SUCCESS!!!!!! GREENIES CHANGES FORMULA

Most of you know that I have had an ongoing crusade against Greenie Dental treats, which has included writing letters to the company as well as stores and Vets that sell them. There has been overwhelming evidence that GREENIES CAN KILL DOGS.

I am excited to report that Greenies has changed their formula!!!!!!!!! They "rolled out" their new formula at a conference recently which was attended by a friend of mine who is a Vet. She said she took one of the new Greenies home and dropped it into a glass of water over night and the greenie completely dissolved. This is unlike the previous formula which basically sat in lump at the bottem of the glass.

I still believe that there are better ways to keep your dogs teeth clean but perhaps there will now be few dogs dying from these deadly treats. Please note that although the consistency is a bit softer there is still a choling hazard presented by these treats and dogs should be well supervised is you decide to use them.

For my dogs I will still avoid Greenies but is is good to know that consumers do have a voice!! It is my understanding that in most major pet stores Greenies have been pulled from the shelves until mid October when the new formula is released.

Quote:
100% Edible: New Greenies® dental chews are 100% edible which means that there isn't anything in it that your dog can't eat and enjoy.

Extremely Soluble: New Greenies® dental chews are easy to digest and highly soluble (that means that they break down easily in the digestion process). We talked to a lot of nutritionists and scientists and discovered that the key to solubility lies in the proteins used to make the product. We use 4 very high-quality, easily digested proteins as the building blocks of the new chewy recipe:

=> Gelatin
=> Wheat protein isolate
=> Soy protein isolate
=> Sodium caseinate

This new protein combination gives new Greenies® dental chews it's irresistible chewiness and is the reason why the product will break down quickly in your dog's digestive system. In fact, scientists showed us that after 24 hours in a simulated digestion test, a whole petite Greenies® dental chew was reduced to absolute mush! How's that for digestible?

Try it yourself, toss a new Greenies® dental chew into a glass of water and see how soft it gets after only a few hours.

95.7% Digestible: New Greenies® dental chews are 96% digestible - that's more than your average dry dog food (80-85%). That means that your dog's body can easily absorb and use all those good vitamins and minerals that we've added to the formula!

Breaking Up Is Easy to Do: Greenies® dental chews have a new shape! Not only does the new toothbrush have more nooks and crannies to clean teeth, it also has more natural break points to help a dog naturally chew it into small, easily-digested pieces.

It's All in the Chew: Last but not least, you can see how chewy the new Greenies® dental chew is. This chewy texture actually makes it easier for dogs to lovingly gnaw new Greenies® dental chews into delicious little bits that are easy to swallow and digest.
Respond to this topic here on forum.oes.org  
Wow... great news!

These treats are still absolutely loaded with carbohydrates and high calories, which for many dogs, especially oes, can cause digestive upset (diarreah, vomiting etc)
I have a question about that...

They say: "We talked to a lot of nutritionists and scientists and discovered that the key to solubility lies in the proteins used to make the product."

Then they say: "Try it yourself, toss a new Greenies® dental chew into a glass of water and see how soft it gets after only a few hours."

I was completely unaware that water could break down proteins; I always thought that required enzymes.

Anyway, I am very happy that Greenies has done this. I know that they were boguht out a while back, and I was hopeful that the new owner would have the foresight to do something like this.

Yay! :cheer:
That is good news. I still won't be using them, but I'm glad to know that for those who choose to do so, there is less danger from Greenies.
Ditto on Tammy's comment. Good catch Ron, I missed that.
No greenies at our house either. We had a near-obstruction with our little min pin Tazz - it was bad. I have been on my own personal "no greenies" campaign too!

I won't use them still, but I am glad they are trying to improve the product.
Ron wrote:
I have a question about that...

They say: "We talked to a lot of nutritionists and scientists and discovered that the key to solubility lies in the proteins used to make the product."

Then they say: "Try it yourself, toss a new Greenies® dental chew into a glass of water and see how soft it gets after only a few hours."

I was completely unaware that water could break down proteins; I always thought that required enzymes.



Yay! :cheer:



Soluable means going into solution, which is different than breaking down. More like breaking apart. Proteins do go into solution in water--think of it as clumps breaking apart into very small pieces. In fact, this is one step in a protein purification process. You can actually sort proteins by size this way, by putting your protein sample in a special porous membrane with pores of a known size (very, very small).

Breaking down protiens is something else altogether. That means that the bonds between amino acids (the building blocks of protiens) are broken. Sorry for the nerdy reply, but I wanted to clarify this.

No, I don't work for whatever company it is that makes Greenies, but I do have a degree in cell and molecular biology and I've actually had to carry out protein purification schemes on samples. It is not my intention to put in a plug for Greenies. I don't use them for my dogs.
Thank you for your explanation!
The ingredients say HYDRONATED starch.
I was lawys lead to believe anything hydronated was not good for humans or dogs?

