Many pet owners give these small gifts to their animals as rewards or tokens of their affection without considering how many calories are contained in each gift. More than half of pets in the US may be overweight due to foods like these.
Follow these recommendations to prevent adding too many calories to your pet’s diet if you want to be wise about feeding those treats.
Limitations on Treats
Pet treats aren’t nutritious enough for dogs or cats to make up a sizable portion of their food, just as cookies don’t contain enough nutrients to constitute the majority of your diet.
More than 10% of a pet’s daily calories shouldn’t come from treats. This includes table scraps or food that you might use to provide medication to your pet, as these items weren’t created for a nutritious canine diet.
Your veterinarian can provide you with the daily caloric requirements for your pet, from which you can calculate 10%. Look at the package to discover how many calories are in the treats.
When should you give treats?
Some individuals use treats to discipline a pet or commend appropriate conduct. Others make use of them to express their affection or to fortify their connection with the animal.
As long as you keep rewards to no more than 10% of their daily calories, there is no restriction on how frequently you can provide them. Some proprietors opt to provide one substantial biscuit per day. Others feed their pets a small amount of kibble throughout the day, one or two pieces at a time.
Giving no treats is also acceptable. Keep in mind that other rewards and affectionate gestures, such as more time spent playing with you or kind words, work well for both cats and dogs.
Food scraps
You could like giving your pets a couple dinnertime bites. Your pet may put on too much weight if you neglect to account for those calories in their diet.
Feeding your pet table scraps can occasionally drive them to beg since they understand that food can be a reward. If you feed a pet who is begging and they perceive it as a reward for their behavior, they will beg again.
Put your pet in a different room when you eat if you find it difficult to say no to those large eyes or those whimpers and meows. To avoid them feeling left out, consider serving them their meal at the same time that you eat your own.
Key elements to think about when purchasing dog treats
The healthiest dog treats have a moderate amount of fillers and empty calories and have a balanced nutritional profile. Choose treats prepared with allergies and intolerances in mind for dogs with unique dietary requirements.
- Age of Your Dog
There is a unique reward that is ideal for the age of your dog. While senior treats are easy on aged teeth and provide a variety of vitamins and minerals, puppy treats are frequently small and protein-rich.
- Needs for Your Dog’s Health
Treats can provide your dog with health benefits that may not be present in a regular meal, such as relief from allergies, sedation, dental and breath care, support for diabetics, digestive health, eye care, joint support, itch and redness treatment, and many more.
- Calories
Follow the treat’s serving recommendations and be cautious of the calories in each treat. Only 10% of your dog’s daily food should be treats, and this percentage should be significantly lower if your dog is overweight.
The best dog treats for your dog
Milk-bone Maro snacks
- Brand: Milk Bone
- Flavor: Beef
- Best for: small dogs
- Ingredients: Meat and Bone Meal, Sugar, Digest of Dried Poultry By-Products, Red 40, Sodium Metabisulfite, Cooked Bone Marrow Beef Fat, Annatto Color, Red Iron Oxide, Corn Starch, and Salt.
Contains one 40-ounce container of little bone marrow treats for dogs. Dog biscuits with a real bone marrow center inside the shell are delectable treats you can feel good about feeding.
Our Maro Snacks dog treats are a delightful combination of texture and delectable flavor. They are crunchy on the exterior and meaty on the inside. Savory treats with calcium that are ideal for all sizes of dogs. Made with love in Buffalo, New York, USA, using only natural food coloring.
Wag Dog treats chicken
- Brand: Wag
- Flavor: Chicken and waffle bites
- Best for: training dogs
- Ingredients: Rice, Chicken, Natural Smoke Flavor, Natural Smoke Flavor, Citric Acid, Mixed Tocopherols, Annatto Extract, and Titanium Dioxide.
The main component is American chicken reared on farms. Added maize, wheat, soy, or poultry by-products are not permitted, nor are artificial flavors.
It contains a resealable bag with 12 ounces of chicken and waffle bits to keep them fresh. Feed to your dog as a treat, assistance in training, or reward; feed whole or cut into smaller pieces.
If you try the Wag dog treats you will enjoy the blue buffalo, Nutro, Merrick, or Natural Balance; 100% of ingredients are obtained in the USA.
Milk bone soft and chewy dog treats
- Brand: Milk Bone
- Flavor: Chicken
- Best for: All dogs
- Form: Treats
- Ingredients: Chicken, Soy Grits, Sugar, Corn Starch, Salt, Rice Flour, Guar Gum, Dicalcium Phosphate, Propylene Glycol, Natural Smoke Flavor, Garlic Powder, Potassium Sorbate, Minerals, Manganous Oxide, Copper Sulphate, Vitamins.
Contains one 25-ounce Milk-Bone cartons. Dog treats made from a soft and chewy chicken recipe with chicken breast
Real chicken breast is used to make the soft and chewy dog treats. 12 vitamins and minerals added in it to give best to your dog. You can use it for all sizes of dogs. This dog treat is cherished since 1908.
Brutus and Barnaby training treats
- Brand: Brutus and Barnaby
- Flavor name: Chicken and sweet potato
The potent flavor and perfume is ideal for puppy or adult dog training of all sizes. Dogs enjoy the taste and smell, making it a fantastic reward to get their attention throughout any training exercises.
These goodies are best for use as a Furbo treats refill for dogs because they are compatible with the Furbo and the majority of treat dispensers, are correctly sized, don’t jam, and leave no residue.
The bag fits inside the majority of dog training treat bags, making it handy to grab and go without the mess or fuss. The little, soft bits make an excellent dog reward since they allow your dog to chew without having to wait between training sessions.
Wrapping it up!
To encourage various behaviors, most trainers blend high-value goodies with lower- or medium-value treats. For challenging training tasks and when introducing a new behavior, special high-value rewards like freeze-dried meat dog treats, and treats with a strong, appetizing odor are typically employed.
Lower-value goodies like dried dog biscuits and lower-calorie rewards are more frequently employed to reinforce learned behaviour. You can find everything you need for a well-trained puppy on Chewy, which includes a wonderful assortment of dog treats you can use for training.
