Friends and readers are probably aware that The Honest Kitchen products comprise a regular part of the Bows diet. After tracking the Bows’ daily meals in October, I was so delighted with the mosaic I created, I posted the picture to the company’s Facebook page. They noticed and cared enough to share in our foodie-ness by sending The House of Two Bows some neat gifts, including a box of their newest treat.
Product: Beams (Talls)
Quantity: one box, 7 oz. (approx. 11 sticks?)
Price: retail $12.99 on the Honest Kitchen store
Ingredient: wild-caught Atlantic Cat fish skins
Guaranteed Analysis:
- Protein, min 88%
- Fat, min 4%
- Fiber, max 0.2%
- Moisture, max 8%
- Omega 3 EFA, 1.5g /100g
- Calories (Calculated) 3650 cal/kg (approx. 39 calories per treat)
Country of origin: Iceland, sustainably fished
Company Information: The Honest Kitchen; 145, 14th Street; San Diego, CA 92101
Web Presence: TheHonestKitchen.com, on Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere
Fish-based products have always gone over well at the House of Two Bows, and this treat was no exception. Beams TALLS live up to their name — the box itself stands over 12″ tall to accommodate the size of these strips, which ranged from 10 ~ 12″ apiece in our box.
Each Beam is simply made of dried catfish skin, some with little curlicues of flesh still attached. They’re way too tough to cut down with ease (maybe with a good pair of meat shears, which I don’t have). So if this seems like too much for your pet, you’d be better off with a box of Beams Smalls, which are about 7″ apiece and come in four ounce packages.
The Bows would be happy to get these in SUPERTall if they could. They found it very satisfying to pull at the flesh, like a bit of fish floss.
I prefer to offer more “natural” treats as edible dental chews, and Beams definitely serve that function. With nice ridges and a hard, firm texture, they do take a bit of work to consume.
Bowpi likes to grip the stick and chomp from the side, giving her molars some much-needed action.
I’m pleasantly surprised by the low calorie count per treat, in spite of their size. These catfish skins are quite a bit thicker than the salmon skins treats we usually keep on hand. Each chomping session lasts about seven minutes. Bowdu can rush through a piece in 5 minutes, and Bowpi works with gusto, but usually takes about twice as long. Obviously your experience will vary, depending on the strength of the chewer.
The Honest Kitchen sent along this complimentary box with no expectations for a review, but I can’t help saying good things about them. It’s a simple, clean, and healthy treat. Stinky, yes — there’s no mistaking that these came from FISH! But not oily and greasy like some dried animal treats can be.
Overall, I consider it a good value for what you get. I’ve yet to see these stocked in my local pet food stores, but we’re ready for another box as soon as we find them!
FINAL GRADE: A
GIVEAWAY: The generous folks at The Honest Kitchen are providing three prizes for a House of Two Bows giveaway! Just leave a comment stating which one of the following you would choose if you win first pick:
- A 4 lb box of any Honest Kitchen dehydrated raw formula (please state a specific dog OR cat recipe)
- A box of Beams for your own dogs to sample
- One canister of Perfect Form, a digestive supplement (appropriate for dogs and cats)
we keep Perfect Form on hand, too
“Liking” The Honest Kitchen and/or our page on Facebook is not required, but will probably net you some positive karma.
Comments will be collected until 11:59 PST next Monday, December 10th. After that, three random winners will be selected. First prize will win what was stated as their preferred choice. Second and third prize will get the remaining two prizes in order of what is listed above. Please be sure to include a valid e-mail address (not publicly visible) with your comment so that you can be contacted about your prize.
The Honest Kitchen prizes can only be sent to addresses in the US. But fear not… there will be other giveaways this month that will be open to all. Check back later!
Thank you for having a giveaway! We also love the more natural treats as dental chews for our dogs. The ingredients lists for some of the items specifically marketed as “dental” is kind of scary. We’d love to sample the Beams!
My dogs would love to try the Beams! Thanks for the well-considered review!
Honest Kitchen Zeal!
Great review. Does the chew get oily and stinky?