It clogs the arteries.
I don't know if hydrogenated starch is the same thing as a hydrogenated oil, but it's gotta be better for them than something that occasionally gets stuck in the intestinal tract. ;)
Great news, but none in our house still!
Hydrogenation is the process that changes liquid vegetable oils into a more solid form in order to lengthen their shelf life. A good example is Crisco oil and vegetable shortening. Crisco oil is a liquid at room temperature; it is hydrogenated to produce solid Crisco vegetable shortening. The process of hydrogenation also increases the saturated-fat content. In general, foods that are less hydrogenated are preferred because they have less saturated fat. The hydrogenation of oil is a process that was developed by Crisco, in the early 1900's, and involves somehow chemically binding the oil molecule in double bonds between carbon atoms.

The process of hydrogenation itself is not harmful, it is WHAT is being hydrogenated. Hydrogenation is a way of extending shelf life of a product. Oil is a non healtful food that is made more unhealthy by hydrogenation. I don't think the same principle applies to hydrogenated starch, it is just a chemical way of making the starch more solid at room temp and extending shelf life.
I don't have a dog, several other species of animals, but no dog. Recently we have added a new kitten to our lil zoo. She LOVES greenies for cats. Does anyone have any info about that product. Are these similar stories about greenies causing problems for cats? We have stopped giving them to her, but she waits by the door for her lil treat.... I decided I would do some research before I caved in.
So, does anyone know - if the package does NOT say "New formula" how do you know they're not the original? "Best used by" date? and what date would that be?
No, I just avoid them all together. Too risky. I make home made treats for my dogs. In the event I need a back up plan, I use Old Mother Hubbard - her cookie recipe is pretty similar to mine. :wink:
That is a great question!

Maybe you could contact the company at
http://www.greenies.com/en_US/ContactUs/default.aspx
and ask them, then let US know too?

Thanks!

EDIT: In fact, I just sent them this question myself:
Quote:
Hi,
I was wondering if you could tell me how to tell if a package of Greenies contains the new formula?
Is there a word on the package? Is it on all packages? Is there a use-by date that can give a clue perhaps?
Thanks!


I'll post back here if I get an answer.
Berry wrote:
So, does anyone know - if the package does NOT say "New formula" how do you know they're not the original? "Best used by" date? and what date would that be?


I highly doubt that you would find any of the original formula on store shelves. As the new forumla took over for it over a year ago.


WARNING!! My Chihuahua died after eating one of the "NEW" formula Greenies. No it wasn't too big for her. It was the Teeny ones approved for dogs 5 lbs and up. She was 8 lbs. It got stuck in her espophagus and a week later, when it disintegrated enough to dislodge from where it was, it got stuck further down and choked her to death. The Vet at the emergency hospital said the "NEW" formula is only 3% more digestible than the original. Nobody would agree to perform a procedure that would have saved her as nobody in my area was trained to do the procedure. We had an appt with a specialist for the following week, which was too late. :(

So my opinion is no Greenie is a good Greenie.
I will personally never use greenies ever again! My dog has been into the vet five times now for ruptured anal gland's ... Which we have now realized is due to her eating greenies! She was just in again to the vet on Tuesday, after going through a miserable three days over Labor Day weekend.
What is a "choling hazard "?

http://www.oes.org/page2/10164~SUCCESS_ ... RMULA.html
That was the accepted spelling of "choking hazard" when this thread was started 10 years ago. :potstir:
Haha! Should I fix it?

Some members have gotten upset that I edited their posts...
Hmm. Sad for any pet that was harmed by original formula. However, popcorn, grapes, carrots, etc. are some of the biggest fatal choking hazards for human children. We don’t ban sale, we educate on proper cutting, age appropriateness, etc. My big lab loved the old Greenies. He is an eager chewer, but never bit off big chunks or had any issues. Now with the chewy formula, he eats them in big chunks in seconds flat. When we adopted him from rescue, we were alerted he had very aggressive dental biofilm and he sure to give him hard dental treats daily. The new Greenies leave buildup that the old recipe removed. He is also chewing more unsafe, no edible items without his daily hard Greenies. At least we know why now. We complained to Mars thinking a batch wasn’t dried properly or had incorrect moisture content. They sent a $60+ coupon and now we realized all Greenies are this way now. We even sent them pics of the horrible buildup on his teeth not removed with the new formula. Now we know this was a win for you. Just a loss for us and our dog who loved the old product and did very well with it. Could he have been harmed someday? Maybe. But my 9 year old kid could also choke on a carrot or grape despite these being age appropriate foods.
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