To Treat or Not to Treat Best Healthy Treats for Your Pet

Who doesn’t like treats? Let’s face it, we ALL do!

For us, there are many treat choices, from salty to sweet — like chips, nuts, cookies, ice cream, candy, trail mix, fruit … We have LOTS to choose from! But WE know that not all “treats” contain the best ingredients or have the same nutritional value … not for us humans, and certainly not for our pets.

For example, an apple vs. a Twinkie — both are “treats” but are vastly different in nutritional value. There’s no comparison! An apple has many health benefits, whereas a Twinkie is high in sugar and carbs. This is an extreme example, but you get the picture. And, the same goes for the treats that we give our furry friends.

Dogs and cats love treats. And we love giving them, probably as much or more than our four-legged friends love receiving them.

Treats can be used during training as a reward, but also as a way to show our love … and don’t forget bribery.As pet parents, we’re used to giving our furry friends all kinds of treats, table food or leftovers that usually contain lots of sodium and fat.

We feel good about giving our pets treats, but before we do, we should take the extra step to ensure that what we feed has nutritional value and that includes food, supplements and treats.

There are many types of treats to buy for our pets that can be used for different “treating occasions.”. There are different forms, like biscuits or crunchy treats, meaty treats, soft and chewy treats, bones or rawhide, jerky and functional treats, like dental sticks.

Within these forms there are different “types,” like training treats, which are very small treats with few calories, so you can reward your BFF often; and long-lasting treats referred to as “occupiers,” which are the kind you give your dog when you need some “alone” time or need to leave alone for a period of time. And within each of these “types” of treats, there is a multitude of flavor varieties.

So what are some good choices, since we know not all treats are created equal? How can we know when treating is harming our pets?

Our first tip is to read the labels.

Caloric value is a top concern. For example, an average 30-pound dog needs around 900 calories per day — calories from everything they ingest, including their treats. Calories in treats can really add up, depending on the brand and type, so check the nutritional and caloric facts before giving them to your furry friend.

Next, check the ingredients.

Read the ingredients and look for meaty, high-protein treats, like freeze-dried and dry-roasted, with high-quality meat sources, as well as nutritious fruits and vegetables. Minimally processed treats are best, so all the nutritional goodness stays in them. There should be no by-product meals, fillers, corn, wheat or soy, and no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.

You can choose to feed your pets high-calorie treats with little nutritional value, or you can make a healthier choice and feed them high-quality, high-protein, low-carb meaty treats that have much fewer calories. A great example of a product like this is our pawTreats.

It’s important to remember that many dogs and cats are overweight or obese, so not overfeeding them is essential, which includes over-treating. Everything you feed your pets should be nutritious and add value to their diet.

So To Treat Or Not To Treat? …TREAT!

You can and should go ahead and give your pets treats. Just make good, healthy choices when choosing which ones to buy.

Tips for using meaty treats in your pet’s daily diet:

• Break up freeze-dried meaty treats and use them as a “topper” on your dog or cat food.
• If you like to “treat” often, or when training your dog or treating your cat, break them up into smaller pieces so you get 4-5 small “treats” out of one larger one.Then, the calorie count stays fairly low.

At pawTree® we are committed to providing pet parents with a line of premium products to help pets thrive. Look for products from pawTree that include the recommended ingredients listed above, including a full line of meaty freeze-dried and dry-roasted treats using a variety of protein sources, and of course, made in the USA.