Do you ever stop and think about what is in those dog treats you buy from the market?
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At least 13 dogs have died after being fed the
top-selling pet treat in the country, owners and veterinarians have told
CNN. |
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Jul 30, 2008 ... Why would the best meat on a
chicken be used for dog treats? ... (AVMA) issued a media alert warning
some treat products from China may be a
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This is Exactly WHY You Should.
Please do yourself and your best friend a favor and browse over the information in this site because when you give your dog a treat, you are doing a lot
more than just giving him something to chew on.
Please view our recommended selection of
Dog Treats and
Books.
Dog Treats are a great way to encourage your dog to behave, or to aid in training. You can also just give your dog a special treat now and then to let them know you love them, and that not chewing up your new pair of leather shoes was a smooth move on his part. Plus, many dog treats are optimized to contain vitamins to improve their digestive system, or strengthen and clean their teeth. However, there is a lot of hazard in giving your dog too many treats, or the wrong kind of treats. And although spoiling the animal is a concern, there are also others, such as severe possible side effects of a harmful ingredient in the treat that your dog has been repeatedly exposed to. Making your own Dog Treats is very beneficial because you know what's going into the food, and can control what the animal is exposed to. But it's still important to ask a vet what ingredients you should not put in the treat.
Nutritional and Health Concerns
Throughout recent years, many foods and treats sold on mass scales especially for dogs were found to contain many ingredients that are actually poisonous to the animal, more so if they have been eating the food their entire lives. Even today, treats and foods for dogs can include dairy products, garlic, or onion, wheat gluten, liver, and salt. Reading the ingredients panel of your dog food, or brand of dog treat, might just save your pet's life. Or you could even skip the store bought treats, and make your own at home. Some items, like raisins and popcorn are frequently given as treats to dogs; but raisins are poisonous, and popcorn should remain unsalted. Also, never give your dog chocolate as a treat.
Consequences in Behavior... Are You Spoiling Your Baby?
Dogs can be spoiled just as easily as children can; if you give them a reward all the time, soon, good behavior will have lost all meaning, and they will act out regardless of prior training. Children however, can be verbally corrected. Dogs don't speak our language. So if you give your dog a treat all the time, the idea of getting a treat will have lost all meaning. Spoiling a pet and then punishing your animal for misbehavior also leads to a lot of avoidable confusion. Train your pet wisely, and keep the treats for the times when you feel your dog deserves one, or now and then for just a little gift.
Make Your Own Food or Treats
Making your own dog food or treats is easy, but you should always check with your vet before giving your animal anything to eat that is not specifically "for dogs". If you plan to bake treats or make food for your pet, also be sure of what vitamins are going to be in them, -that way you know just how this will affect your dog's nutrition. More Homemade Dog Treat Recipes
Treats are great but what about dog chews? Why does my dog need them?
For Dental benefits!
The natural tendencies of the modern dogs ancestors were to
sink their teeth into their prey and pull away on the hides stripping the skin
and meat. Inherent in this feeding process was the beneficial action of the
tugging and pressure on the teeth and gums that served to toughen the gums and
clean the teeth for a continuously healthy mouth. Since dogs have been
domesticated by man, they no longer use their teeth for this purpose. As a
result, their canine teeth become unsused and prone to plaque buildup.
Infections, kidney and heart disease can result when poor dental health gives
bacteria an environment to enter your dog's body. Bacteria in the dog's mouth
break down food particles and converts them to plaque and excess acid. The
plaque can become mineralized to form a hard deposit on the tooth surface called
calculus. The excess acid damages the gums resulting in gingivitis. Unchecked
gingivitis results in periodontitis, the leading cause of tooth loss.
As
rawhide bones, chips, rolls and twists are chewed and moistened, they
act like a leather chamois by wrapping around the teeth and gently rubbing off
plaque buildup and calculi. This also helps to reduce bad breath, keeps teeth
whiter, and reduces the risk of potentially serious dental problems and other
health problems.
