Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Tasty Tuesday: Lickety Stick product review

Like many people, I took advantage of the Free Lickety Stick promotion that was on Facebook a couple of months back. I received mine in the mail about two weeks back, but didn't really give it to Elka much. I think I was keeping it in mind as a treat to use on walks in the winter, when it was cold and I wouldn't necessarily want a handful of cutup hotdogs, but rather something I could handle while wearing gloves. It's even made in the USA!

Well, I'm glad that we tried it out earlier.

I didn't use the Lickety Stick as a treat on walks. I used it one Friday when we had some people over, but other people in the household were sleeping. The guests were reasonably quiet, but Elka was fidgety and wanted attention, and toys, and play. Sometimes telling her "The grownups are talking" works, other times not. We had gone for a good long walk earlier, and she had food, she was just more interested in ours. So, when I was done eating, I figured I'd get out the Lickety Stick (liver flavor) and reinforce good quiet behaviors; sitting, attention, etc. That worked out pretty well, actually. Or it did once Elka realized how it "worked". 


Fast forward to Saturday afternoon, when I get home from work. Apparently, Elka had diarrhea all day. Outside each time, no accidents in the house, but she had to go out many times, and it was liquid every time. Hmm. I couldn't think of why, as she'd had no people food, only had her regular walk treats, and some other crunchy treats we'd had before. Then my eye fell on the plastic Lickety Stick bottle. Oh.

Ingredients on the Liver flavored Lickety Stick:
Ingredients: Natural Liver Flavors, Cultured Milk, Lecithin, Mixed Tocopherols (natural preservative and a source of Vitamin E), Ascorbyl Palmitate (source of Vitamin C), Rosemary Extract, Green Tea Extract.
Guaranteed AnalysisCrude Protein...... 8% min
Crude Fat...... 3% min
Crude Fiber...... 3% max
Moisture...... 80% max
 Please correct me if I'm wrong regarding ingredient info, I'm not a nutritionist of any stripe, I just look things up when I have questions and try to draw good conclusions.  From what I see on the Interweb, Ascorbyle Palmitate isn't entirely necessary for Vitamin C, but isn't harmful, and I do know that Vitamin C itself is water soluble. Lecithin is in a lot of things, and can be sourced in a variety of ways. In foods that include Lecithin on Dog Food Advisor, it says that "Lecithin is believed to improve a dog's skin and coat". Similarly, "mixed tocopherols" don't seem to be considered a "bad" ingredient. Elka gets cheese pretty frequently, of varying types, and occasionally a lick of milk or cheese, so she isn't lactose intolerant that I've been able to tell.

So I guess that leaves "natural liver flavors" as a culprit? I'm not sure what the exact process is to make liver flavored liquid stuff for dogs, but I guess it isn't just putting a calf's liver into the blender.

It's also worth noting that Patricia McConnell posted on Facebook about one of her clients' dogs having swallowed the rollerball from a Lickety Stick The dog was okay, after a surgery, and the company says that it happens with fewer than 1% of the products.

So, I'll just be tossing the Lickety Stick, and Elka was solid again by the next day. It was free and there seemed to be no lasting problems, so no harm no foul. Some peoples' dogs might be perfectly fine with the ingredients, but princess was apparently not.






33 comments:

  1. Yikes! We've tried it here, and nobody has had any ill effects, but Kuster's system is very prone to things throwing it off. I think he just lost Lickety Sticks privileges!

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    1. Yeah, I think it will probably vary by dog. Sometimes Elka is just fine with things, and others not.

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  2. Hmmm thanks for the post. Mason has a sensitive tummy (weird with all the crap he finds to eat) and gets loose/water poos. I have been thinking about getting this for the same reason you wanted it, but now maybe I'll avoid it.

    ~Mason's Mommy

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    1. I'm thinking of getting camping squeeze tubes and trying those out with peanut butter or cream cheese, something like that.

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  3. That could happen, we had the same thing with saumon oil... but I'm glad Elka is ok now.

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    1. With salmon oil added to food, or as a separate treat? Interesting.

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  4. I don't think that is a product I would try. Glad Elka is feeling better.

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    1. I wouldn't have if it wasn't free, I don't think. Of course "free" is one of those things...

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  5. I miss the giveaway but after hearing this, I don't think it is something I want to try. Thanks for the review!!

