MILTON - Sharon Adye-White had exhausted all measures in trying to ease her cocker spaniel’s constant anxiety.
Veterinarian-prescribed medication, CBD, thunder shirts – you name, she’d tried it. Still, the suffering continued.
“He was a mess,” said the local realtor and lifelong dog lover of Teddy, a rescue dog clearly traumatized from his time at a puppy mill in the U.S. “He was spooked by everything… storms, men, going on walks. It took him six months just to come down and see me in the living room. It was bad.”
As dire as things were, Adye-White never abandoned hope.
After all, she’d seen one remarkable transformation already in her other cocker spaniel, Roxy – who’d been stricken with an aggressive form of cancer that actually caused her nose to disintegrate.
Advised that the situation was past the point where chemo or radiation could help, Adye-White began bracing to say goodbye and – together with her vet – opted to just give her “soul dog” the best final stretch possible.
As fortune would have it, she had just heard about the healing properties of chaga – a powerful antioxidant – and started using it in the homemade food prepared for Roxy.
The result was staggering.
“Within a month her nose was growing back. It was incredible,” recalled Adye-White. “I couldn’t believe it. It gave her two more years of a quality life.”
Convinced that another do-it-yourself solution was within reach for anxiety-riddled Teddy, she set to work on a stress-reduction dog treats journey that involved a deep dive of research and seemingly endless experimentation.
The magical formula was finally hit upon during the height of COVID – much to the relief of dog and owner alike.
“To see him during the storm when he just laid down… not shaking, not panting, I thought ‘Oh my goodness, this is fantastic’,” said Adye-White, who’d already been making her own crackers shortly after the pandemic began, as intermittent store closures and her allergy to wheat and diary severely limited snacking options for her busy, on-the-move lifestyle.
Similar success stories were enjoyed with family friends’ dogs, including Katie Douglas’ basset hound Pippa, who’d developed a nasty fear of fireworks and thunderstorms right around the time the treats were being created.
“Pippa will eat a few treats prior to such events and she’ll be calm and relaxed. This is truly a miracle,” said Douglas.
With overwhelming positive feedback, Paw-Freakin’-Tastic Dog Treats was born.
With all-natural ingredients added to the active agents of catnip, chamomile and lemon balm, Adye-White serves up two distinct treats designed to address different kinds of anxiety.
The No Worries tackles situational stress – everything from fireworks and storms to car rides and vet visits – while the Chillax deals with everyday anxiety related to such issues as separation and surgery recovery.
“It’s all herbal. It’s non-toxic. They (dogs) can’t overdose on this,” said Adye-White, who also makes everyday treats, both plain and with chaga – which she highly recommends for humans as well as dogs. The anti-anxiety treats include detailed instructions on how much to give a dog, based on weight and stress level. “It’s not the drugged-up feeling they’ll get from medication or CBD. They’re still functioning like a dog.”
Paw-Freakin’-Tastic first began selling at the 2022 Milton Winter Farmers’ Market, with both Adye-White’s human and dog treats being offered.
That didn’t last long.
“The dog treats hands down were the big sellors so I thought ‘Well, I guess we’re not making any more people crackers, we’re just going to sell dog treats,” she said.
Now selling at four area farmers’ markets – including Milton – Paw–Freakin’-Tastic has enjoyed growing business since launching online in January, and earlier this month expanded to include a U.S. customer base.
That was sparked by a chance meeting at Toronto’s Woofstock, where one of her customers would later post a glowing testimonial about the effect the chaga treats had on her cancer-inflicted pup.
“It was to the point where he wasn’t eating, he wasn’t drinking, he wasn’t peeing or pooing and the vet had said you need to put the dog down today,” said Adye-White, who’s recruited some young people from her church to help with the growing business. “And she brought the chaga treats home to the dog and the dog started eating them and after went outside had a pee, had a poo, came back in and is now playing.
“She emailed me the other day and said ‘We’re still going’. That felt great.”
Adye-White receives regular praise about No Worries and Chilliax as well, with heartwarming stories of calmed canines shared in person or via social media.
“I tried them for the first time during last year’s Canada Day fireworks,” said Amanda Sa of her shepherd/lab mix Bojack. “Normally she would hide in the bathroom and shake. I gave her a few treats and she just went and laid down on the bed.. No shaking, no crying. I thought ‘Oh my God, this is nice.’ These work people.”
Said Adye-White, “I love when people come up or I get videos of people saying this works. I had one lady write a letter saying ‘I didn’t believe this was going to work and I laughed at my fiance when he brought it home and I gave it to my dog and he’s my dog right now sleeping through fireworks. I thought, that’s perfect. I love it.”
“All this started because I was hungry and my dogs had issues.”
For more on the treats, visit www.paw-freakin-tastic.com.