# Question about Cesars dog food and Waggin Trail treats



## DazzleKitty (Aug 23, 2011)

Okay, I know these two brands in the title probably aren't so well liked here, but I want to ask.

I had a topic started here a while back about trying to switch my dog over from Cesars wet food and Nutro dry food (I mix them together....she prefers to have wet food with her dry food) entirely to Blue Buffalo dry food and wet food.
She took to the dry BB food quickly. I feed her the senior small dog formula, as she is a little Chihuahua that is going to be 11 years old in March. She didn't like the wet food at all. I even tried starving her and she wouldn't even touch the dry food with the wet food in it. 

So what I've been doing is probably bad, but I've been mixing a little bit of Cesars which she loves with the Blue Buffalo dry food. I know Cesars isn't healthy but I heard it's better than other brands out there like Iams, Ol Roy, Purina, etc and I have the comfort of knowing she is getting some nutrition from her dry food. My biggest concern is whether or not it contains euthanized animals, especially other pets. I find it disturbing that other foods do. It never made the list of recalled dog foods when the whole Iams video came out that shows the dogs and cats being used in the food. 
Does anyone know if Cesars contains rendered pets? I know it has meat by products but don't know if all companies use euthanized animals as their mystery meat. Anyone know enough about this brand to tell?

I was at the vet and was telling one of the nurses about the Iams video when she tried to tell me to feed Dixie Purina food. She was really condescending and made me feel like a fool. I told her about the video and she acted like I was either lying or was nuts. This is a proven truth, right? That some dog foods contain pets?


Also, my second part is about the Waggin Trail jerky treats you find at stores. I give them to Dixie from time to time. I always saw how they boasted they were an American company but when I was examining the package today I saw it was made in China, which freaked me out. I then looked online and saw that some of the chicken jerky from that line has been making dogs sick and killing them recently. 
I bought her the ham jerky and give her the peaunt butter flavored biscuits wrapped in chicken.

I am thinking about throwing them away. Does anyone know anything about these treats? Can you recommend a good jerky brand to give to Dixie that is from a reputable company?

If she wasn't a fussy eater I'd just feed her something truly healthy. She's very picky and spoiled. My fault, I know. :/

Thanks in advance.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Have you tried any other canned food besides blue buffalo? maybe wellness, canidae, taste of the wild? I dont feed canned now, but back in the day my dog loved whole earth farms, it smells very good, even to me. 

anyways, I looked up cesars cause I have no clue whats in it

Sufficient Water For Processing, Beef By Products, Liver, Poultry By Products, Beef, Caramel Coloring, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Carrageenan, Dried Yam, Xanthan Gum, Natural Flavors, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Erythorbate Acid, Liquid Top Sirloin Flavor, Guar Gum, Zinc Sulfate, Vitamin A, D3 and E Supplements, Sodium Nitrate (For Color Retention), D-calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1). 6 Grilled Chicken: Sufficient Water For Processing, Beef By Products, Meat By Products, Liver, Poultry By Products, Chicken, Liquid Grilled Chicken Flavor, Calcium Carbonate, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Carrageenan, Dried Yam, Xanthan Gum, Natural Flavors, Salt, Erythorbic Acid, Guar Gum, Potassium Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Sodium Nitrite (For Color Retention), Vitamin A, D3, and E Supplements, D-calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1).


I dont see any unnamed meat and bone meals(thats the mystery meals you way to stay away from since they can contain unknown animals), but I'm not happy about all the byproducts either. I think the reason your dog is addicted to this food is because it has a lot of artificial flavoring. 

So I'd try few premium canned foods because in reality cesars isnt as nutritious as you think it is, feeding dry BB alone offers better nutrition. 

As far as chicken jerky goes, I stay away from 99% of jerky on the market, majority comes from china

couple brands that are U.S made are blue buffalo and konas chips
Dog Jerky, Jerky Dog Treats, Chicken Jerky Dog Treats, Dog Jerky made in the USA | Products Kona's Chips

BLUE’s Wilderness Chicken Jerky are all natural dog Jerky and contain no corn, wheat, soy or artificial flavors and colors.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

There are some really nice canned foods. We keep a few on hand in case of emergency. I would definately not feed those treat those. There are really great dehydrated liver, chicken and lamb lung treat made in the USA. It is not a chance I would take with my pup and she is so picky about treats in my home she wouldn't get any because I wouldn't risk her health. JMHO


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Do not buy anything with any of these symbols on the packet. It means it has been radiated (unless you are happy with radiated food of course). Generally, the imported chicken jerky treats have this symbol on the packet somewhere.
The first symbol is the international symbol, the second one is the US FDA symbol.
It makes you wonder about what exactly is wrong with the chicken jerky treats. It says on the packet there is only chicken in the ingredients, so what is in 'chicken' to make so many dogs having major problems, and this has been going on for years. Beats me, you have to be so careful to find the 'made in china' sometimes, there was one packet where I just could not see it and eventually found it in tiny letters on the underneath of the bag (it was a pouch shaped bag). It's so sneaky.