Good question! I should add this to the review. Stinky, yes — they’re fish, after all. But not oily. They’re much cleaner than pig’s ears, but not as clean or durable as bully sticks.
We would love to try Beams! I am always looking for an alternative to traditional dental chews!
Look at that new treats… that looks great. I’d like to enter for that! (we have continued to use Zeal for our dude’s daily diet, and he keeps eating it up)
We want the BEAMS!!!!!! :)
We’d love some Love for Dogs from the Honest Kitchen! Thanks for the review on Beams I’m definitely going to pick some up for my shiba cause he loves being able to make “floss’ out of his chews!
My dogs would like to try the beams!!!
Conker would love some more Verve!
we have a box of beams that we’ve been waiting to try. however, we’d love to try some Perfect Form! if it’s good enough for the two bows, it’s good enough for kiyomi & i!
I’ll bet Silas would adore Beams. So far so good on fish, and our local source of fish chews has been out forever.
I am deeply confused about why The Honest Kitchen supplements can’t be sold here. There are other supplements for dogs in my local stores, so it isn’t that, and the ingredients look totally normal. *scratches head.*
I think Silas if finally coming around to their dehydrated food. I certainly hope so, otherwise it’s going to take forever to get through our box.
Oh boy! We’d go for Honest Kitchen dehydrated raw formula for cats!
My doggies would love a chance to win some treats.
Our Shibas would loooove to try those Beams.
My dogs would love to try the Beams
They all sound good. But for us, it’s been a toss-up between the Beams and the herbal digestives. We think our Buddy might benefit occasionally from the Perfect Form digestives, but we think the dogs would REALLY want the Beams. So the Beams it is. :)
Saya loves fish meat or skin.
I love the review gives me ideas to try if I catch a big catfish.
I choose A box of Beams for your own dogs to sample
I would choose a 4 lb box of any Honest Kitchen dehydrated raw formula – cat recipe
We’d choose the box of beams for my personal dogs and foster dogs to sample. My personal girls absolutely love bully stick style treats! :)
I would pick the dehydrated raw formula for cats! I’m trying to transition my kitties to raw and this would be perfect to try out! Thank so much for the chance to win and for the great review + pictures!
My dogs would love a box of the dehydrated raw recipe!
I’ve got a box of the Beams small in the fridge for my pugs; I guess because it is thin they can’t chew it super fast, and it lasts them a long time….20 min per piece? Love the single ingredient as well.
Don’t enter me, as I’m not in the US, but darn, those Beams look good for dogs. I’ll have to keep my eyes open around here so see if I can snag a box for Kyuss!
Maybe a sacrilege on your wonderful dog blog (love your dogs!), but I’m very interested in the Grace Cat Food for Leonardo http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/grace/
There are dogs here too though; so Beams would be wolfed if they appeared in the mailbox.
Thanks so much for setting this giveaway up.
Haha, not sacrilegious at all. ;) I actually grew up with cats and thought that was what I was going to get before my first real pet ended up being … a dog. Then everything changed. Living with cats is still a possibility, and I do actually have some cat-related stories that have been sitting in the queue for a long time.
I would really like Beams. We tried the Salmon Ears because of your review… Now we’d like to try the Beams. Sounds similar.. but more like a chew I guess..
Loved your review! Our pups would love a box of “love”!
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The Beams sound great for a rescued Akita with really dirty teeth!
I love my pups and want the best for them, the beams sounds like something I can give my pups and feel better knowing it’s more healthier! Thanks for a great giveaway
Sparks would love to try the Beams! She likes treats she can really get her teeth into. (Though after she finishes half of a chew, the rest gets carried around the house while she squeaks and tries to bury it under pillows/clothes/toys.)
If we win first pick, we’d love to try the Beams! Yuki already loves the salmon skin roll chews and salmon ears you recommended in another post. Anything super stinky is nomilicious to a Shiba. =)
Thanks everyone! Winners have just been chosen by random.org and notified. They will be announced as soon as they all confirm.
Love HK brand! (I know I’m late for the contest)
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