To Curb Destructive Behavior
All dogs have a natural desire to chew, especially puppies.
This drive can exhibit itself on just about anything in your household that is
chewable. A good chew will offer a safe chewing outlet helping you to avoid
destructive chewing behavior from both puppies and adult dogs. An effective good
quality chew will relieve boredom and keep your dog entertained and his mind
stimulated for hours. If you encourage your dog to chew on bones from puppyhood
on, chances are he'll choose a bone over your shoes, books, television remote,
and so on.
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And To Relieve the Pain of Teething
Puppies chew for several reasons. Puppies like to chew on
something hard to relieve the discomfort in their gums as their adult teeth come
in. This is called counter pressure. Chewing also helps develop strong jaws, and
trains them as youngsters on the items that are acceptable to chew.
Puppies
tend to get themselves into a lot of trouble because they love to chew on
everything! Since puppies need to chew in order to cut their new teeth and
develop strong jaws you should never punish a puppy for chewing. Instead, remove
the inappropriate chew items and provide him with plenty of appropriate chew
objects and change them regularly. Reward the puppy with verbal praise when he
chews on his dog chews instead of household things.
Always supervise a puppy
when chewing to make sure he is not chewing off large pieces that could get
caught in his throat. Also, do not give a puppy large amounts of rawhide, as
their digestive systems cannot handle protein excesses well.
Some Types of Dog Treats and Chew Bones
Dental Bones
Dental problems can take a toll not only on your pet, but also
on your pocketbook. Dental Bones provide an inexpensive approach to prevention
and ongoing dental health, and are often flavored to prevent "doggie breath."
Nylon-based Bones and Dental Chews offer even the most aggressive chewers raised
dental nubs to help teeth and gums stay clean and healthy.
Bone Hard Chew Toys and Treats
If your dog is a
"power chewer" whose strong bite chews through bones in a flash, extremely
long-lasting, durable Bone Hard Chews such as Nylabones are a great choice.
They're designed to wear down slowly rather than break or splinter, and they
provide important dental benefits. Nylon-based bones are virtually
indestructible.
Natural Beef Bones
Real, long-lasting Natural beef
Bones are heat sterilized for your dog's safety, wear down slowly, and provide
superior jaw exercise and dental benefits. Some have meat still attached to the
bone. Because all natural bones pose a minimal risk of splintering, you should
supervise your dog's chewing sessions.
Other Natural Chews
Pig Ears
They don't look that appetizing to us, but dogs go nuts over them! They don't
know or care that they are real pig ears from real pigs. What dogs DO know about
pig ears is that they TASTE GOOD!
Some benefits of feeding pig ears are;
they are all natural pork,
are processed with no preservatives, artificial coloring or flavoring,
are tasty and tantalizing,
are great for crate training or as a snack anytime,
won't splinter or crack,
have a high fat content, which helps promote healthy skin and shiny coat,
are an acceptable outlet for their natural chewing needs, and
are 100% digestible; easier to digest than rawhide.
BUT, pig ears are high in fat and high in protein. We recommend
that you limit the pig ears you feed your dog to no more than one per day for
large dogs (over 70 pounds) and proportionately less for smaller dogs.
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Rawhide
Rawhide is sure to be one of your dogs favorite treats.
Naturally nutritious, high in protein, and low in fat - it is also good for his
oral health. Chewing rawhide improves dental health by helping to scrape away
plaque, control tartar buildup, and maintain gum health. However, not all
rawhide is not created equal. Because "quality" rawhide offers your dog
significant benefits, it is well worth seeking out.
Chew Hooves
These are actually the hooves from the animal. They are 100% protein so they are
completely digestible. However, natural hooves have the potential to splinter,
especially if your dog is an aggressive chewer. Only give these to your dog if
you are there to supervise.
OK, Let's talk more about dog treats. Here are a few tips on
selecting the right treats..
