Dog Chews Homemade

I live in Appalachia. I’ve always lived here. I’ve always been aware of the Haints that are my neighbors. They are aware of me too. When I was young, they used to terrify me. Eyes within the trees, whispers that sound like human voices mixed with the howling winds. When the birds go silent, you become acutely aware of the fact you are trespassing on your neighbors property and you are not welcome. Unlike people, Haints don’t use guns to defend themselves. As I grew older, I grew a deep appreciation for them. This has been their home much longer than it has been mine. The Appalachian mountains are older than we can dream of, older than bones and even the sea. When you’re quiet and still, you can speak to the bones. The ground itself talks in a voice with no sound, communicating to your soul, not your conscious mind. When I first bought my own property with my husband, I made it clear to the Haints I was going to inhabit this property as it was my own. I gave them gifts of milk and sugar, woven baskets and carved charms set with the intentions and phrases my Mamaw taught, passed down from the ten generations my family had lived here. Then I set my wards. Nails taken from the corner boards of my house salted and blessed with my own blood. My husband isn’t from here originally so he thought it was a bit of an extreme response, but he didn’t protest. He declined my offers to add him to the wards. I wasn’t pleased with that. I’d no intention of forcing him though. He didn’t believe my stories for the first year. It wasn’t until the things in our house would go missing only to be shortly returned after I served up honey milk to the Haint living with us that he started to believe. He never confirmed it aloud but the change in his disposition was clear. He began to fear the things in the woods. I told him time and time again there was no fear to be had as long as we respected them the same they respected us. Yet he still refused to be out past sundown. We no longer hosted bonfires or watched the fireflies after the trout bellied sky sank beneath the horizon. I understood the fear he held. The paralysis of realizing you are being watched cautiously by things beyond your comprehension. The apex predator is aware you are stepping on its territory, and it may pounce at any moment. It wasn’t until the screams started that I became nervous as well. I’d heard the screams before, almost woman-like, yet oddly inhuman. It had been many years since I’d felt the dread they inspired, the need to flee. My husband froze, still as a rabbit on its haunches, waiting to see what the hound will do. I guided his arm inside and locked the door, salting the windows and door. I was confident in my wards, but that did not mean I was somehow stronger than whatever this was. As far as I knew, the wards could be completely useless. The Haints run by their own rules. The words of my father from childhood stuck in my head. “That ain’t how a woman screams. Go inside.” He said it with such a serious face, as if he was warning me, not just keeping me away from a fox or a mountain lion. When we heard the deer screaming in agony two days later, his eyes darkened and he turned his back to the woods with resolve. He kept the shotgun by the door for a month after that. Something I was now doing too. We lived that way for six months. This Haint, unwilling to live amicably with me like so many others, terrorized my husband the most. He woke up screaming most nights, some night terror breaking his mind slowly but surely. I was beginning to grow angry. I had made good faith offerings, burnt meat in a fire just outside my bounds, honey bread and homemade meeds, yet the Haint accepted none of it. All was spoiled and rotten by morning, a rude rejection and a statement to me. It only stoked the flames in my own soul. This was my home just as it was the Haints and I would not allow it to terrorize my loved one. It began killing my chickens. That was when I decided it was war. I responded in earnest, upping my wards tenfold, saying nightly prayers, calling upon the friendly neighbors for aid. I did not like calling upon them. It always came at a cost. I was growing more rapidly aware of the fact that if I did not, this Haint would kill us. It was not content to only feed off the discomfort, it craved the taste of flesh. My chickens were not a satisfactory substitute. I saw it for the first time three years into us living here. It stood at the edge of my wards, careful not to step over them, yet seemingly testing the bounds. Its appearance is difficult to describe but I will do my best. Deer are prey animals. Their eyes are set on the side of their heads to give them near complete 360 degree vision. Their legs are made for running and hold immense ability to spring into jumps over creek beds or brush as they escape hunters. This beast did not hold those features. Its eyes were front set, pitch black with absolutely no glint as the porch light hit them. It stood taller at the shoulder than a normal deer, nearly as tall as the willow it towered near. Its mouth was wrong, slitted and barely masking the shape of sharpened teeth. It moved its head like a cat, cocked its head to the side like a dog, chittered like a fox, stepped like a mountain lion. What I found most uncanny, were its legs. They were not the slender, graceful legs of a deer. They were muscular. The legs of a predator, not prey. It pawed the ground with a ferocity that spoke to its power, one I did not want to cross. The antlers upon its head were sharper than nature intended, the shedded velvet coated with dried blood. I suppose this could’ve meant it sheds its antlers like a normal deer, but deep in my bones I knew they were attached to its skull like horns. I did something then that many would consider stupid. My husband was deep asleep, tired after a days work and exhausted from the ongoing torment. So, as quietly as I could, I slipped out the back door and walked to it. It seemed surprised I had chosen this route. It took several steps back, cautiously watching my hands as if I were going to pull a revolver and silver bullets from my pockets. I did not. I held the leftover pork from that nights meal. I placed it upon the ground and pushed it with a branch across the ward lines. It regarded me with interest, unsure of what my motive was. For the first time, it bowed its head and ate. I took it as a sign of truce, at least in that moment. I spoke to it. Introduced myself, my lineage, introduced it to the bones of my kin who now walk the deep earth of the mountain, same as the Haints. I asked it as simply as possible, “What do you seek out of this?” Its head shifted and clicked, the teeth in its mouth showing as if it was grinning. “I want him.” The words took me aback. My husband. The outsider who had done no conceivable harm to anything here, who had been respectful as I’d told him to be, who’d followed every rule. “Why?” I did not bother to hide the shock or animosity in my voice. “How well do you truly know the man you have bound yourself to? How much do you know of his history, of the path his kin have passed to him? How confident are you that man is a good one? You will find me when you decide. That is, if it is not too late.” The voice that spoke to me did not come from vocal chords. It traveled up my spine, the voice of the grave dirt beneath my feet seeking revenge of ages. It regarded me one final time before its shadowy form sank into the darkest part of the tree line. I chewed on its words for several days. Told myself that it was meaning to make me paranoid, distrustful of my husband. If that was the intent, it was working. I could not hope to view him the same way. I watched his every move and reconsidered everything he’d told me. I watched as he snapped at me over small things, something I’d once blamed on the Haint tormenting us. I re-examined the ways he drank, unable to sleep or feel much without it. I considered the way he chopped wood as if it had done something to him, an intense anger just underneath the surface. I listened to the words he spoke in his sleep, realizing they were not words in response to a Haint, but someone from his past. I began to wonder if the Haint was his reckoning. I spent a month pondering what to do. I sat by my ward lines night after night, waiting for the Haint to speak to me once again. It never came. I could hear it, feel it just beyond the capabilities of my sight, even felt as if I made eye contact with it a few times. He’s starting to become paranoid of me as well. I feel his eyes upon me when my back is turned. I see the way his knuckles go white as he grasps knives at dinner time. I see the way his jaw tightens when I speak. I’m beginning to wonder if I’ve been fighting the wrong war. If the isolation I once considered sanctuary will become my grave. I broke my ward last night. It was on pure impulse. My Mamaw would scold me if she could see the way I went about it. Dug it up under the cover of night and felt the cold wash of the surrounding neighbors overtake me. I heard the sounds of the stag chittering with that fox-like voice. Then I went to bed. I do not know how long I have until this war ends. I do not know which side I am on. All I know is I clutch my protection necklace much more tightly and I no longer sleep at night. I watch and whisper to the Haints I call my neighbors. submitted by /u/I_go_by_kk to r/nosleep [link] [comments]

