Vet’s Kitchen: Little Stars – My thoughts

Firstly Happy New Year; I hope everyone’s celebrations were joyous and you have plenty adventures planned for 2018 that bring plenty of happiness.

Finding these little star treats in ASDA on my hunt for treats to fill the girls stockings up with delicious goodies over the festive period. I became quickly intrigued by what claimed to be a natural and hypoallergenic treat made by vets. The packet states that they have added vet know-how, but what does this actually mean? A quote by them seem rather forced, don’t you think?

“We are passionate about keeping your pets healthy. So much so, we established our own Vet’s Klinic. Using our veterinary team’s expertise with the latest research, we create foods that are not only delicious but will promote long-term health and wellbeing.”

Healthy & Honest or just another low grade treat

I am looking into the salmon Active+ treats, now my dogs seemed to really enjoy them and continuously asked for more. This alone is enough for pet owners but we like to dig a little deeper at Walking with the pack; so what exactly in these treats so great for pets.

Firstly we look into the claims of these treats; bearing in mind my opinions are simply due to research and observation.

• Healthy Joints – Glucosamine, Chondroitin & MSM

  Glucosamine is comprised of an amino acid and glucose. A dog’s body produces it own glucosamine which forms the cartilage in the joints; but as it ages this decreases and joints stiffen, causing arthritis. Glucosamine has a natural anti-inflammatory properties but it is not something you would give to your dog until he or she was a lot older, puppies do not need to be taking glucosamine as their own production is sufficient. There are alternatives to giving Glucosamine supplements the natural way: Beef Trachea is made of cartilage and is rich in glucosamine, chicken feet, Oxtails or pig tails or bone broth.

Chondroitin has been used in dog food for many years as a aid for hip dysplasia and arthritis. Chondroitin is an enzyme in cartilage responsible for synthesising new cartilage that protects the joints for normal wear and tear. Studies show that Chondroitin also has the ability to block destructive enzymes breaking down cartilage in the joints. Again puppies and your dogs should not need extra Chondroitin unless stated by a veterinarian as they natural produce their own.

MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane) an organic sulfur compound known for it’s joint health benefits. Naturally this compound is found when microscopic phytoplankton decomposing in the oceans. This compound is typically commercially made and claims to have many properties in dog health including: Diabetes, chronic pain & antioxidants to name a few. However as this is a man made product the concern is whether the MSM is of a high grade or full of impurities. Naturally if you feed a raw diet, you will feed sulphur rich food such as meats with collagen bones, trachea which are all sulphur rich.

• All Natural Ingredients – No artificial nasties

  The ingredients are as follows:

Dried Salmon (38%)
Glycerol
White Rice
Oats
Salmon Oil
Salmon Stock
Glucosamine
Methylsulfonylmethane
Chondroitin Sulphate

These ingredients are naturally occurring my concern is the salt content especially in the salmon stock.

When one can not find much to read about an ingredient it tends to set of alarm bells. The only information I could find on Glycerol is that Bakers dog food uses it to help bind food together and keep it together until in your dogs bowl.

• Hypoallergenic – No added wheat, beef or soya

  After looking at the ingredients I cannot understand why they claim ‘no added wheat’ none of the ingredients look to contain wheat. This statement assumes that there may be some naturally occurring wheat; the only ingredient I can see is the oats which do contain a small amount of gluten but is considered okay for gluten intolerances and wheat allergies.

I once read that Soya should not be in any pet foods due to how they are farmed and processed by industry and what they contain. Dogs Naturally Magazine have wrote an interesting article on this subject saying; high levels of pesticides are used on soy products, they contain large amounts of natural toxins which can produce gastric distress, interference with they thyroid gland and finally concentrations of phytoestrogens effecting the biology of our pets.

• Omega 3 & 6 – To help maintain healthy skin and coat

  The omega group of fats are known as poly unsaturated fats, they are essential to diets as they have the ability to control hormones within the body. Not only this but they also provide immune response, cell growth and help in clotting the blood. Dogs Naturally magazine who I think I’ve mentioned to death in this article; I swear they are great, have wrote an amazing guide to omegas for dogs, go check it out you will not be disappointed.

• Great tasting – All in a bitesize treat
  This I cannot fault the dogs seem to love them and always ask for more; as far as I know they are great tasting.

To conclude

As great as these particular treats seem and obviously taste I don’t think I would be buying these again. That doesn’t mean I wont be buying any others in the range after further research. The packet says they are for all ages and sizes however for young pups such as ours they do not need added joint supplements into the diets. Especially as they are given a raw diet! My opinion is still hung on these treats; I picked the salmon treats as I know Wren’s favourite is salmon not realising they are the active+ treat. I will look further into the chicken treats I have been holding back for Raven and update this post as needed.

SRC:
Glucosamine
Chondroitin
MSM
The ultimate guide to omegas

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