Sunday, May 20, 2012

Zeke Dental update

Remember the glowing review I gave to Zuke's Zbones (their dental treat) as compared to Greenies? 

I need to update my thoughts a bit.....

I originally fed "Z-ridges".  They were on sale because they were being discontinued and replaced with "Z-Bones", a product that had a different name and packaging, but I was told was an identical formula. 

Here's the issue --> the flavor I tried was "Original Fresh Breath".  I haven't been able to find it in the "new" product, and I've been told several of the "old" flavors have been discontinued.  The only flavors I can find are ones like "carrot", "apple" etc.  The ingredient lists ARE very similar, but the products with the "extra" flavorings break down much quicker and seem softer than the one I originally tried.  And when I say broke down faster.......it takes her 5 min or less to get through the new one compared to 20 or more minutes for the original product.  I think it's because the flavoring ingredients break up the product enough that it doesn't hold together the same.  Could it also be because of the addition of tapioca?  I'm not sure, but at least until I can find a flavor that behaves more like the original fresh breath I originally tried, I'm not sure I can whole-heartedly recommend this product, and I'm not sure it's worth the cost to regularly feed.  Very disappointing how differently the "new" product performed (how long it lasted, perception of the "roughness" of the chewed surface etc.)

Here's the ingredient list for the product I originally fed: (Original Fresh Breath)
Potato starch
Vegetable glycerin
Cellulose fiber
Alfalfa concentrate
Natural flavor
Lecithin
Whey
Vanilla extract
Clove powder
Parsley powder
Nutmeg powder
fennel seed powder

Here's the ingredient list for the new "Z-bone" product: (Clean Carrot Crunch)
Potato starch
tapioca
Vegetable glycerin
Carrot
Pumpkin
Alfalfa concentrate
Cellulose fiber
Beta carotene
Lecithin
Natural flavor
Parsley
Ground clove
Rosemary extract
Fennel seed powder
vanilla extract
Calcium propionate
Zinc propionate

I'm going to contact the company and see what they say.  

1 comment:

  1. How disappointing. I'll be keen to hear what if anything else you manage to find...I know myself too well to think I'll brush dog teeth consistently, so I would love to find a dental toy or some such that would really work. My senior dog had great teeth with no effort on my part up until about a year ago...the young dog I would like to start on something just in case she's not that genetically well-off.

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