Why feeding dog treats instead of dog food makes nutrition sense
The problem a lot of people face is that they don’t get to walk their dog daily off the lead and find it difficult to burn enough energy to allow dog treats into their dog’s diet without risking the dog becoming obese.
We are so flooded with expensive commercial dog food campaigns screaming the ‘health’ claims, that we (consumers) forget that dogs are primarily carnivores and don’t even need grain in their diet, except perhaps for nicely formed stools. Then we get a dog treat commercial from the same companies telling us to buy more grain-based dog treats that will make our dogs go whacko!
Perhaps you think you have seen past all this, and you are savvy enough to know meat when you see it, so you open a can of your best wet dog food and see meaty chunks of goodness – that are actually TVP (soy disguised as meat).
For decades the public has been fooled and will continue to be so, while the organisations that are charged with looking after dogs are in the hip pocket of the cash rich dog food makers.
HOW MUCH DOG TREATS CAN I FEED MY DOG?
Simple. The book on Canine and Feline Nutrition, mostly written by Proctor and Gamble employees (a major dog food company) actually concede that you can add up to TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT (25% meat) to a dogs diet without upsetting the aafco dog nutrition tables that dog food is judged on.
MEAT is always MUCH MORE bio-available to a doggie it can use the protein in its body and not excrete it as waste, than any grain or veggie. THAT is why I sell meat based dog treats.
But hold it, why is the level set at 25% ?? When dogs in the wild can actually eat 100% meat based food called prey? the nasty secret of affcco is that it has accepted submissions from many dog food makers and pharmaceutical companies about what is appropriate for dogs to eat, that its has made guidelines that can only be achieved by the massive injection of artificial minerals and vitamins (condensed or lab made), from pharmaceutical companies (who also happen to be major dog food makers) !!
So the real answer is more like 50% meat based dog treats!
YES, if you feed your dog small raw bones dog treats (chicken necks or lamb ribs) and some Fish Oil capsules (for Omega 3) then 50% by weight of dry 100% meat dog treats will provide your dog with similar or better nutrition than they will get in the wild or in a can.
So if you normally feed your dog 200g of kibble you could alternate at least every second day with 100g of kibble and 100g of meat based 100% dog treats (chicken, duck, roo, beef, fish).
You could buy, freeze, cut, defrost and give your dog raw meat, but many people have been convinced this is dangerous to feed to your dog. My very healthy dog would disagree!
The benefit of adding dried meat to your dog’s diet is that it is safe and non-messy and bioavailable to your dog. It will also give them chewing to strengthen their jaws and naturally clean their teeth, whereas kibble will usually leave grains on their teeth and rot them.
Using dog treats as dog food (when meat based from a good source) makes a healthier choice.