Waggin Train Chicken Strip Treats

Question
I noticed that you mentioned the Waggin Train Chicken Strips in the advise you gave a Maltese owner about potty training.  We bought these treats about two years ago for our Maltese to help with her training and she is so addicted to them.  She is at the point that we have to break them up in her food to get her to eat her food.  She only wants the chicken strips and will go without eating until you give her one.  She will even wake me up in the middle of the night to go potty so she can have some chicken.  She has a healthy check up at the vet and is loving life.  She is very spoiled and very loved.  We are just worried that she is too addicted to these treats.  Are we worrying for nothing?  She is very pickey about her food too and does not care to much for Science Diet that we have her on.  Do you recommend a food that you have found that Maltese like?  By the way, our little baby's name is Snuggles.  Your help would be greatly appreciated

Answer
My dog is on Science Diet, too. Sometimes my adult dog will only take the puppy variety of the science diet, so we get him that, too. (He likes puppy and adult cereal.)

The Waggin Train Chicken Strips are very addictive; everytime I recommend this to owners, I do warn them that it is highly addictive. Splitting the pieces up, as I found out, gives the dog the same satisfaction. I would not give more than 2 to 3 full, large chicken pieces per day. Splitting these up will help you control his diet.

To get your dog off of this is simple: Stop giving it to him when the bag is gone. Give him regular biscuits instead. Within a week or week and a half, your dog will give up on trying to get chicken pieces.

Yes, my dog has done that "in the middle of the night" thing, too. Your Snuggles is very hungry when she does that. Give her cereal in her "crib" or in a bowl on the floor at night instead, and by morning the cereal bowl will be empty. (Snuggles will most likely eat it between 3AM and 5AM) We don't give chickens out too late in the night or the dog will demand them until early in the morning.

Yes, it is good to be concerned about your dog. Too many chickens will override the nutrition value of the Science Diet. Also, way too many "chickens" will give the dog pancreatitus. That also happens if you give the dog too many Beggin' Strips. Both the Waggin Train and Beggin' Strips are highly addictive. Don't do both at the same time because it is too much for the dog to take.

As long as Snuggles' weight is steady and the vet says she's fine, the chicken pieces should be no problem. I would, however, definitely supervise Snuggles with the treat and provide plenty of water. The treat is very salty and often little pieces may get stuck in the dog's throat. Patting Snuggles on the back and giving her a hug should clear up the problem.

If she is truly choking, perform "doggie" Heimlich Manuever. I found that all emergency information is in the front of the Puppies for Dummies book, if you have one. (I am on the look-out for a Maltese for Dummies book, but I can't find one yet! If there is one, I will be buying it.)     

I don't recommend giving Snuggles "extra" treats during the holidays. It is not necessary, and if you do, use biscuits. I give biscuits, and my dog goes and buries them in his bedding. He eventually eats it later, but keeps it for safekeeping in there.

So, overall: Science Diet, regular biscuits (for when Snuggles has had too many chickens during the day), and Chicken Strip Treats (Break these up). If you notice that she doesn't eat her Science Diet, give her less chickies. Keep her on a schedule, if you can.

P.S. Maltese are ALWAYS picky when it comes to food! That's not irregular! I have tried lots of different dog foods and other than canned Science Diet Chicken (not beef) and the Science Diet "cereal", my dog wouldn't eat them! I must have about 3 different bags of dog food in my house that I need to donate to my local shelter. I tried out HEB Brand Dog Cereal, Eukenuba Dog Cereal & Kibbles, and Science Diet Adult. We ended up with...Puppy Science Diet Cereal or Kibbles, and Science Diet Puppy Food Chicken Canned. I guess there must be something in that puppy formula my dog likes. (My dog is over 1 year and we did switch over to adult but he wasn't taking to it.)

Stick with the Science Diet. You really don't want to change dog foods around with Maltese. I have personal experience. A maltese stomach is very sensitive to changes in diet. "It" is not fun to clean up in the yard when changing foods. Snuggles is doing fine as she is.  

Good luck to You and Snuggles!
Thanks for the Question,
From Colleen, the Maltese Expert!