How to Know Which Dog Treats Are
Actually Healthy
(... and which are just pretending to be)
There are countless dog treats on the market purporting to be healthy. But just because they say they’re healthy doesn’t mean they actually are.
When it comes to dog snacks, if you find it difficult to know what is healthy and what isn’t, you’re not alone. Manufacturers deliberately don’t make this easy. They use persuasive (and often meaningless) language on packaging to convince you of the treat’s nutritional value.
What should dog treats contain?
Dog treats are tasty snacks for dogs to have in between meals, and despite the word ‘treat’ they should be as healthy as possible.
If you’re using treats as rewards, you don’t want to regularly reward your dog with something that’s bad for it.
The main ingredient in any dog treat should be meat or vegetables. You also want the ingredients to be natural and unprocessed. Seems simple enough, but how can you tell the natural from the heavily processed?
Buying dog treats: Dos and don’ts
1. DO ignore the marketing fluff
Healthy treats for your dog!
The number one dog food brand!
Dogs love our healthy treats!
We have your dog’s health in mind!
… These are all compelling statements you might see on dog food packaging. But they’re all marketing fluff designed to gain your trust and convince you to buy. They are not factual statements rooted in truth (i.e. ‘number one dog food brand’ as decided by who?).
2. DON’T assume well-known brands are dog food specialists
Many big-name dog food brands are actually owned by umbrella companies who have nothing to do with dog food - or even animals! For example, Pedigree - a dog food brand we’ve all heard of - is owned by Mars. Yes, the very same company that produces the eponymous chocolate bar. They also own a host of other unrelated brands (Twix, Dove, Dolmio…).
3. DO read the ingredients list
For optimum health, a dog’s diet should be as natural and unprocessed as possible. Whether or not a treat uses natural ingredients will be obvious in the ingredients list. If you see lots of words you don’t recognise then most likely these are chemicals and preservatives. In other words, the treats are heavily processed. Some treats also use other random, starchy food items that aren’t good for your dog, to bulk up the food.
4. DO read the nutritional information
By law, all packaged human food must disclose nutritional values. It’s not quite as clear cut with pet food, but the Pet Food Manufacturers Association states that products must show the % of proteins, fats and oils.
5. DO seek out Red Tractor labels (when possible)
Red Tractor is a food quality assurance organisation which ensures high standards across British produce. Meat products with the Red Tractor logo mean that the meat has been farmed in Britain with care and that the product is safe and traceable. Unfortunately this quality assurance doesn’t always extend to dog treats (you might not see it often on dog treat packaging), however this is gradually changing as more independent dog food manufacturers hit the market.
6. DON’T buy anything if you’re unsure
As well as trusting your gut you can also check out
www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk. It’s an independent and very helpful review site of dog food brands.