Although fresh is best, all Butch rolls can be frozen. to extend the shelf life. As with any meat product, do not re-freeze after thawing.

The nutritional requirements of a pet will vary at different life stages (i.e., growing animal, adult animal, pregnant animal and lactating animal). Most Butch products have been formulated to cover the nutritional requirements of all stages of an animal's life (check individual product wrappers).

No. Never feed your dog chocolate. Chocolate contains a chemical called methylxanthine. Unlike humans, dogs can't get rid of this chemical from their body. It accumulates in the body and poisons the dog. Symptoms of methylxanthine poisoning include vomiting, hyperactivity, restlessness, hypersensitivity to touch, tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), hyperventilation (rapid breathing rate), loss of control of leg muscles, muscle tremors, seizures, general weakness, coma and death. The amount of methylxanthine present varies with different brands of chocolate. Milk chocolates have mildest forms whereas some dark bitter chocolates have strongest form of methylxanthine and are ten times more lethal than milk chocolate. For a 10kg dog, the lethal dose of a milk chocolate is around 560g and the lethal dose of dark bitter chocolates is around 56g.

Butch White Label is an excellent choice. It does not contain any red meat or wheat (the gluten in wheat can also cause an allergic reaction). Butch White Label is made from 100% chicken. The added Kelp and Omega-3 further reduces the incidence of rash/dry skin. Kelp binds with heavy metal ions and helps to eliminate them from the body system, rather than producing an allergic reaction when they are deposited under the skin. Omega-3 (derived from fish) produces a shiny coat.

No. Butch products do not contain Ethoxyquin.

It’s great to see that you are playing an active role in your dog’s nutrition; however I believe your husband has been misinformed regarding the addition of garlic. Administered correctly it is highly beneficial to your dog’s overall health. I assure you Wag Garlic & Rice is safe to feed; it would be extremely foolish and self-destructive for us to add garlic if it was not beneficial to your pets health. We add less than 0.1% of garlic to our product, that’s like 1/2 of a clove in a 3kg Wag Garlic & Rice roll. We cook around 32,000kg of this particular formula per week, so probably more than 9,000 dogs are eating this daily in New Zealand and have been doing so for more than 40 years without any issues. The garlic odour may vary as it is a natural product.

Here is a portion of an article By Dr. Dave Summers who is a nutritionist that I hope will clarify things for you.

Dr. Dave Summers;
Question: What is the difference between a nutrient, a drug, and a toxin? Answer: Dosage. That is an old saying among nutritionists, and it’s true. To say something is toxic without some reference to the level needed to cause the toxic effect is misleading, especially in the fields of nutrition and health.

Lots of nutrients we, and our pets, consume are potentially toxic. An example is the trace mineral selenium. Selenium is usually added to pet foods at the level of 0.2 ppm (parts per million). Increase that level to 1 ppm you get additional health benefits. Increase it to 10 ppm and the level becomes toxic, possibly even deadly.

Another example of where confusion is caused by talking about toxicity without considering dosage rate is Poinsettias. “Poinsettias are toxic; don’t let your dog near them.” Not true. Chocolate is another example. Chocolate can be deadly to dogs in high dosages, especially highly-potent chocolate such as unsweetened baker’s chocolate or cocoa powder. If your Labrador steals a single milk chocolate off the table, it will likely suffer no ill effects. If your Teacup Poodle eats a whole box of dark chocolate, she should visit the veterinarian immediately.

The list of potentially toxic items could go on and on. I could include nutrients like salt, vitamin D, or Zinc. You name it, and it could be toxic at some level. Garlic is Healthy.

Garlic is added to dog foods because it has many health benefits, even at the very low levels used. Its main benefit is improvement to the health of the digestive tract. The other medicinal properties of garlic include: anti-microbial, antioxidant, antibiotic, fights cancer cells, decreases blood cholesterol, helps to prevent strokes and decreases blood pressure.

In fact, most of the research into the effect of feeding garlic to dogs is done because the researchers want to better understand the benefits of garlic, not the dangers.

Be assured that garlic is safe at the level used in dog foods, and remember that talking about toxicity without putting in some context of a “normal” consumption level is misleading.

LINKS RE GARLIC

• www.petguide.com/health/dog/the-shocking-truth-about-dogs-and-garlic/
• drpollen.blogspot.ae/2009/10/is-garlic-safe-for-cats-and-dogs.html
• us.petvalu.com/health-nutrition/dr-dave/articles/understanding-garlic?geoip=50910353

Bones are a good source of calcium and also contain some other minerals and vitamins however, if you feed a balanced diet like Butch he will be getting enough nutrients already. With this in mind, dogs do enjoy bones as they are tasty and he will be occupied with it for hours, it also exercises the jaws and keeps the teeth and gums clean. Remember you can only give large marrowbones without splinters, to prevent serious internal injury. Never give your dog, chicken or rabbit bones to eat. If you have a problem getting fresh bones, there are artificial chews available in most pet shops.

