I Can’t Say Enough About the Great Treat Bamboozle.
After dry food or kibble, the next most popular dog foods are the endless variety of treats available at grocery and pet stores also the biggest moneymakers for the dog food companies. Treats can be dry as in kibble or moist like zucchini bread or carrot cake (I must be hungry!). Treats can also be chewy biscuits stuffed with meaty-wheaty sticks or rawhides. Almost all treats contain a high amount of carbs, preservatives, wheat gluten and beef by-products. Every day several miserable dogs become patients at my clinic after eating some kind of allergenic treat.
Treats are not meant to be a complete diet, so they dont have to pass feeding trials or nutrient profiles that complete and balanced dog food does. The truth is that most treats are highly allergenic as well as high in calories, and lack any real nutrition. In human nutrition, they label this type of food as empty calories because it does not supply essential nutrients just more unnecessary carbohydrates that are metabolized and stored as fat. Frankly, the feeding of treats is usually more of an emotional bonding habit than a nutritional necessity. Better choices: Hypoallergenic and more nutritious types of commercial treats made with chicken and rice, chicken and vegetables, or other non-allergenic combinations. Best choices: Baby carrots, pieces of deli meat, healthful leftovers or scraps, turkey hotdogs, green beans and even shrimp.
