your family as well as your dogs. Pet foods are very closely linked to the the human food supply chain, as these companies also manufacture the feed for the animals that are our food supply, i.e. cattle, chickens, lamb, etc. You really owe it to yourself to read this book.

[Renee Hacker]

Well on the package it lists Buckwheat Flour as the first ingredient.  Is that the same as regular wheat flour?  They are definitely the Fire Grilled Chicken flavor. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Technically, buckwheat is not a grain, it's a seed, and is not related to wheat. But it is  starchy carbohydrate, which would not be my first choice of ingredient for dog treats. The name is kind of misleading, as most people would assume it was mainly a chicken treat. But it shouldn't be harmful.