LIST of the BAD summer dog treats.
As promised here are some of the ideas that general blogs through up for ‘fun’ completely ignoring the nutrition that dogs truly crave and need. Here are some of the low lights.
BAD Summer dog treat ideas
Peanut butter anything dog treats.
Yes some dogs like the smell, some enjoy that it sticks their mouth together, but this is 100% carb, often with added sugar or salt. There is very little less natural than PB anything for your dog.
Frozen ‘ yogurt, bananas, and peanut butter’ dog treats
Are appropriate for omnivores and humans, NOT dogs. Dogs eat fruit for the sugar in human environments, but rarely lived among peanut or banana plantations in the wild. Every KJ of vegetable matter you feed your dog, has to take the place of meat that it could have an actually fully utilise.
We sell Yogurt drops dog treats for owners who want their dogs to have such things, but these have lactose removed. They are specifically made the healthiest they can be for dogs, and provide calcium. They are not a parlour trick like human grade frozen yogurt dog treat concoctions.
“Protein-Packed Vegan Dog Snacks”
Should be banned by a dog Geneva convention. They are the opposite of an ideal carnivore diet. They are carb only and have low bio availability, meaning added KJ for little useable protein for the dog.
Frozen Meaty Treats
These sound ideal in theory, and are usually just some kind of animal mince frozen into an ice-cube tray. The issue for this is that many recipes use raw meat, that if left too long at room temperature can easily accelerate bad bacteria (and if you hate raw feeding then this would be a definite no).
Also, little cubes of soft meat will attract ants, and once defrosted present no chewing challenge, which is half the reason for our healthy dog treats. if your dog eats the frozen version, they can chip teeth.
There is very little sensible middle ground for these kinds of treats, even though they are meat based.
Making your own dog biscuits
We sell plenty of blackdog biscuits. These have added vitamins and minerals and often an animal based ingredient like beef, chicken or cheese. They are REAL ingredients, not just flavouring. If you make your own biscuits we doubt that you will make them healthier than from a company that has based its business on making healthy affordable dog biscuits.
Apple. blueberry, ginger, jam the kitchen sink vegetable treats
Humans are omnivores, dogs are 90% carnivore. If you look at your premium dog pellet packs, they will often include blueberries and other berries around the 20th ingredient mark. This is because dogs in the wild will eat berries for their survival (and the sugar). But in tiny amounts, and not as a preferred main food source.
Dog food companies prey on people’s thoughts about the excellent antioxidant characteristics of things like some berries, but are such miniscule amounts (the 20th ingredient is likely to be much less than 1% of the total dried dog food) – they are included for marketing NOT nutritional value.
Sweet potato dog treats
This has become very trendy because of its low GI value. It or regular potato are used in dog exclusion diets given by vets when trying to work out a dogs food allergy. Its a novel protein that they are unlikely to have had before, and acts as the filler to carry added vitamins and minerals and bulk out a dogs stools. It is again wasted KJ for dog that should mainly be eating meat.
It won’t harm a dog, but neither will meat, so why wouldn’t you stick by properly dried healthy dog treats that also include chewing for a dog as well as nutrition?