Yak Chews

Posted on November 1, 2018January 10, 2022 by Timberidge

Native Pet Himalayan Yak Chews

What Is A “Yak Chew” Anyway?

Yak chew, hardened yak cheese, Himalayan chew, chhurpi… so many names for one cheesy dog treat. Nepalese harden yak cheese has been consumed by humans for centuries. To make chhurpi, the yak milk is separated to produce curds, which are cured & fermented at room temperature for several days. The resulting soft cheese is then slowly dehydrated, producing a hardened, long-lasting treat that is healthy for both humans and doodles. Findings from a 2008 research study indicate that this gourmet yak snack might even be healthier than cheese made from cow milk!

Cheesy & Nutritional Goodness Your Doodle Is Guaranteed To Love

It’s time to give your doodle a treat that is both delicious and nourishing, Native Pet tells dog owners. No preservatives. Organic. Easy on sensitive stomachs. Free from chemicals. There are so many reasons these chews are the perfect dog treat. Plus Native Pet yak chews are made with simple, whole-food ingredients: salt, lime juice, and milk from pasture fed yaks & cows. Isn’t it great when you can actually pronounce all of the ingredients in your dog’s chew toy?!

Just in case your doodle has a picky palate, Native Pet offers a satisfaction guarantee: “Try out Native Pet risk-free! If you aren’t satisfied, we will fully refund your purchase, no questions asked!”

Quick Cheese Puffs

When your pup whittles her scrumptious yak chew down to a small piece, don’t be fooled into thinking the deliciousness has come to an end. Snatch up that tiny hardened cheese nugget, and pop it in the microwave for 40 seconds. When you peek through the microwave window, you’ll be surprised by the transformation! That minuscule yak chew end piece has now inflated into a delightfully crispy cheese puff that your dog can’t wait to devour.

Sizes & Life Expectancy

Native Pet Yak Chews — Medium vs. Large Yak Chew

Native Pet offers small, medium, large & extra-large sized yak chews. Choose the medium treat for doodles weighing around 20lbs. If your dog is an aggressive chewer, consider purchasing the large size. Yak chews are an excellent treat to have handy for special occasions (i.e. to keep your doodle occupied while you’re on that important phone call or during Thanksgiving dinner). Since yak chews are made with real food ingredients, they are intended to be an edible treat, which means they won’t last forever. Our dogs (weighing between 20-30lbs) finish a medium sized yak chew in a few hours. Sometimes they’ll chew most of a medium yak chew in one sitting and then finish it off the next day. Doodle owners report that one yak chew lasts anywhere from 2 hours up to 2 weeks, depending on the dog’s chewing habits. If your dog doesn’t finish the whole treat in one sitting, pat it dry and store it out of direct sunlight and away from moisture to prevent molding. Unchewed yak chews last up to 3 years if stored properly. This means you could safely purchase the 10 pack and only give your pup one of these special treats per month without worrying about them spoiling. Native Pet takes extra precautions to naturally extend the shelf life of their products and to ensure that their customers never receive moldy chews (a problem common with other brands of yak chews). (More details about Native Pet’s process below.)

Do Yak Chews Stink?

Smell is an important element to consider for any dog chew! Native Pet advertises that their yak chews are odorless. When we first opened the container of yak chews, there was a definite and distinctive smell though. Just as cheddar cheese from cow’s milk has a certain smell, chhurpi made from yak’s milk also has a certain smell, especially fresh from the package. Even so, we distributed three yak chews to three different dogs, all of whom chewed them simultaneously in our family room. As our dogs chewed away happily, we were pleasantly surprised to find that we didn’t notice an odor at all. So don’t be scared by the smell when you first open the package! It quickly dissipates and you soon won’t notice it.

From Nepal to Dog Paw

There are a number of yak chews on the market, making it a little challenging to decide which one to purchase for your furchild. We want pets everywhere to enjoy a healthy, high quality treat, so we investigated a number of companies before landing on Native Pet. This young U.S. based company of about 10 employees seeks to provide dogs with whole foods of the utmost quality (it’s possible that employees may have tried a yak chew or two themselves, just to ensure that your pet is only eating the best!). Native Pet’s partnership with a cooperative of approximately 1,000 yak & cow farmers in eastern Nepal brings your pets a healthy snack produce from the milk of free-range, grass-fed herds. Native Pet vetted a number of Nepalese manufactures to determine which would produce the highest quality yak chews. That facility then underwent additional screenings to become FDA certified. Since all yak chews are comprised of the same ingredients, it’s the process that really distinguishes one from another – And that’s where you’ll notice the Native Pet difference. First, Native Pet yak chews are dried longer, producing a firmer, longer lasting chew. Secondly, these yak chews undergo two rounds of quality control screening: one before leaving Nepal and a second upon arriving to Native Pet’s facility in St. Louis. Yak chews that pass both inspections are then air-dried to release moisture that inevitably accumulates during travel. This extra step extends the shelf life by preventing molding. Thirdly, because Native Pet believes fresh is best, the company does not hold inventory. Yak Chews generally arrive on a consumer’s doorstep about 2 months out from manufacturing. Lastly, Native Pet reps travel to Nepal 1-2 times each year to visit partners, and the plant owners & the president of the yak herd cooperative also travel to St. Louis to visit Native Pet. Native Pet believes this open relationship with suppliers is vital in providing pet owners with an extra layer of transparency.

From now through Nov 26th, use the code “timber” and receive 15% off your entire order at https://thenativepet.com/ – plus free standard shipping on all purchases!

Learn about other great options for power chewers!

The Bottom Line

A scrumptious Native Pet yak chew is a treat all of our dogs enjoy! It’s hard to beat an all-natural, organic dog chew with only three simple ingredients. Head over to Amazon or theNativePet.com and surprise your doodle try one of these nutritious and tasty chews.