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    1. I hadn't heard really anything negative about this, so I was kind of surprised, really. It was literally the only thing different about her diet or routine on Friday, though.

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  6. I missed the giveaway too, but with four little guys, our odds of having a problem go up with any new product.

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  7. Mom can't have green tea and neither can we. Glad you are ok We don't like nutty ingredients
    Benny & Lily

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    1. Oh, see, it didn't occur to me that it was the green tea. I wonder if she's had anything else with green tea extract in it.

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  8. Yikes, thanks for the warning!!! So glad that Elka recovered quickly!

    ~Higgins

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    1. I was definitely pleased with her quick recovery! A sleepless day/night for both me and the fiance was not fun at all.

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  9. Oh dear! Well, 'natural liver flavors' can mean just about ANYTHING.
    So, I'm with you, it probally had something she was allergic/sensitive to. Thanks for the heads up, Ma missed the giveaway, but she might have thought about gettin' it.
    Glad it only lasted a day.

    Kisses,

    Ruby

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    1. Sometimes it's hard to anticipate what would bother her. She's had just liver without any problem!

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  10. I have a Lickety Stick which I've never used but have used Salmon Oil w/o trouble. Think I'll just pitch the stick - thanks; sorry about Elka's troubles :(.

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    1. Elka hasn't had Salmon Oil, but she's had the water from a can of tuna, and we've also used coconut oil and olive oil on her food without ill effect (she freaking LOVES the coconut oil).

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  11. I don't think I'd try this for Blueberry. I'm pretty picky about what I give her and anytime I read "flavor" in the ingredient I am immediately suspicious of how that "flavor" was processed. Glad Elka was ok and I'm sure lots of dogs love this product with no ill effects.

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    1. I do try to be picky about Elka's treats, especially since we already do the grain free food. I do think that results with this will vary a lot dog by dog, this is just our experience!

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  12. I missed the giveaway, but thanks to your very honest review, I think I won't be buying any of these! Thank you!

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    1. I think different dogs might have different results, but I was less than pleased with how Elka's insides reacted.

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  13. Believe it or not, your culprit could be the actual liver. I've certainly had similar results from giving Silas a few too many dried liver treats. It's probably, like you said, the flavoring process, but it might not be.

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    1. I did wonder about that, but I've given Elka liver before (That I cooked myself and cut up) without any problem. It's just a mystery, I guess, whether it's the flavoring process, or even the green tea extract as was suggested by another commenter.

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  14. I think it's an interesting product for all the reasons you mentioned. And it did get me thinking I might be able to make my own treat delivery device using a ketchup squeeze bottle and some kind of yummy puree.

    PetSafe, the company that sells Lickity Stick, is best known for their electric shock training collars. They also own Premier (tug-a-jug, easy walk harness) so they sell plenty of good products. But knowing a company is comfortable with shock training makes me cautious about other things they say are a good idea.

    That said, my trainer has used Lickity Stick when working with Honey and it did help us move her forward in our bike training. So, like your review pointed out, what works for one dog won't be good for all.

    Glad Elka wasn't sick for long.

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    1. Yeah, I'm definitely not a fan of companies that support/manufacture shock training. Do post about it if you make your own squeeze bottle puree treats! That is a great idea, and one that I hope to implement at some point as well.

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  15. I'm always naturally suspicious of any product that contains dairy, but doesn't require refrigeration and any product for dogs that contains green tea, without stating whether or not it is decaf. If it's not decaf, it could trigger diarrhea. Glad Elka's feeling better!

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    1. Considering human labeling of caf/decaf isn't so great, I guess we shouldn't be surprised dog labeling isn't either? I do have to work on honing my suspicions better, though.

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  16. I just tried the Lickety stick today for the first time. I got it free at a fund raiser so when I had to take both dogs to the vet today to check on a skin tag on one and a neuter site on the other I decided to use it to keep them calm at the Vets office. Now exactly 6 hours later I take both of my deaf white boxers outside to do their business and they both have the runs bad! This is the only thing different they both had today. I have 5 dogs and the only two that have diarrhea are the two that got the Lickety Stik. Christina Lee - Deaf Dogs Rock.com

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    1. Oh boy, I do hope that they feel better soon! For Elka it was jut that one day.

      It's a shame, because this was a really nifty product idea.

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