[Scott O]

Originally Posted by Two Bills

Back in the bad old days, before animal convenience foods were invented, our house dogs survived on what we left, (which wasn't much) boiled veg peelings, stale bread, plus horse meat, whale meat, or offals if available.
Funny thing was, they were lean, mean, and unlike many dogs today, exceedingly healthy.
Most of todays dog troubles are from overfeeding, and processed foods.
JMTC

Your so correct! Dog kibble was made for human convenience...

[Scott O]

Originally Posted by MIskra

Scott....Do you know of a Holistic Veterinarian near The Villages? I am in the process of adopting a 6 year old dog and I would love to take her to a holistic vet. Thanks!

We had used one down in Brooksville several months back during the first part of Covid, she has her practice on a horse farm. It was nice because she allowed us to be with our dog during the visit, instead of this coming to your car and taking your scared pet inside without you. Can’t remember the name off hand but if you search it. There is a few others that are listed as Holistic in the area...if you search there is a state listing of Veterinarians who are practicing this. Good luck..

[lovinganimals]

Originally Posted by RuthB

My dog is small (12 pounds). I look for healthy, lower calorie ingredients without additives. Your treat seems to have a chocolate chip in the center. You will find that many people do not feed their dogs any chocolate. They sure look tasty.

This is not a chocolate chip as chocolate can be deadly to a dog. This is an unsweetened carob chip. I also use yogurt to decorate my treats, not " frosting with sugar".

[lovinganimals]

Originally Posted by DAVES

I do wonder why you are asking. You should know what sells and what does not.
You are selling to people not to dogs. I expect milk bones are far less expensive than what you are selling. You are not the only one making these things. You really should visit competitors, see what they are doing, see what they charge. I know nothing about what you are doing. Perhaps, there are faster ways to do what you are doing.

I am asking because I am not a big production. I make these out of my house, not in a warehouse or commercial kitchen. My treats have limited ingredients, no chemical preservatives but sometimes people want cute shapes, which take a long time to make. I enjoy making them but if I want to even just break even I need to make them quickly and I need people to buy them. Everyone here says quality is most important but you mention milkbones. Compare my ingredients ( peanut butter, whoke wheat or garbanzo flour, molasses, cinnamon, sweet potato etc) to the ingredients in the store brands. I started doing this when I went to buy my dog treats and sugar was in the ingredients! Even some chicken jerky has sugar..totally unnecessary. And chemicals as preservatives. But if I cant get people to buy them because they are not cute shapes or they prefer to buy ones from the store that has chemicals and sugar then I am wasting my time. So my reason for this post is to see what will and won't motivate people to buy. I do not have a store front so I am not in the same league as what you think is my competitors. I am an underdog just trying to have fun making great quality healthy treats and make back the money I spend on ingredients and renting tables at farmers markets. It can get quite expensive

[Eg_cruz]

Originally Posted by DAVES

I do wonder why you are asking. You should know what sells and what does not.
You are selling to people not to dogs. I expect milk bones are far less expensive than what you are selling. You are not the only one making these things. You really should visit competitors, see what they are doing, see what they charge. I know nothing about what you are doing. Perhaps, there are faster ways to do what you are doing.

Alway one in the crowd

[BAT777]

Thanks so much for the tip!

[BAT777]

Just keep doing what you are doing-home made is so much better.. I would think just the plain old dog bone shaped cookie cutters would work..They have the different sizes depending on the dog size..The important scenario are the ingredients. I'm pretty sure pet lovers here in the Villagers will agree..Fancy designs leave that up to the Stores that mass produce-may be cute but not necessarily the healthiest.

[lovinganimals]

Well, you all can see that quality is before anything else with me. These are carrot parmesan parsley and you can see pieces of carrot and parsley. And here are different sizes and shapes. My original photo has a carob chip in it, not chocolate as some people thought. Chocolate is toxic to dogs but carob is not