What is a Healthy Dog Treat

You may have found our website by searching for "healthy dog treats".  But what does that phrase even mean?  Im sure a lot of people have a lot of strong opinions on the subject of healthy dog treats.  So, I will just give you my thoughts and what I consider when feeding Dexter The Dog his dog treats.  I wont review any particular dog treats on this page, but you can visit our dog treat reviews, dog chew bone reviews, dog food and dog mix reviews here and even how to stuff a hollow dog chew.

The very first thing I do when choosing a healthy dog treat for Dexter is look at the ingredients.  Yes, the actual ingredient list, not just the photos on the front of the package which can actually be very deceiving.  Even the "flavor" can be deceiving.  You might be surprised to learn that sometimes when a dog treat says "chicken flavor" they truly mean chicken flavor, and not any real chicken!  So that leads to my first No ingredient.





My top 10 ingredients that should NOT be in dog treats:

1. Flavors of any kind, natural or artificial- No artificial or natural "flavors" of any kind.  If it says "flavor" in the ingredient list, back on the shelf it goes.  Its not real food guys.  And if its not a real food ingredient, it  has no place in my dogs treat, or dog food.
2. Added salt, regular or sea salt- Nope, no reason to add salt in my dogs treat.  Every living creature needs sodium in their diet, but too much can cause problems such as seizures, diarrhea & extra water intake.  A lot of foods have natural occurring sodium, so you do not need extra salt added to treats.
3. Sugar or any kind including high corn fructose, corn syrup or cane sugar- I shouldnt need to tell you this.  If we add sugar or high corn fructose we are truly just adding empty calories.  Not only are these ingredients bad for our dogs health, they will also hop them up & they can become hyperactive. 
4. Sorbitol-A sugar commonly found in berries, but prepared synthetically.
5. By-products or digest- Ewww  I want to make sure my dog receives healthy food not what is left on the floor of some meat manufacturing plant.  Or carcasses from veterinarian practices!  Scary, isnt it?  Again, I want to know what is in that bag of treats.
6. Coloring, artificial or natural- Why?  Why would a pet treat manufacturer put dye or coloring in my dogs treat?  To please the consumers eyes of course.  Especially when we are talking about artificial food coloring.  Artificial anything is a chemical process & has a long list of possible side effects.  And dont be fooled by "natural food coloring".  Natural can be made by things like bugs & rocks!
7. Animal fat or anything "animal" "meat"- What kind of animal or meat?  Again, what the heck is in there anyway?  When I read it, I should have a very clear picture of what it is.
8. Chemical Preservatives - Chemical preservatives of any kind should be avoided.  Healthy does not equate to chemicals.  No BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene), BHA (Butylated Hydroxyanisole), Ethoxyquin, TBHQ (tertiary butylhydroquinone), Propyl Gallate, Propylene glycol, Sodium Nitrite.  BHA, BHT & Ethoxyquin  are banned in human foods.
9. Corn, wheat or soy-A lot of our dog friends are allergic or have a low tolerance to these ingredients.  According to PetCareRX, that excessive soy may contain estrogen that might provide some estrogen-like activity in your dog & contribute to slightly lower thyroid hormone levels.
10. Glycerin, vegetable glycerin or glycerole-Glycerin or glycerole can actually be produced as a by-product of diesel fuel!  It will be unlikely you will know the difference from reading the ingredient list (although vegetable glycerin is plant based, not from fuel).  This is an ingredient in dog treats that helps make a treat soft & sugary.  It is not uncommon for dogs to get a big case of diarrhea from eating treats with this product.  Dexter is one of them.

So what does that leave us?  Well, a lot of things really.  When Dexter gets something to eat, whether organic or wild caught in countries or bodies of water that are known to be clean & environmentally friendly.  No China of course.  So that leads to sourcing of the ingredients.  Read the article on Organic Dog Food to understand a bit more about organic & labeling.

its his dog food or dog treats I want it to be real food.  Things that I can find in real life, not something that is synthetically made, or a by-product of something else.  I personally prefer ingredients that are

After I look at the ingredient list of Dexters potential healthy dog treats, the next thing I want to know is where were the INGREDIENTS SOURCED.  "Made in the USA" only means that the treat was put together in The States, not that the ingredients came from the US.  So, sometimes you have to do a little digging to find this out.  Most dog treat manufacturers that use only US or another safe country (there are other countries with better food regulations than us in the US) for their ingredients will proudly state that either on the bag or on their website.  If not, some digging & contacting may be in order.

Once all this checks out, the next thing I have to decide is what is the purpose of the new healthy dog treat.  Meaning, if Im going to do a lot of dog training using the treat, I want it to be pretty much a single source food item (100% cod, beef, etc).  This allows a few things to occur.  One, the treat will likely have a high-value & keep Dexters attention on me around various distractions.  Two, there wont be "extra stuff" in the treat, so I can actually count the treat (remember, its really meat) as part of his daily calories.

If on the other hand Im just going to have these  healthy treats in our treat cupboard for random snacks I do not mind if the treat has other ingredients besides or instead of meat.  As long as they dont need to keep a high-value & they are not getting dished out like I do when Im training a new behavior.  Even though these treats are "healthy" I still consider them like candy bars.  A little goes a long way.

