# Stella & Chewy's?



## Naturelover

Has anyone used this? I bought a bag of the dehydrated "surf'n'turf" patties. I was getting annoyed at the crappy nutrition quality of the treats that are available. I thought, if I need to give this many treats to groom/walk/train him I need to make sure they are actually offering something nutritionally. I got a sample patty of the stella and chewy's & he went insane for it (also because it was new). So Archer is now getting Acana kibble plus treats, and I think these dehydrated patties, since they are meant to be for meals, are good treats, and just as easy to break into pieces as smaller treats you still have to break up anyway. He has also recently developed a strong affinity for apple pieces, so that's another better option for treats.

Anyway. I have like 8 bags of treats and I used to think I might have a problem, but I actually need the variety to keep the interest up during walks and training, and it's nice to keep around for clients as sometimes just changing to a different treat can save a session.


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## Pucks104

I sometimes add a Stella & Chewy's patty to Leo's daily ration. He seems to like them. I just cut back on the amount of Honest Kitchen and add the S&C patty and rehydrate. I haven't really fed dry but don't see any harm.


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## krandall

Naturelover said:


> Has anyone used this? I bought a bag of the dehydrated "surf'n'turf" patties. I was getting annoyed at the crappy nutrition quality of the treats that are available. I thought, if I need to give this many treats to groom/walk/train him I need to make sure they are actually offering something nutritionally. I got a sample patty of the stella and chewy's & he went insane for it (also because it was new). So Archer is now getting Acana kibble plus treats, and I think these dehydrated patties, since they are meant to be for meals, are good treats, and just as easy to break into pieces as smaller treats you still have to break up anyway. He has also recently developed a strong affinity for apple pieces, so that's another better option for treats.
> 
> Anyway. I have like 8 bags of treats and I used to think I might have a problem, but I actually need the variety to keep the interest up during walks and training, and it's nice to keep around for clients as sometimes just changing to a different treat can save a session.


I've used Stalla and Chewy's for treats too. Kodi loves them! I found with Stella and Chewy's there were a lot of crumbs produced when I broke them up. Kodi was absolutely FINE with me adding these to his dinner, but that wasn't my original plan! 

Try Nature's Variety Instinct Raw Bites too. They are also freeze dried raw, can be used as a meal or a mixer, AND are small pieces already, so they don't require breaking up. If these were commercial "treat food treats", I'd want to break them smaller, but because they are good nutrition, I don't mind that they are a little larger. (they are about the size of Zuke's minis, which I generally break in half) But you CAN break them with little waste if you want to.

Also, if Archer is showing a liking for fruit, trie blueberries. Kodi goes NUTS for them!!! )

I find that Kodi needs a rotating variety of treat food when we're training too. Use anyone thing for too long, and it becomes, "THAT again?"


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## lfung5

My boys love the S & C raw patties. I have not tried the dehydrated for treats. It's a great idea though!


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## Molly120213

Molly loves the Natures variety freeze dried raw bites. They are great treats or as a topper to her kibble.


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## siewhwee

Orijen also has freeze-dried, dehydrated treats - Angus Beef, Tundra and Regional. I can't get them at my pet store in upstate NY (no distributor), but whenever we go to Ottawa to pick up our stash of croissants and other yummy baked goods <grin>, we'll head to a pet store to get the Orijen treats and freeze-dried food. My Hav loves them.


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## krandall

siewhwee said:


> Orijen also has freeze-dried, dehydrated treats - Angus Beef, Tundra and Regional. I can't get them at my pet store in upstate NY (no distributor), but whenever we go to Ottawa to pick up our stash of croissants and other yummy baked goods <grin>, we'll head to a pet store to get the Orijen treats and freeze-dried food. My Hav loves them.


Yes, there are a number of freeze dried treat foods available. What I like about the NV, though, is they aren't a "treat food", it can be used as a complete diet. So even though I use it as training "treats", I can just count it as part of his normal dietary intake.


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## Naturelover

krandall said:


> Yes, there are a number of freeze dried treat foods available. What I like about the NV, though, is they aren't a "treat food", it can be used as a complete diet. So even though I use it as training "treats", I can just count it as part of his normal dietary intake.