Plaque forms naturally and continuously. Plaque is deposition of food debris and bacteria. The build-up of plaque contributes to bad breath, periodontal disease (infection of the teeth and gums) and eventually tooth loss. In order to promote effective cleaning, the food must remain in contact with the teeth and gums. Unlike dry pet food, which shatters into small pieces, Butch surrounds the teeth and gums and contains finely ground bone which gently cleans your pet’s teeth as they chew.

I advise you to leave your pet with friends or a kennel if possible. However, if you are intent on taking him with you, first make sure that you can keep your pet with you in the places where you are going to stay. It is also advisable to visit your vet and do a general check up. Make sure your pet wears a collar with complete identification and a license tag. Remember to bring his favourite food, toys, dishes and leash. If your pet is not accustomed to the car, first take him for a few short rides. Grooming (bathing, combing, nail trim) before the trip will make him more comfortable. During the trip try to follow his regular feeding routine and it is advisable to give his main meal at the end of the day or when you have reached your destination. Stop every two hours for exercise and give small portions of food and water. Do not allow him to put his head outside the window while driving. Particles of dirt can penetrate the eyes, nose and ears, causing injury or infection. Excessive amounts of cold air taken into the lungs may also cause problems. When you leave your dog in a parked car, be sure to lock all the doors, and open the windows enough to provide adequate ventilation without allowing the dog to jump out or get its head caught. It is dangerous to leave your pet inside the car in warm, hot or humid weather. Have a great trip!

If your dog's body weight has increased more than 15% over her optimum body weight then she is overweight. All dogs or cats that are more than 15% above their optimum weight should follow a proper weight reduction programme to minimise health problems, reduce future healthcare costs, improve appearance and to increase the animal's longevity and enjoyment of life.

There are many factors that can cause obesity; inherited, endocrine imbalance or hypothalamic lesion, social pressures, or high diet availability and palatability, high fat or sucrose diet, ageing, confinement, neutering etc. You have to evaluate the cause and follow the weight reduction programme under your vet's supervision. Feed the dog a nutritionally balanced, high fibre (more than 15% in dry matter), low fat (less than 15% in dry matter) diet that is 35-45% lower in caloric density than the animal's previous diet. For a cat the diet should be 20-30% lower in caloric density compared to his previous diet. If the result is not satisfactory then you should restrict the dogs diet. The amount fed should be restricted to provide 60-65% of caloric requirement of maintenance at optimum weight. Do not feed anything other than specified amount of the proper food and water. Keep your pet out of the room when food for the family is being prepared or eaten. Take the animal for two 10-15 minute walks daily. Gradually increase the distance covered in the same time. Weigh the animal weekly and record its weight. Adjust the amount being fed to produce a 2-4% weekly weight loss. Do not restrict the food rather than the recommended one and try to obtain a quick weight reduction; that is more dangerous than obesity. If you can't obtain the desired weight loss you may have to try pharmacological or surgical methods. Obesity is a recurrent problem. To prevent recurrence, your animal should be fed a restricted diet and exercised daily. Weigh the animal at a regular interval, record it and if necessary adjust the amount fed to maintain optimum weight.

You can start to give solid food when they are between 3-4 weeks of age. In the early stage of weaning, mother's milk is the important source of nutrient at this time the puppies' digestive system is learning to handle new sources of nutrient. You have to encourage them to take soft, wet food moistened with water or gravy. Some people feel milk and milk food should figure prominently at the end of weaning regime but this is not the case. Highly palatable energy and nutrient dense foods are preferable. At 6-8 weeks of age puppies become fully weaned and you can separate them from their mother. At this age the energy requirement per unit of body weight is double that of an adult of the same breed. Other than energy, requirements for other nutrients are high in this period. In this period you have to give energy and nutrient dense, easily digestible food 4 times a day. Feed 4 small meals per day to allow the digestive system to efficiently digest and absorb the nutrient. If you feed ad libitum (continuous access to feed) they will tend to over eat. Excessive fat deposition in the puppies during the growth will cause obesity later in life.

A dog can be fed with cat food. A cat however, has extra requirements of some nutrients. Unless the pet food has been formulated to cover the nutritional requirements of both species, like Tasti Dinner, Ginger Tom, Meati Dinner,or Blue Label cats cannot be fed with dog food.

No. Throughout their evolution cats have relied only on animal tissue, unlike dogs which can eat a diet of animal and vegetable origin. The cats body system can only utilise the nutrients found in animal tissue. Cats need more protein than dogs. If the protein level is low in the diet, the dog's system will reduce the breakdown (wastage) of protein within the body. But as the cat is used to eating high protein animal sources, their body system has a limited ability to adjust, even when their protein intake is low. Cats need taurine - an amino acid, as a dietary source, where as dogs do not.

Dogs can satisfy their requirement of Vitamin A, Vitamin C and arachidonic acid (a fatty acid used for formation of cell membranes), from other substitutes those predominantly found in plant tissue. But for the cat, those nutrients have to be found elsewhere. Dogs have the enzymes that convert the ß carotene found in vegetables into Vitamin A, but cats don't have this enzyme, so cats can't utilise the ß carotene in vegetables. Animal tissue is the cats only natural source for Vitamin A. Butch rolls, tubs, and cans are formulated based on fresh animal protein, also for quick energy supply and for some other nutritional improvements we include some sources of carbohydrate.

