We all love giving our pets a little snack now and then, right? We are trained by our dogs to run for the snacks they like with just their whimper or look or a nudge. Isn’t there some special thing going on between you and your dog, which makes you run to their snack cabinet? Well, I’m sure there is! Now, who can refuse their adorable looks?
Treats are okay to give to our canine friends because, honestly, we all do a little snacking between meals. However, it is just as important to give your dog a healthy treat as it is to put healthy snacks into your tummy. The essential thing here is that you both must snack on things that scream health in your diet.
There is a wide variety of best training treats to give to our dogs these days. The only thing we need to know in this age and time is which ingredients are safe for our canine friends and which are harmful to them.
Here is a list of the minimum set of conditions that a best dog training treat must pass before it passes your dogs lips—
- It shouldn’t contain any artificial colors.
- No added flavors. A good quality product will have enough flavor of its own.
- No Sodium Nitrate, Potassium Sorbate, Ethoxyquin, BHT and, BHA
- It shouldn’t contain Propylene Glycol
Since it is a treat and not a food item that the dog will live on, sweeteners can be a part of it. However, it should be a sweetener of higher quality like honey or molasses instead of low-quality ones like sucrose or artificial sweeteners. Taste enhancers like sugar and salt are used to enhance the flavor and just so that the dog would want to consume the treat. However, if the product is of top-notch quality, the dog would want to consume it even without the enhancers.
Whole ingredients like wheat, rice, and eggs and also foods that are freshly kept with natural preservatives like Vitamin E and C (listed as tocopherols) are of top- quality, and you should always prefer these foods for your dog.
Always purchase whole meat for your dog. It is always best to purchase “Chicken,” “Beef,” “Lamb” rather than “Chicken- by-products.” The product “Organically raised chicken,” would be the best.
Other Things to Consider
The biggest factor that you have to understand before buying treats for your dog is that you are not buying dog food; rather, you are just buying treats. These treats do not have to be 100% nutritionally complete in value as well because your dog does not survive on these treats alone. On the other hand, the treats you purchase for your dog should also not be filled with junk that it does not have any nutritional value in them. Because then, it would not serve any purpose at all, and you are just wasting your money on junk.
When choosing nutritious dog treats, avoid the not- so- obvious filler ingredients which are just there serving no nutritional purpose at all. Some of the ingredients to avoid include wheat middlings, beet pulp, and also any- products.
Well, now that you know how to read dog treat labels, we’re sure you’ll be the best judge of what treats you’ll choose to feed your dog. Bone appétit!
