Quote: Keith Larson

On the Made in China topic. I don't think we will ever un-ring that bell. People want stuff cheap, China makes stuff cheaper.

However, I am at a place in my life where I would gladly pay more money for a USA made product in almost all cases (and trust me I am an Internet bargain finder fool). Several years ago we purchased a $500 Valco Stoller (Made in China)

The problem is, as has been stated on this thread repeatedly, that "Made in the USA" does not mean that the ingredients are from the USA, or have not been tainted by a bad agricultural system. My whole quandary has been that Winn Dixie claims their jerky is made domestically, but they won't disclose where the ingredients come from.

If "Made in the USA" is an acceptable statement AS IS, then I'm better off using their treats, as it will cost me $30 to produce the same amount of breast jerky that I can buy from them for $8.99. WD's breast jerky treats have not been a subject of FDA reports since 2007.

Well, I must say...
Although I find them kinda bland (saltless jerky), Sadie likes my jerky ALOT more than any treat I've ever purchased. When I said "We're done" after tonight's training routine, I had a whirlybird on my hands. I gave her the "inside" and she spun both ways, then ran into the storm door at full speed. (Carol; don't try this at home!), tail thrashing the whole time.

I'd like to retract my previous statement. Once harnessed, this kind of drive may well be worth $30/batch.
Next up is beef and pork. Does bacon dehydrate well, or just get crispy?

"Sadie likes my jerky ALOT more than any treat I've ever purchased."

Of course she does! Fresh meat, no matter how you process it to make it easily handled, is hugely desirable to dogs.

I use breast meat so it doesn't make oily marks in my pocket or bait bag. I use a turkey breast and get about a zillion pieces from it (FST food, chewies, marker rewards). I mix homemade rewards like that with the Zuke's, the Soft Training Treats, and the No-Wheat Biscotti here:
http://leerburg.com/treat.htm

The fresh meat scents it all, I think. (I like to use a mixed bag.)

Bacon can be added to a small baggie of mixed rewards (again, scenting it all very desirably), but no, it doesn't dehydrate well. Nothing as fatty as that does, really. Even dark-meat chicken yields a product that you have to bag separately or risk grease spots on your bait bag. (My LB snap-open bag is still as nice and clean as it was new. )
http://leerburg.com/736.htm

Oh, I see you can choose the color now! When I got mine, you got what you got, and I think there was just burgundy and blue. (I have one of each.)

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

(My LB snap-open bag is still as nice and clean as it was new. )
http://leerburg.com/736.htm

Oh, I see you can choose the color now! When I got mine, you got what you got, and I think there was just burgundy and blue. (I have one of each.)

When I ordered , you didn't have the color option on the website, so I phoned my order in. The wonderful Ms. Brenda let me select two of the drawstring type in black.

Connie, after all of the years of training companion dogs without using drive, some things come up that are still a revelation to me. I am so glad that I found this forum. Sadie has opened so many new doors for me!
BTW, thanks for the tip on the turkey breast.

Edited by Duane Hull (06/12/2012 09:15 PM)
Edit reason: added text

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

Bacon can be added to a small baggie of mixed rewards (again, scenting it all very desirably), but no, it doesn't dehydrate well. Nothing as fatty as that does, really.

What an interesting statement and so true. Never thought about it that way.

And what's with raw tripe? I bought a few packages thinking my boys love the dehydrated stuff you can buy - if I decide to sign my paycheck over to them.

I thought I hit gold when I found the unprocessed raw stuff in the grocery store. Had it on low and slow for a about 3 hours and it just ended up a greasy mess. I got a picture before it went in but must have been too disheartened to get a pic of the result.

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv210/wolfpup2227/Tripe115.jpg

They ate it of course, but it seemed so greasy, almost like I shouldn't be giving it to them. I rinsed it really well before I gave it to them but the end result was just a hot mess.

Any ideas on what I did wrong or is this just something that doesn’t dehydrate well either?

The package you got in the store is not the raw, unprocessed tripe the dogs generally love.

Green tripe is illegal to comingle with the human food stream for sanitary reasons -- it has the remains of the cow's last meal trapped in the riffles of the stomach. That's the reason it's called 'green' tripe. The partially digested stuff contains a lot of vitamins and other nutrients the dogs crave. It's also fed raw.

Trust me -- you would probably would have had to burn your house down to get rid of the smell after you cooked it for three hours. Around here, it's strictly an outside treat.

The store stuff, nutritionally, is really not much more than a chew toy. In the packing plant it's washed and bleached and sanitized.

Here is what you can use it for (sounds like you were almost there after a few hours of simmering )
http://www.whats4eats.com/soups/menudo-rojo-recipe

OMG, that's too funny. And you're so right. I guess I meant "not all chopped up", packaged and ready to eat (for the dogs).

I also feed the raw green tripe that comes frozen in packages with warnings and blood and stinks to high heaven.

This white "processed" stuff (thanks for the correction) smelled a bit. You knew it was tripe, but I put it on before we headed out - in the oven at 250.

The house did not smell good when we got back and I was warned not to do that again (hey nothing a few fans and swinging doors didn't take care of), but it was nothing like opening a package of the, what I considered, packaged and processed stuff. I couldn’t imagine putting that stuff near any kind of heat source.

But like you say, that stuff is in a much more raw state than this white cleaned stuff.

Oh well, live and learn. Hey, I'll try almost anything...once.

And as far as that Rojo stuff goes, OMG. I have a hard time doing Kobe beef backs right. Can't imagine the conversation with hubby trying to serve him a bowl of tripe.

Thanks for the info and the great Sunday morning laugh, once again pointing out just how blonde I can be!! I really should ask before I try these things.