Disclaimer

Timberidge Goldendoodles received this products for free in exchange for an honest review. All of the products we review we have personally used with our own dogs and genuinely recommend.

DexDog Adjustable Dog Leash: Product Review

Posted on July 7, 2017October 27, 2018 by Timberidge

We have been using DexDog’s adjustable leashes almost exclusively for over a year now! These leashes are not only comfortable to use and great quality, the adjustable feature is handier than we ever would have thought.

You might ask yourself, “Is an adjustable flat lead for dogs really necessary?” I, for one, thought that an adjustable flat lead was unique… and also maybe a bit unnecessary. Much to my surprise, we actually adjust the leashes on a regular basis. Whether shortening the leash to keep the dogs from walking in front of the stroller, lengthening it so my dogs can explore, or maintaining some medium length so my one year old daughter can hold a leash, we find ourselves adjusting the leash often. Once you are accustomed to an adjustable leash, you’ll quickly get spoiled and find yourself missing this feature should you ever have to go without it.

It’s a bit of a challenge to find a 6’ flat lead anymore, which is what I generally prefer. For some reason 5’ leads have taken over the market. I’ve always used a 6’ lead because it’s required for AKC obedience trails. I’m a little partial to having a 6’ leash for that reason, and that extra foot just seems to make the walker and the dog both a bit happier. I was excited to find that the DexDog Adjustable Leash extends to 6’.

This leash is extremely durable. After one year of regular use our DexDog leashes are not showing any signs of wear. No fraying, no discoloration, no rusting, and no other type of malfunction. DexDog leashes are “Backed by a lifetime guarantee, even if chewed.” So even in the unlikely event that your leash breaks, simply snap a photo of the leash and email support@dexdog.com. You don’t even have to mail the old leash back. Does it get any better than that?!

The leash clasp is a little heavy for our small dogs (all less than 30lbs). Sometimes this causes their legs to get caught in the loop of the adjustment. This doesn’t happen very often however and for me the benefit of having the adjustment far outweighs the drawbacks of the extra weight/loop. In order to avoid this issue, you could try DexDog’s small dog leash for any dog under 25 lbs. They now make a 3/4″ leash, although advertise that the clasp is the same as that for the 1″ leash.

The Bottom Line: I recommend the adjustable DexDog leash!

Pros:

Durable
Easy to use
Vibrant colors
Padded handle
Adjustable Length

Cons:

The clasp is a bit heavy for small dogs

The Details:

Cost: $15.99-$16.99 – ships free with Amazon Prime
Size: 3.5’ to 6’ long and 1” width (DexDog also makes a small dog leash with a 3/8” width, recommended for dogs <10lbs)
Functionality: The Adjustable DexDog Leash is easy to adjust.
Where to Buy: Sold by DexDog on Amazon & Etsy

Disclaimer

Timberidge Goldendoodles received this products for free in exchange for an honest review. Thoughts and opinions expressed here were not influenced by the manufacturing company in any way. All of the products we review we have personally used with our own dogs and genuinely recommend.

Seresto Collar Product Review

Posted on October 1, 2016April 29, 2018 by Timberidge

When I removed a second tick from one of our dogs during a cold week in March, I knew something had to be done. With the exponentially increasing deer population in our area comes an increasing population of the vile deer tick. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lymes Disease are just two nasty illnesses carried by these blood-sucking bugs. Needless to say, I don’t want ticks on my dogs!

My dogs regularly receive Sentinel, which covers heartworms, hookworms, roundworms, and whipworms. Sentinel also breaks the flea’s life cycle by inhibiting egg development. Unfortunately, Sentinel does not cover ticks. After a discussion with my vet, I decided to give the Seresto collar by Beyer a try for preventing ticks.

Pros:

Convenient: no monthly application to remember
Durable
Cheaper than many monthly topical tick preventatives
Odor free
Easy to use
No grease

Cons:

- Effectiveness can be decreased by shampooing more than once per month
- Needs to be tight enough to stay in contact with your pet’s skin

Quality: Durable – Our dogs wore their collars for the full eight months, and they held up great. Our dogs swam, hiked, and rough housed with other dogs in them.

Functionality: Easy to use, adjustable, removable

Effectiveness: Research indicates that slow release flumethrin/imidacloprid collars are very effective

Best for: Flea & tick prevention for dogs that are not already infested with fleas or ticks. For use with dogs >7 weeks old.

Where to Buy: Seresto collars are available at most vets & pet supply stores. I personally found them the cheapest at 1-800-PetMeds but have noticed that the best prices varies between there & Amazon depending on the current promotions.

The Seresto collar comes in two sizes: a small dog collar for dogs <18lbs and a large dog collar for dogs >18lbs. I ordered the large size for all three of our dogs. The Seresto collar is very easy to use. It comes wound up in a tin case. Simply fit it to your dog’s neck and cut off the excess. I’ve never had a problem with the collar accidentally coming off, yet it is easily removed when needed. I chose to remove the collar for baths and grooming since the effectiveness can be decreased by frequent bathing but left it on for romps in the river. My dogs didn’t even notice they were wearing the Seresto. When walking two dogs side by side through the woods, we found a tick on the one without the Seresto collar on several occasions and none on the dog wearing the collar. My dogs did not acquire fleas, mange or lice while wearing the Seresto (although they’ve never had any of those parasites while not wearing the collar either). The collar comes with optional attachable reflectors, which we chose not to use.

Please note: my dogs were not infested with fleas or ticks prior to the collar application, and they also receive oral Sentinel, which is a flea preventative.

The Bottom Line: We’ll try the Seresto collar again next year.

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