Rocco & Roxi Beef Jerky Strips

[Wynnie & Jim]

I have been using Rocco & Roxi's beef jerky strips for almost 1 year as a training treat. The strips are premium, all beef, smoked for 15 hours and are made in the USA. They are top rated on Amazon with a 5 -star rating. My puppy loves them and I only use the treat on special occasions. My fur kid has NOT shown any allergic or digestive reaction to the jerky strips. Has anyone else used this product? and What is the Food Groups opinion of this product?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I hadn't heard of this company before, but the jerky treats look fine. The website states that the meat is sourced in the USA (made in the USA is nice but doesn't mean as much), which is the main concern. On-line ratings don't mean much either, there are people out there giving 5 stars to Beneful, lol. 

It's a very tiny company from what I can tell, with a very limited product line, only two types of treats and a pet stain eliminating cleaner.

http://roccoandroxie.com/collections/all

 They don't appear to sell their products in stores, and they don't have much info on who and where they actually are.  It may actually be a one or two man operation, and they make these treats themselves, or it may be a side line, I wasn't able to find out much about the ownership of the company on-line. For that reason, you may want to be cautious about the quality control. Does the packaging have any information about exactly where the company is located? 

[Wynnie & Jim]

Karen, thank you for the reply. Rocco and Roxi are located in Provo, Utah. The Company states that they use high quality beef and they slow cook it for 15 hours. It has rice protein, spices, salt, sugar, garlic powder and sodium nitrite. As indicated in the earlier post, this treat is just one of many that I use for training and is used sparingly. My puppy has not had any problems with it and loves the jerky but I wonder about the salt, garlic powder and sodium nitrite.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yeah, I'd rather not see the salt, sugar, garlic & sodium nitrate in there either. None of them is necessary or good for dogs, especially the sodium nitrate. In humans, it contributes to the risk of heart disease and circulatory disorders and has been linked to cancer. I think I'd avoid these.  We do have some very good treat brands on our recommended list, many of which make jerky without any added flavorings. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here's a link to our recommended treat brands list: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/recomme...

For jerky type treats, I'd look at Healthy Partners, Plato, Real Meat Pet, Tyson True Chews, or Tucker's Bones, and I'm sure there are others there that have jerky. Real Meat Pet in particular is excellent and makes lots of different jerky "flavors". 

[Wynnie & Jim]

Karen, thank you for the insights and for the recommendations.

[BG and Gavin]

Have you ever considered getting a dehydrator and making your own treats? It is really simple and not very time consuming. I do sweet potatoes which my guy just loves, but you can do all different kinds of fruit, veggies and meat. I put them on before bed and in the morning they are done. I store in a sealed bag in the fridge and it lasts for weeks.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There are quite a few discussions (with recipes) here in TFG on making your own dehydrator treats. Here's a good one: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/dehydra...