Whether you’re looking for treats to assist with training or something to help keep them occupied for a while, when it comes to selecting healthy dog treats that are right for your dog, there are few things to consider.
What you need to consider when looking for healthy dog treats
The best way to work out which treats suit your dog best is to grab a range and test them out, here are a few things to keep in mind.
What are you using the healthy dog treat for?
When looking for training treats it can be useful to find ones that are easy to break apart as this allows you to use less treats, overall, in any given training session.
If you are looking for treats that help keep your dog occupied, then longer-lasting treats like lambs ears or these rawhide treats, will keep your dog busy. Make sure to supervise them with these treats.
What treats does your dog enjoy?
If you have a new puppy you may not know its preferences yet, so trying a range of treats to see what they like will help, but it never hurts to mix up their diet a bit. Plus if you keep mixing things up, your puppy won’t get bored and will stay engaged when training.
Does your dog have any dietary restrictions?
Dogs can have allergies or reactions to foods or ingredients, and as a pet parent, it is good to get into the habit of reading the ingredients to keep an eye out for things that may affect your pup.
Some things you can look out for are:
- Make sure the first ingredient is meat.
- Check there isn’t too much of what is called filler ingredients like grains, wheat, sugar or salt.
- Check if there are ingredients listed you don’t recognise, and research what they are.
If your dog does react to certain food or ingredients, you may need to be on the lookout for grain-free, chicken free, beef free, wheat free, corn free dog treats or whatever the component may be.
Some great alternatives to chicken or beef are fish or kangaroo. You will often find a mix of meats in most dog treats which is why checking ingredients is essential.
Whenever you are shopping for healthy dog treats for your furry family member, no matter what they are for, it’s always good to get a variety.