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## greyshadows (Jan 30, 2012)

Petco has one brand of jerky made in the US, but it's quite a bit more expensive. I bought a dehydrator and I make my own homemade chicken jerky for the dogs. Very reasonable after the initial cost of the dehydrator. Before I bought Milos Chicken jerky and then one day I realized some bags were made in China and some in the US! Same price, same packaging. Sneaky,....Refuse to buy anything from China.


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## DazzleKitty (Aug 23, 2011)

Ugh, the ones I've been feeding her have that radiation symbol on it.

The only ones having the issues it seems is the chicken jerky. Think I would be okay giving her the ham treats for now until I get a new bag? I'm throwing the chicken away.

I like to give her one jerky treat when I get home from work. She knows I do it and expects it. But I'm thinking maybe I should skip tonight.

I wish they wouldn't let things like this get on the market. Seriously. This is just pathetic. I have heard people complain the FDA is more picky with pet food but they don't know the reality of this stuff. Ugh....I feel kind of like I'm poisoning Dixie. 

I try to be open to other cultures but I think China's meat market has a dark side, for both human consumption and that used in dog food. A dark side....hah, that's putting it WAY too lightly. 

Well, I am going to go to Petco on my next day off. I may try mixing a better canned food with her Blue Buffalo....I know Innova is good...and I remember seeing Wellness in the store too. I'm super paranoid of upsetting her tummy but I'm gonna slowly but surely try. I'd like her last few remaining years with me to be healthy. I don't like the idea of what I might be feeding her. She loves her Cesars but dang....I can tell it's not healthy. Also, the ingredients listed above don't have meat by products, but some of the other flavors do. I read the list of ingredients on the back of the flavor I fed her today and it indeed has mystery meat.

How long does wet food stay good in the fridge if it's in a sealed plastic container? Most stores only sell large cans (Cesars conveniently comes in small packets) so slowly mixing new food with old is a monetary concern. If it stays good for over a week then I think I can perhaps use a good portion of the can in a week....or at least hopefully half. 

I will definitely get her some better jerky treats. I'm headed to the store on Thursday. I'm gonna see what I find.

Thanks ya'll for the help.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Just FYI, the packets are worse than the can as far as danger to the dog. The thickening agent to keep it that weird consistency isn't good for them, for one thing.

It would probably stay good for a long time. I do believe they have alot of preservatives.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Honestly, I would give some people food instead of the stuff from China - a weenie, a piece of bread or cheese - really, anything has to be less of a risk.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

I usually feed the food within 3-4 days at most.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

I think it wouldn't be good after 4-5 days. 

Why not cook for your dog as a topper? Fish, chicken, beef, veggies, whatever you want. A few kibble feeders here do it and I think it's a good idea to incorporate some fresh foods in your dog's diet.

You can also make your own jerky!


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

When I was feeding my dog kibble with canned I would freeze the food and only keep enough thawed to feed for a few days. That helped keep it fresh so that I could use it all.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

You could portion it out and freeze it in individual servings. I think that's what I would do if my dog or cat couldn't eat it all within 3ish days.
You could also try adding some canned salmon or fish to the meal, just rinse it to get some of the salt off first. And make sure to buy the one with added water, not added oil.


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## Mondo (Dec 20, 2011)

Toss the Waggin' Trail chicken jerky. Don't take a chance. My boys at them for years, then suddenly last year Tuffy would have bladder issues and lack of appetite, lethargy. It took a few times before the connection clicked. It was the Jerky Treats. I googled and sure enough, lots of hits. I felt fortunate that it wasn't that bad, but man, had we fed those daily? Shudder to think.

Toss them.