Hey all, As the title reads, one of my dogs had a death wish and swallows just about anything she can. No chew, only swallow. She comes close to choking on her own food if i didn't have a slow feeder, and this is now proving almost impossible to find her a chew that isn't a choking/impacting risk too. I was doing frozen RMBs once a week (beef neck/pork neck/ox tail usually) but she was swallowing the chunks of bones, like golf ball size pieces, and throwing them up a day later. The same thing has happened to the yak chews I feed, I've tried using the Jughead toy and everything to slow her down but just now she managed to get the chew OUT of the jughead and swallowed a 3-4 inch piece. I'm now terrified she's gonna risk impacting herself zzzz. 🥲 Bully sticks are not an affordable option for me due to them lasting less than 10 minutes. My other dog isn't as big of a chewer so it takes her several days on and off to finish a yak chew. But my death wishing dog can go through a jumbo in 2-3 hours straight. It's because she's eating large chunks off it rather than chewing it slowly. I'm desperate to find something that works that can allow her to get that chew game on minus the risk of swallowing large chunks. I've looked into Ugly chews but those are a bit too out of my price range. If there are even homemade things I can make her, I will! I cook their food daily so I wouldn't mind the extra steps, I'm just at a lose as to what else to try that isnt inherently a risk to her. I'm open to everything as long as it's natural- i no longer use plastic or Nylah anything. Thing's I've tried already: Antlers Yak chews Honest Chew Bully sticks (don't last) Raw hide alternatives (don't last) Wood chews, real and manmade toys Nylah toys Multiple chew toysb(she has little interest in chewing toys themselves) Puzzle toys (doesn't last or gets frustrated and leaves lol). submitted by /u/V3mo to r/DogAdvice [link] [comments]