So there you have it.  This is my starting point when determining if a dog treat is truly healthy for Dexter.  I do buy healthy & organic dog treats for Dexter, but I also make homemade dog treats too!   You can download 5 free dog treat recipes here to give it a whirl.  I hope you enjoyed this post & thank you for taking your dogs health seriously.

Tonya Wilhelm-Global Dog Training http://www.globaldogtraining.com

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Healthy Dog Chews and Bones

Most dogs love to chew!  Chewing is a very natural and  normal dog behavior.  Chewing helps alleviate boredom and  can even help keep your dogs teeth pearly white.  But dont forget to brush your dogs teeth too.  Puppies and adolescent dogs tend to have a high drive for chewing things.  Hopefully, you are working with a qualified dog behavior counselor to make sure that you are teaching your dog to chew on the right items and  not your furniture, or even worse electrical cords, or something that can harm your dog.

So just what makes a dog chew or dog chew toy safe for your dog?  Well over the years my opinion on this has actually been evolving from hard to chew bones to now a softer variety.  You see I have been learning and  seeing too many dogs with chipped teeth from tough bones and  antlers and  even digesting sharp pieces of bones which can be very dangerous.  I no longer use hard bones or antlers with Dexter The Dog  and usually dont recommend them.  By the way, if you look closely at Dexters teeth you will see a chipped tooth....from a hard bone.  His last.

Below are some examples of dog chew items that are much softer for your dogs teeth than traditional hard bones.  This will help protect your dog from chipped teeth.  Please be aware that not every toy, or chew bone, chew toy will be suitable for each dog.  I strongly recommend active supervising when your dog chews, particularly if its a new toy or bone or if the chew item is edible.  The right size of a dog bone or dog toy is important too.

You want to make sure the dog toy or dog bone is not too small that your dog can place the entire item in his mouth and  risk choking.  This includes when the chew gets smaller.  I tend to toss the end out before Dexter The Dog swallows it, with the exception of dehydrated fish skins.  The larger a dog toy, the tendency it is to be thicker and  tougher.  Something to consider if you have a dog who is a hard chewer.  BUT be aware sometimes if the toy or bone is too big your dog can get his jaw stuck in it.  Finding the right chew for your dog is sort of like the Princess and  The Pea.

Soft or tough rubber chew toys.  I am a fan of Kong and have been for many years.  Kong has been the leader in stuffable dog chew toys.  I also like The Rita and  Jed stuffable dog toy.  The key to getting your dog to chew on a rubber dog toy is to stuff it!  Read our article on how to stuff a hollow dog toy.  Check out our latest stuffable dog toy reviews here.

Dehydrated fish skins.  With a good dehydrated fish skin dog treat the treat will be 100% fish Read my reviews on dehydrated fish skins.

skin and  no artificial colors, preservatives or flavors.  Its important to check out the packaging and carefully read the ingredient list and where the fish was caught and  processed.  A fish skin is a great treat for your dog full of omega 3 fatty acids, typically low fat and  fully edible.  Most dogs love the taste and  eagerly chew away.

Bully Sticks.  Made from the manly part of a bull, a lot of dogs love chewing on these.  What I like is that they typically just start to get soft and  disappear, I havent seen any pieces break off.  However, I have seen a stick every once in awhile peel during chewing like string cheese.  I just toss that piece in the garbage.  Again, when the stick gets too small, I through away.  Tip-get odor free, or low order.  These babies can stick like crazy!  High in protein and fiber and  low in fat these make a nice chew.  Look for my reviews on bully sticks.

Raw bones.  Raw bones are another option for your dog to chew on.  Because the bones are  not cooked, they are soft and  unlikely to splinter.  Cooked bones easily splinter and  are very hard on teeth.  Admittedly I will be testing raw bones for the first time in the upcoming weeks.  I spoke in length with Dexter The Dogs holistic veterinarian Dr. Judy Morgan on the safest way to go about this.  Dr. Morgans tips-"Dont clean the bones, feed them with some meat on them, as they come. Let them pull on the meat and sinew and lick out the marrow.  I just allow them to have them for an hour, then throw them away. Its when they sit around the house, get buried, or get dried out that you get bacteria and splintering. They will last in the fridge a week before feeding. Can also be frozen and thawed."  I have to admit when I try our upcoming raw bones I think Ill have Dexter chew on them on a towel and  toss the towel in the wash.  Read my raw bone reviews.

Nylon, rubber type bones and chew.  If you have been following me, you may know Im a bit leery now on what exactly I give Dexter to chew and play with.  I think this is doubly important when we are talking about a product that will be chewed and possibly pieces ingested.  That said, soft rubber or nylon bones are nice for a dogs teeth.  However, a lot of dogs are not interested in them for chewing.  But if you place a little bit of organic almond butter on they chew bone, sometimes that will peak their interest in chewing it after they lick it off.

So there you have it.  That is the current list of dog chew and  chew bones I feel comfortable providing Dexter and  recommending to my dog training clients.  I am sure this list will be updated and  maybe I can try some other chews and  feel confident in using them.

Thank you to those companies who have been allowing me to test and review products to ensure the best and safest chews for your dogs. Check out my dog chew reviews here.

Tonya Wilhelm-Global Dog Training http://www.globaldogtraining.com

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