Yeah, same reason I think the Stella & Chewy's, or other freeze-dried with added vegetables, vitamins and minerals is a better option (sounds like the NV falls into that category). I've certainly tried a number of the other freeze-dried meat products, and the Orijen has been a big hit as well. I also got some called K9 Natural treats that were very popular, and some of the Ziwipeak treats (nice because they are so thin and easy to break into teeny pieces).

Maybe there is some kind of business opportunity around producing healthy treats (e.g. with the added vegetables & vitamins/minerals) that are actually made into the ideal size for clicker training. Even the smallest ones I find, like the Mini Zukes, need to be broken up into 3 or 4 pieces! Hmmmmm...


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## krandall

Naturelover said:


> Yeah, same reason I think the Stella & Chewy's, or other freeze-dried with added vegetables, vitamins and minerals is a better option (sounds like the NV falls into that category). I've certainly tried a number of the other freeze-dried meat products, and the Orijen has been a big hit as well. I also got some called K9 Natural treats that were very popular, and some of the Ziwipeak treats (nice because they are so thin and easy to break into teeny pieces).
> 
> Maybe there is some kind of business opportunity around producing healthy treats (e.g. with the added vegetables & vitamins/minerals) that are actually made into the ideal size for clicker training. Even the smallest ones I find, like the Mini Zukes, need to be broken up into 3 or 4 pieces! Hmmmmm...


I have no problem with freeze dried 100% meat (as long as it's USA sourced and produced), but most freeze dried meats are too hard to break up easily, and take too much chewing to be good training treats. Things like Zukes have a lot of chemicals in them (to keep them soft) that I'd rather avoid.


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## MarinaGirl

I use ZiwiPeak for treats and Emmie's evening meal. They're easy to break apart, carry in your pocket, and they don't crumble. I also feed her K9 Natural treats but they're hard to find. And I really like K9 Natural frozen food too.

I used to train Emmie with Zuke's Mini Naturals and I would cut them up in half or thirds but I stopped buying them because they were bought out by Nestlé Purina and I don't like some of the ingredients.


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## krandall

MarinaGirl said:


> I use ZiwiPeak for treats and Emmie's evening meal. They're easy to break apart, carry in your pocket, and they don't crumble. I also feed her K9 Natural treats but they're hard to find. And I really like K9 Natural frozen food too.
> 
> I used to train Emmie with Zuke's Mini Naturals and I would cut them up in half or thirds but I stopped buying them because they were bought out by Nestlé Purina and I don't like some of the ingredients.


Yes, we use Ziwi Peaks too. I don't think I've ever seen K9 Naturals. I'll keep my eye out for them.


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## Heather's

Tonight I bought a small bag of chicken Stella & Chewy's patties. Thought I would break the patties up and use as treats. Scout and Truffles loved them. I purchased ZiwiPeak about four weeks ago which they did like. Unfortunately it caused upset tummies. Today I noticed the food had mold on it  Maybe it would have been a good idea to refrigerate it. I feed them chicken breasts and Orijen Regional, but thought they might like a change.


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## Marbel

Can the freeze dried food be added to their regular diet? Or will it upset their tummy?


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## Molly120213

Some people think you shouldn't mix the two because they might digest differently. Nature's variety sells kibble mixed with freeze dried raw pieces. Molly did not have any problem when I use the freeze dried as a topper to her regular food. She loves it!


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## MarinaGirl

Emmie is fed a variety of food/proteins and doesn't get gastro distress with it; for example, I may feed her Honest Kitchen Embark/Keen or K9 Natural (frozen) in the morning, and ZiwiPeak or a raw bone in the evening. And occasionally she might get a couple of these in the same meal. Our schedule changes a lot, we travel a bit, and aren't at home for every meal so her flexibility with food (and life in general) is a godsend.


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## Dee Dee

I used Stella and Chewie's freeze dried raw duck for training treats for Hallie. I hadn't given her much at all but she ended up in the ER with pancreatitis from them. So be sure to watch the fat content.


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