If you’re looking for a simple daily add-on thatcovers the most important nutrients dogs tend to miss in their food—this is one worth knowing about. These beef-flavored soft chews are designed to support your dog from nose to tail. They’re made with a full spectrum of vitamins + minerals, plus omegas and antioxidants to help with skin, coat, energy, joints, and immune health. And yes—dogs actually think they’re treats, not vitamins. ⸻ ⭐ What Makes Them Interesting? 🔹 Canine Royal Oil™ — features cold-pressed cranberry seed oil Naturally rich in Omegas 3, 6 & 9 for skin, coat, brain, heart & immune support. 🔹 Joint-Friendly Ingredients Includes Glucosamine + MSM — a combo commonly used to support mobility, flexibility, and comfort, especially for active or aging dogs. 🔹 Complete B-Complex Helps with energy metabolism, cognition, and stress recovery. 🔹 Immune + Skin Support Vitamins A, C & E plus zinc, manganese, selenium, and iron. 🔹 No junk No artificial fillers, dyes, or synthetic nonsense — just ingredients your dog’s body can recognize and use. ⸻ 🐶 Good For: ✔ Growing puppies ✔ Active adults ✔ Slowing-down seniors ✔ Dogs who could use more spring in their step ✔ Picky eaters (because they taste like treats) ⸻ 📏 Suggested Use (Daily Dosage) • Up to 25 lbs — 1 chew • 26–50 lbs — 2 chews • 51–75 lbs — 3 chews • Over 75 lbs — 4 chews ⸻ 📦 Product Specs • 60 soft chews • 4g per chew • Natural beef flavor ⸻ These aren’t meant to replace good nutrition — but they’re a super easy way to fill gaps, especially for dogs on kibble or homemade diets. Happy to answer questions about any of the ingredients or science behind them! submitted by /u/naturalranchproducts to r/PetSuperfoodScience [link] [comments]

I don’t know if I just love this hat because I spent hours making it with my hands or if it actually looks nice, and sometimes strangers do give me compliments about it. It’s getting a bit pilly because it’s a few years old now, and my dog chewed on it once or twice lol. Even still, it’s warm and comfy as ever. But the main issue is that most people I know in my actual life just rag on me for wearing it all the time. They say stuff like: “Oh…the Russian prince hat again.” “I figured you would’ve thrown that thing out by now.” “You know I can get you another beanie if you need one, right?” Posting this partially to vent and commiserate, but also curious if any of you get similar gruff about your own homemade garments. Thanks for your time! submitted by /u/jesusgottago to r/crochet [link] [comments]

I'm looking for some dental chews, either bought or homemade recipes, that are low protein, sodium, and phosphorous. I have an older dog who has early kidney disease and can't digest those three well, and every dental chew I've found either has too much sodium or too much protein. I did see a recipe for soaking carrots in bone broth and freezing them, I'm just worried my pup will chip a tooth or something. submitted by /u/OldTownUli to r/DogAdvice [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/AccomplishedTrash24 to r/shitfromabutt [link] [comments]