Click on Smudged Game Code? (under where you type in your game codes to play Fish For Cash) complete the details and you will be emailed a replacement.

No.

Coat his pill in honey and place inside his mouth. Be sure to close his mouth quickly and hold closed for a few seconds while he swallows.

Butch does not make dry biscuits as we don't believe in the concept of feeding a grain based diet to carnivorous animals.As you have noticed, many health issues can be alleviated just by switching to a moisture rich meat diet (Dry Pet Food is only 10% moisture compared with fresh meat and Butch which is over 70%).Also cats bodies are not designed to graze. With Butch you don't need to leave the food out all day. You should feed once in the morning and once at night. All the food should be eaten within around 10 minutes (see Daily Serving Guide on the pack).Congratulations on making the change.

Butch.co.nz no longer sends confirmation emails for Fish For Cash or Shop orders due to the use of spam blocking software that is now widely used, a good portion of people do not receive our email. Going forward, all confirmation of game plays and shop orders are recorded on your FFC rewards home page, and Order history in Shop.

No, we do not do any laboratory testing on animals.

Fish For Cash is a game of chance, the moment you enter your game code and click PLAY the system randomly selects a result which is logged in your play history. The corresponding play then loads on your screen for you to watch. With Fish For Cash you can win instant cash and prizes. Fish For Cash Booty Rewards is in addition to Fish For Cash. Every time you play Fish For Cash you get a chance to select a booty icon from 5 treasure chests. These icons are stored in your online treasure chest. With them you can claim daily jackpots, trade on the booty market and enter the SPCA Ruffle. Fish For cash game codes are printed on the wrapper of all Butch pet rolls.

As with any change to your dog’s diet, it is recommended that you do this gradually over a few days. A sudden change in diet could lead to an upset stomach - however this is uncommon with Butch. Mix Butch with your pets existing diet increasing the proportion of Butch fed each day until your pet is eating only Butch.

In natural life cats and dogs would eat a diet with a moisture level of approx 73%. Dry dog food contains about 10% moisture. Providing your pet with water to drink to compensate is not enough. Water is their most essential nutrient, it’s required for almost every biochemical reaction in their bodies. Butch products are made with fresh, lightly cooked meat and the moisture level is carefully maintained throughout the cooking process, to ensure that it is kept at the optimum level for your pet, 71-73%.

Nutrient requirements vary at different life stages of all animals. Growing animals, pregnant and lactating animals all require higher amounts of nutrients. However the higher amounts that they require are still suitable for healthy adults.The creation of different products for different life stages was originally driven by manufacturers of dry pet food. Adding the extra nutrients to make a product complete for all ages can be expensive. This is especially true with dry food as they start with grain and need to add almost all the nutrients to meet the specified nutrient levels. Butch rolls are different. Our main ingredient is high quality fresh meat which naturally contains most of the required nutrients. Our all life stages products are then scientifically blended with selected cereals, vitamins and minerals to deliver the specified nutrient levels for all life stages, naturally.

Cats and dogs are carnivores. Their bodies are designed to process meat not grain. Look at their teeth. They have canine teeth designed for shredding and tearing meat. Their digestive tract is short, designed to process meat. Processing grain takes more time and hence requires a longer digestive tract, like humans. A meat based diet is what nature intended for your pets.

Reputable pet food companies will either list the % of each ingredient on their packaging or will be happy to provide this information if you contact them. Note: Dry pet food contains more grain than meat. Often packaging of dry pet food will list a meat as the first ingredient, but then go on to list many variants of grains, that when added together equal far more than the meat ingredients.

In most dry foods, it is flaxseed. Butch enriches its rolls with Omega-3 derived from fish oil (rather than flaxseed) as fish is a rich source of EPA and DHA fatty acids which are most beneficial and more readily utilized by the body. As Butch rolls are made from meat they naturally contain the correct amount of Omega-6.

We believe that feeding a natural diet like Butch may prevent/or heal many common ailments. However if your dog does have a particular illness please contact us for direction on which of our products will be suitable. The nutrient levels in dry pet food cannot be directly compared to Butch due to the different moisture levels and ingredients. Our nutritionist/veterinary team will be happy to advise based on the diagnosis you have been given or symptoms your dog is experiencing. Email info@butch.co.nz for more information.

Bread is short of many important nutrients (protein, calcium, phosphorus etc.) and it is full of carbohydrate.Giving your dog too much bread is not advisable but feeding occasionally is ok, if you are feeding nutritionally complete dog food as the main diet. Note: Yeast is added to bread and some dogs are allergic to yeast.

Garlic poisoning is very rare. A dog would need to ingest several gloves of garlic.The quantity of garlic we use is measured, limited and completely safe. It does not accumulate in the body even when consumed every day. Both cats and dogs have been fed on our products that include garlic for over 30 years.We add Garlic for the nutritional benefits. Garlic is a natural antioxidant and may benefit pets with cancer, diabetes, liver, heart and kidney disease. It also has natural antibiotic and anti-parasitic properties.