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

You can dehydrate even in your oven. Also getting a dehydrator is nice to have! I put mine outside in the spring summer fall months and then do a lot of chicken which its on sale the breast meat and liver that stinks P. U.! I have done dehydrated fruit for us mmmm yummy I have done beef jerky for us well my son and whoever wants it I don't hahah anyway its a really nice investment and something you can put to use for the whole family! Gee I sound like a salesperson! ha ha!


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Yes Waggin Tails is on the list of treats that's killing dogs but they can't figure out exactly why so there's no recall.


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## JustaLilBitaLuck (Jan 15, 2012)

TrueChews makes a chicken jerky treat that are made in the United States - Iowa, I believe.


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## DazzleKitty (Aug 23, 2011)

Thank you so so much!

I like the idea of adding cooked food for freshness. For someone who's cooking skills are limited to the toaster and microwave....what is something simple I can learn to do?


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Honestly I would just put deboned chicken in the oven at 375, and just bake till well done, or maybe sautee it. Not sure how it would do in the toaster. LOL. No seasoning required and dont add salt.

You can do all sorts of meats.. Fish is great too, lots of healthy oils. Cheaper and less processed than canned.


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## DazzleKitty (Aug 23, 2011)

We always have frozen chicken breast around this house....it's like a MUST, LOL. We love our chicken. Perhaps putting them unseasoned in the oven would work for her? I could make enough to last a couple of days, then repeat. I know she'd love it more than the Cesar and I'd feel like I was giving her something good. 

Sometimes we steam veggies..... aren't carrots good for dogs? The veggies we steam are broccoli, califlauer (sp?), squash, zucchini, and carrots. Maybe some of those in her bowl next time would do her some good? I heard broccoli can harm dogs but I remember reading the opposite as well.

I may try the tuna or salmon canned in water sometime as well.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

I found some inexpensive sardines in water at big lots, its a good way to add extra protein to the diet as well as a source of omega 3's.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

I *think* the reason that broccoli and cauliflower are said to not be the best are because they are part of the cruciferous veggie family (spinach, kale, cabbage etc) and can interfere with thyroid function. They also contain purines so maybe with a dog with hyperuricosuria (sp?) might not tolerate them well. I think for a healthy dog they would be absolutely fine to eat in moderate amounts. Oh! And best to cook and puree the veggies to get the most benefit- dogs can't really break down the cellulose wall by themselves.

Another good thing would be to get chicken bones and make a broth with them (NO SALT!!) and pour the liquid, no bones, over the kibble to make a sort of "soup".. it's really important when feeding a dry food that your dog gets enough moisture.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Oops, double post.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

I would also toss the jerky. Until this is all over we won't feed ANY store bought chicken jerky USA or not. 

As an after work treat why not give her something else? Most dogs are happy with anything they think they shouldn't have (ie stuff they almost never get to have). Mine go nuts for cheese because they almost never get it. Buck also loves carrots because he thinks they "fall" to his level when I am chopping them. Scarlett O' has a great recipe for dehydrating liver for the cooking challenged. Haha. They are very simple. I have it somewhere too but I don't know where. If I find it, I'll send it to you but if not, I would ask Abi (Scarlett).

On her food, I would do the broth to get moisture in her diet.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

Yes, Waggin' Tails is scary. Heard wayyyy too much issues with them and any chicken jerky in China. They also fool people easily. I also bought a packet of Milo's Kitchen once and some of the stuff is made in the US, while other is made in China, so be very careful to read packaging on the back. 

Cesar's is pretty gross. I've fed it on occasion - one night I was dogsitting and Jackson won't eat dry food alone when in another house (LOL, he's weird) and so only place open that was close was Walgreens so grabbed a little thing of Cesar's to mix a bit with dry food. Occasionally won't hurt, I'm sure, but I wouldn't do it as a permanent thing.

I have NEVER seen a dog turn down Weruva. That stuff looks sooo good, even to me. Some looks like chicken noodle soup. I've been feeding Jackson the Weruva canned for a few months now, he LOVES it. I mix it with his Acana dry food.


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## greyshadows (Jan 30, 2012)

Jackson's mom, did you know some Weruva products are made in Thailand? I don't know which ones....


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

greyshadows said:


> Jackson's mom, did you know some Weruva products are made in Thailand? I don't know which ones....


Yeah, I'm pretty sure they are all. But I feel pretty confident in their food. If I were to read more problems about them, I would stop feeding, but I never have. And I really like the company and what they are about. They are always seemingly willing to answer any questions.

Any Doubts About Weruva’s Food Made in Thailand? | Tracie Hotchner Blog


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