Treats for Tricks

What kinds of treats are OK to give my dog?

Everything in moderation, and nothing to excess. -Aristotle

This is a pretty common question I hear every day in practice. Anyone who has seen me in person (especially in profile :P) would agree that I think treats are pretty important. We get into problems when we forget that they are TREATS and as such should not me a major part of our diet.
In my case - scoop of ice cream=good. PINT of icecream=BAD.
In your dog's case - dog biscuit=good. Handful of biscuits=BAD.

First and foremost, keep in mind that most biscuits and treats for dogs and cats are about as calorie dense as an equal amount of their kibble. I've had owners complain that their dog "only eats a cup of food a day" and are shocked that they have gained weight. After we really look at what goes into the dog over the course of the day, I find out that they get 10 mini-milkbones a day. That's nearly another cup of food!

Just walk down the treat isle at the local pet store and you will be shocked at the sheer number of different options. Notice that nearly all of them are marketed to you, not your dog! Does your dog really care that his food is in the shape of a bone? He eats poop, afterall. Would he like it any better if it were a poop shaped cookie?

There are an unfortunate number of treats that are much to hard to be safe. Nylabones (sorry Nylabone people) and dried beef bones are just plain dangerous. Same goes for ice! Your dog will bust a tooth on one of these. I believe Nylabone does make a flexible/squishy chew. That's OK.

Rawhide: One of the most popular treats. Dried cow skin. Cousins to this would be pig snouts/ears and bully sticks (dried beef penis - I kid you not). Rawhide can be a great treat IF your dog isn't an idiot and tries to swallow it whole. Rawhide does NOT digest once swallowed. Big chunks of rawhide will cause obstruction. Some dogs methodically chew and gnaw the strip down to little bits. Rawhide is great for them. These treats do absolutely nothing for the teeth unless they are enzymatically or antimicrobially treated. They simply turn to slimy wads of old skin. Pretty disgusting, but dogs love them!

Greenies (all all associated copy cats): Greenies were the chlorophyl treat that made all of the other "edible compressed starch" chewies popular. The original form of the treat was too hard and if swallowed in big pieces, would cause obstruction. The company has long since reformulated them and they are now completely digestible. Some dogs get diarrhea when eating a Greenie (or similar). This is probably the case with all treats, but Greenies seems to be accused more than others. Don't know why. Any of the compressed corn starch treats or compressed veggie treats are probably fine.

Table foods: Look below for a list of acceptable fruits and veggies. This section is specifically addressing table foods. We humans eat some very, very calorie dense foods. It doesn't take much "table food" to provide big-time calories to our pets. We MUST be careful with this one.

Fats: High fat items are dangerous for your dog. Steak trimmings, bacon, nut butters, and dairy butter are very effective triggers of pancreatitis. Pancreatitis can be exceptionally dangerous and even fatal. High fat foods must be fed in small quantities only if they are fed at all.

Bones: Raw bones are soft and can be great to chew on. You have the issue of microbial food safety, but the bones won't cause damage. COOKED bones are an entirely different story. Ribs, steak, hambones are all popular treats but should not be fed. Cooked bones have all of the fat and soft tissue cooked out of them and the result is that only the hard calcium matrix. This can not be chewed through. It's harder than a tooth and will break a tooth pretty easily. Once swallowed, cooked bones cannot be digested and can cause obstructions or perforations.

Fruits and veggies:
Pretty much any fruit or veggie is OK with a couple of major exceptions:

Grapes and raisins are expressely forbidden! Bad. Some dogs die of horrid renal failure after eating grapes or raisins. Others have absolutely no problems. So, NO GRAPES FOR YOU!

Onions and garlic (allium family veggies) are dangerous to cats. Dogs can handle small amounts, but you must be careful. Cats have acutally died from drinking onion soup broth. The reason for this toxicity is that cat red blood cells (and to a lesser extent, dogs) are very sensitive to the oxidative damage that allium species do to the surface of the cell. They get damaged, the body takes them out, and the pet ends up with dangerous anemia and expires. Onions-cats-bad.

Some favorites I've had people give: frozen green beans (or fresh - dogs seem to like the crunch), carrots (fresh - NOT frozen), celery stick, sliced apple, sliced pear, and red or green bell pepper.

Post a comment on your favorite treat for your pet. There are tons out there. I'll comment back if you'd like.

AMH