Your Cheat Sheet to Dog Treats!

With a bottomless pocket of pork twists, beef jerky and doggie biscuits, we bet you’ll have a peppy pooch on the end of your leash.

However, as fun as a tail-chasing rotation of treats is for your furry friend, these nuggets of joy can’t be their sole source of nutrition.

In fact, treats should only make up 10% of your dog’s diet. Here's why...

Many treats have high levels of fat, salt, sugar and calories – with only small amounts of key nutrients. Meaning a treat-filled diet would struggle to meet your dog’s daily nourishing needs – putting them at risk of diet-related illnesses such as: obesity, gum disease and kidney disease.

But the tasty times don’t need to end.

With the right ingredients, treats can be health-boosting. And they can play an important role in keeping your dog happy and healthy.

Here’s your cheat sheet to giving the right treats for the right reasons.

Firstly, what makes a dog treat healthy?

Understanding an ingredient list is hard enough when it’s human food, let alone dog food. So what exactly should you be looking out for?

When hunting for healthy dog treats, look for preservative-free products with as few ingredients as possible. And make sure they’re:

• Low in calories, fat, salt and sugar
• High in health-benefiting nutrients – such as fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals

Luckily, you’ll be able to find lots of yummy products online that meet these healthy hound requirements.

But did you know, dog treats can be used for different reasons?

Treats for training

Your pup just sat, dropped and rolled on command. Your clever canine deserves a reward to reinforce their tip-top behaviour.

And in your pup’s eyes, nothing beats a treat!

But as we know, too many unhealthy treats can be harmful in the long term. So to keep your furry friend fit and focussed on their training, the treats you choose need to be good for their health… and their taste buds.

For quick training – tricks and good behaviour – you want a treat that’s easy to scoff. And tasty. Think soft, small and stinky. 

For slower training – sitting still or learning to stay in an enclosed space – you’ll need a chewy, long-lasting treat.

Here are some great dog reward options:

• Freeze-dried treats: To keep the nutrition value sky high, opt for a freeze-dried meat treat. Your dog will get all the nourishing benefits. And you won’t have to handle small chunks of raw meat at the dog park. Win-win!
• Training treats: When training your pooch, a doggie biscuit will likely take a few moments to get down your hound’s hatch. So, to keep things moving, opt for a smaller treat. These bite-size training treats will be gone before you can say ‘good dog!’.
• Meat jerky: This is the training treat of all training treats. The slow drying process keeps in all the good meaty nutrients while making an incredibly crunchy and tasty treat your dog will woof down. And you can easily break it up depending on the size of your dog.

Treats to keep them busy

Need to keep your furry ball of energy quiet and still while you take a phone call or concentrate on your favourite crime drama?

Well, every now and then, it won’t hurt to bring out your secret peacemaker: a long-lasting, chewy treat.

And if you really want to ensure an extended moment of silence, find a treat that’s extra tough, and full of flavour. You won’t hear a woof or whine for a good halfa!

Here are some attention-keeping treats:

• Goat horn: An all-natural chew treat, this one will keep your pup occupied – while also reducing tartar and plaque by up to 70% after just a 30-min chew.

• Beef bone: With raw bits of meat attached, this treat provides protein – helping improve energy levels. But be careful to supervise their chew-time. Limit it to 15 mins and never cook the bone as it can splinter – risking cuts to their mouth.
• Pork twist: These long-lasting treats are tightly wound defatted pig skin. They’re tough as dog nails, so will keep your dog chewing and chewing… and chewing.

Want to slow the snacking? You can make any ordinary treat entertaining and long-lasting with this treat dispensing toy

Treats for a healthy set of teeth

With carnivorous ancestors like wolves and coyotes, it’s no surprise dog teeth are designed to gnaw and grind meat. That’s why meat is a great addition to their diet.

But doggie diets also include dry food, which turn to paste in their mouth. This paste can cause a build up of plaque and tartar, putting your pup at risk of periodontal disease – which leads to gum erosion, chronic pain, tooth loss and bone loss.

But luckily, dog dental chews – in addition to good dental care – can help protect your dog’s teeth, and put a big grin on their furry face.

When dogs chew these dental treats, they produce saliva with amazing antibacterial properties. Along with a scrubbing effect as they chew, these treats help remove plaque and tartar – protecting your dog from developing periodontal disease.

Allow at least 30 mins of chewing every day, or every second day at a minimum. This helps prevent large amounts of plaque from accumulating and hardening into tartar.

Want to ensure you’re choosing healthy treats for your hound? Our range of dog treats outlines all the health-benefits in each product description. So you can treat them right – with ease.