Food Friday: Diggin Your Dog's Firm Up

Finally, Diggin Your Dog brings us Firm Up, the non-perishable dried pumpkin powder we've all been waiting for! No more hauling cans of pureed pumpkin home from the grocery store! No more moldy leftovers because we actually only needed a spoonful or two! Made with apple fiber as well as pumpkin fiber, this shelf-stable tummy supplement has been pretty awesome so far.

The Company

Diggin Your Dog actually makes quite a few different treats and supplements. They have a joint powder made from New Zealand green lipped mussels. Most of their ingredients are sourced in the USA. Their treats are made in California, and the supplement are produced in Nevada. Their products are surprisingly affordable, and 100% guaranteed if you hate them.

The Food

This stuff is pretty amazing if you don't use canned pumpkin on a regular basis. After his first round of chemotherapy, Brisbane had some poo issues. He also needed medication several times a day, and to eat lunch for the first time since he was a baby puppy. I was taking him to work with me and wanted something convenient to mix into his canned food.

Firm Up is a pretty good substitute for canned pumpkin, if you are using it to help with diarrhea or constipation. Mixed with equal parts water and powder, it turns into a tasty goop. It can also be fed dry, or just mixed into wet food without adding water.

The Verdict

For handling occasional tummy upsets, Firm Up is amazing. It's also fabulous for travel. The only thing I wouldn't use it for is adding fiber to make a dog feel full white adding calories. Brisbane has always been on a restricted diet because he turns into a blimp when I feed him like a normal dog. I combat this by adding frozen vegetables, canned green beans, or canned pumpkin to his food to fill up his tummy. Firm Up is clearly not intended to be used this way, the company recommends only feeding it once per day at a dosage of a tablespoon or two.

Treat Tuesday: Halloween Bark Bars

These Halloween Bark Bars by American Health Kennels arrived in our October Pet Gift Box. These are big, hard, crunchy cookies that are poultry-free and egg-free. They work well as a distraction since they take several minutes for the dogs to crunch up.

Good For: Handing the dogs to keep them happy while I walk out the door. Hiding around the house for them to find. Looking awesome. Decorating with festive icing and sprinkles.

Not Good For: Picky chihuahuas. High-value training treats.

How Much We Like Them: They're cute enough that I'd buy them again if I saw them. Even if it wasn't Halloween.

Treat Tuesday: Healthy Dogma Pumpkin Biscuits

The Halloween Pumpkin Biscuits  by Healthy Dogma arrived in our October Allergy-Friendly BarkBox. In addition to barley, oats, peas, and of course pumpkin, they also contain vanilla and cloves. Though not quite as amazing as the pumpkin pie Smoochers, they do smell quite tasty. They are, however, disappointingly bland to human taste buds. (Don't judge me!)

Good For: Dogs who will eat literally any type of food. Low value training treats. Hiding around the house for the dogs to discover. Stringing on wearable edible dog necklaces. Balancing on dog heads while practicing our leave-it command.

Not Good For: Super-picky chihuahuas. Little girl dogs who need to contemplate everything before they eat it. High-value training treats.

How Much We Like Them: Enough to lick them, apparently. They're really quite bland.

Treat Tuesday: Exclusively Dog Pumpkin Smoochers

These Pumpkin Smoochers soft treats by Exclusively Dog smell just like pumpkin pie. Maybe better than pumpkin pie, because I'm not crazy about pumpkin pie but just opening this bag made me want some really, really bad. These came in our October Pet Gift Box.

Good For: Smelling amazing. Not making my hands stink. Mid-value training treats for food-crazy dogs like Brisbane. Tossing on the ground during training exercises since they are easy for the dogs to spot. Dogs with allergies.

Not Good For: Super picky chihuahuas who spit out bacon, among other things. Treat connoisseur dogs that have to think about things before eating them. High-value training treats for distracting environments.

How Much We Like Them: I need to find somewhere to get a slice of pumpkin pie. It will probably be disappointing though, because there's just no way it will taste as good as the Smoochers smell.

Treat Tuesday: Trader Joe's Pumpkin Flavored Dog Treats

These Pumpkin Flavored Dog Treats from Trader Joe's livened up our Halloween photo shoot quite a bit. I was expecting them to be full of eggs, but happily they are safe for Brisbane's egg and poultry allergies. I already use a bunch of canned pumpkin in their diets, but treats are something different. This year it feels like the "Pumpkin in EVERYTHING!!!!" thing has gotten even more extreme.

Photo by Erin Koski

Good For: Giving the dogs when I want them to spend a few minutes crunching on something. These are really dense, hard cookies and it takes the dogs an entire mailman visit to eat them. Possibly balancing on dog noses, we're working on that trick.

Not Good For: High-value training treats. Breaking into smaller pieces.

How Much We Like Them: "Did you hear the mailman? Now everybody gets a pumpkin cookie!"

Photo by Erin Koski

Photo by Erin Koski

Food Friday: Fruitables Pumpkin Superblend Digestive Supplement

Fruitables Pumpkin Superblend Digestive Supplement is basically a can of pumpkin. It is intended to be used as a supplement to raw and regular diets, and can help sooth upset tummies. 

Canned pumpkin is one of the most basic and useful food supplements for dogs. It's almost pure fiber, and can help with both diarrhea and constipation. Canned pumpkin is also a great food to add bulk to the meals of a dog on a diet. 

Fruitables makes three different canned food supplements, and three of them are pumpkin-based. This one also includes apple and tomato pomace, spinach, and ginger. The ginger makes it smell wonderful.

I mostly use canned pumpkin to help Brisbane feel full, and for foster pups with tummy troubles. This stuff smells lovely, but I don't think it's particularly better than plain canned pumpkin from the grocery store. 

Fruitables Pumpkin Superblend is made in the USA. It is safe to feed old dogs and baby puppies. 

The October Allergy-Friendly BarkBox

This month's allergy-friendly BarkBox finally arrived, and it's a spooky one! I love Halloween, so this is a theme I thoroughly enjoy. Everything is Brisbane-safe this month, with no chicken, turkey, duck, or eggs. This month we got a couple of interesting new cards in our box, the first was a little note "to the dog of the house" letting Brisbane know that one of the items on the "what's in this month's box" card was a little different from the item that they sent. The second was a Scout's Honor card describing the new satisfaction guarantee. From now on, if Briz doesn't love something in his BarkBox, we can let them know and either get a replacement or credit at the BarkShop.

The info card says we have a SafeMade Dia de los Muertos skull, but our Day of the Dead skull is actually from Dex & Penny. It's a crinkly, squeaky plush sugar skull with reinforced seams. Ulysses thinks it's pretty cool.

Uly also loves the Flash & Glow Jr. ball by American Dog Toys. It lights up when it hits anything, I can get it going just by slapping it into my palm. It's pretty hard compared to our usual rubber fetch balls, but it held up well when Uly decided to give it a celebratory chew.

We're already fans of the Superior Farms heart-shaped cookies, so I'm enthusiastic about the Venison Crepe in this month's box. It's made out of deer hide, and looks like an amorphous blob of rawhide.

I'm also pleased with the Hare of the Dog Rabbit Jerky Stick. I particularly like feeding rabbit to my dogs, and this company uses all-American USDA-inspected bunnies. Also made in America are the Wet Noses Howlin' Goodies pumpkin biscuits.

The final goody in our box is a bag of Max & Ruffy's Mother Quinoa's Pumpkin Patch treats. Both these and the Wet Noses cookies are made from pumpkin. The Max and Ruffy's biscuits are also vegan.