The Effect of Treats on Pet Nutrition
One of my highly recommended treats: Daily Dream Treats by Wysong
Treats simply are an extension of our and our pet’s diet. A treat should be a positive addition to a pet’s overall nutrition. It should not dilute the quality of their regular food with poor ingredients especially high starch containing treats that add to the sins of an already dry diet high in starch as most of them are.
They should offer a variety of proteins to help improve the protein profile of your pet’s diet. Virtually all of the grocery brands and some pet specialty brands are poor enough as it is (all the same ingredients with different labels) without making the diet worse with poor treats that are high in starch, calories and poor and/or low in protein. Some treats like sweet potato, squash and pumpkin are low in protein, low in calories and have qualities that other treats don’t have. These are fine and should be encouraged. Raw or lightly cooked vegetables can be used as well.
The old concept of treats was created by the marketing of Milkbone, Sport Mix, etc. Marketers sucked us into the abyss of misinformation because they knew human nature. The gift of a treat is born from a pet owner’s innate sense of kindness. And marketing preys on this kindness. The common biscuit has virtually no quality protein or fat, nor supplementation of any value to the pet. Just starch and more starch. Treats that do have a lot of quality protein and substantive supplementation are more expensive. These better treats are not a waste of money. You cannot define your pets well being by using cost as a criteria for feeding treats. All meat treats are more expensive; therefore, feed smaller pieces. Your pet will be better off and appreciate the treat even more than a big Milkbone biscuit that tastes like bacon-flavored cardboard. (more…)
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