 It
is always best to buy
natural dog treats without the additives some other
commercially produced treats contain. These unnecessary additives may pose a
threat to your dogs health. Fat and sugar-rich dog treats are tasty but are also
fattening. Look for dog treats that have high concentrations of fibers and
protein.
Dog treats
that are made primarily from fishes are good choices for your dog. They are
naturally rich in protein, omega-3 and -6 fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins.
This helps give your pet a beautiful shiny coat and an improved, active life.
They also have a natural fish flavor that dogs love! A good source to find these
types of treats can be found
HERE.
There are
also dog treats that are made to optimize your dog's health which contain
glucosamine and chondroitin to help maintain healthy joints.
Also,
avoid giving dog treats before any major meals. Don't overdo it! As much as you
know they love treats, and you love giving them treats. Resist the temptation to
give them too often.
Homemade Dog Treat Recipes
Here are Some Great Free Homemade Dog Treat Recipes for You to Try
2 teaspoons dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoons dry parsley
2 tablespoons minced garlic 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons honey
1 egg
5-6 cups whole wheat flour
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 0 F (180 0 C).
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in the parsley, garlic,
broth, honey, and egg. Gradually blend in flour, adding enough to form a stiff
dough. Transfer to a floured surface and knead until smooth (about 3-5 minutes).
Shape the dough into a ball, and roll to 1/4-inch (6 mm) thick. Using small
bone-shaped cookie cutters, make biscuits! Transfer to ungreased baking sheets,
spacing them about 1/4 inch (6 mm) apart. Gather up the scraps, roll out again,
and cut additional biscuits. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and turn
over. Bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until lightly browned on both sides.
Let cool overnight. (After we finish baking all batches of biscuits, we turn off
the oven, then spread all the biscuits out on one baking sheet and set them in
the oven to cool overnight. The extra time in the oven as it cools off helps
make the treats crispier and crunchier.) Makes several dozen small bones that
keep and freeze well. We like these biscuits because they're quick and easy and
we always have the ingredients on hand to make them. Our boys like them because
they're good!
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup margarine or butter
1 cup boiling water
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons chicken or beef instant bullion
1/2 cup milk
4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese ( 1 cup)
1 egg, beaten
2 cups white or wheat flour
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Grease cookie sheets. In large bowl combone
rolled oats, margarine and water; let stand for 10 minutes. Sitr in cornmeal,
sugar, boullion, milk,cheese and egg. Mix well. Add flour 1 cup at a time,
mixing well after each addition to form stiff dough. On floured surface, knead
in remaining flour until dough is smooth and no longer sticky, 3 to 4 minutes.
Roll or pat out dough to 1/2 inch thickness; cut with cookie cutter. Place 1
inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool completely. Store loosely covered. Makes 3 1/2 dozen large biscuits.
12-16 ozs. raw liver
1 1/2 lbs. white flour
8 ozs. Quaker Oats
3 bouillon cubes, (meat or chicken flavored)
Approx. 1 cup water
2 eggs, beaten
Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease 3 baking sheets. Chop the liver finely, by
hand or in food processor. Mix flour and oats, crumble in the bouillon cubes,
add eggs and the chopped liver. Add enough water to make a firm but slightly
sticky dough. Spread evenly on the sheets about 1/2" thick. Dip a small
dog-biscuit cutter in flour before cutting out each portion. Remove uncut parts.
Spread out on another cookie sheet and repeat.Bake 1 hour. Store in airtight
container in fridge for 2 weeks.
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbs. baking powder
1 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup skim milk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a bowl, combine flour and baking powder.
In another bowl, mix peanut butter and milk. Add wet mixture to dry, and mix
well. turn out dough on a lightly floured surface and knead. roll out 1/4-inch
thickness and cut out shapes. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 20
minutes or until lightly brown. cool on a rack and then store in an airtight
container
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