Health

The Importance of Choosing the Best Dog Treats: Impact on Health, Training, and Behavior

You could choose any treats to give your dog, but choosing the best dog treats helps ensure you’re enriching and prolonging your dog’s life rather than potentially causing them harm by giving them treats that upset their stomach, cause obesity, or have the potential to become lodged in their intestinal tract.

Read on for more information about the role of dog treats in your dog’s life, the detrimental effects of unhealthy treats, and our suggestions for the best treats for dogs.

The Role of Dog Treats in Your Pet's Life

More than just a training tool, dog treats can be a way to forge a bond between yourself and your pup. Treats can also add bonus nutrients to their diet, keep them busy for an extended period of time, reward them for tolerating tasks they don’t enjoy (like brushing, bathing, or nail trims), and so much more.

It’s difficult to overstate just how important treats are to your dog’s quality of life. Dog treats play a critical role in your pup’s overall well-being, health, and happiness. The type and quality of treats you purchase can impact your dog’s life either positively or negatively.

The Benefit of the Best Treats for Dogs’ Health

The best treats can provide a number of amazing benefits to your dog, including things like:

•Improved dental health
•Better breath
•Excellent digestion
•Healthier skin and coat
•Reduced joint pain
•Improved quality of life
•Better behavior
•Less “acting out”

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Best Dog Training Treats: An Essential Tool for Effective Training

In a 2022 study involving 2,000 dog owners, 3 in 4 people believed they wouldn’t have been able to teach their dog any commands without using treats. In the same poll, two-thirds of respondents said their dogs were “very food motivated.”

A 2016 study using functional MRI found that while most dogs are equally pleased with praise from their owners as they are with food, some dogs prefer food over praise.

With all this in mind, it’s easy to see why the best dog training treats can help make training more fun and effective. The best dog training treats should:

•Be small or able to be broken into small pieces (keep in mind that treats should make up no more than 10% of your dog’s daily calories)
•Be able to be eaten in a single bite so as not to slow down training while the dog chews or hunts for crumbs
•Contain as few ingredients as possible (single-ingredient treats are best)
•Taste delicious so they’re highly motivating
•Be free of preservatives, fillers, and artificial flavors or colors
•Add bonus nutrients to your dog’s diet
•Be made from human-grade meats (rather than feed-grade ingredients)

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How the Right Treats Can Influence Your Dog's Behavior

You probably act a bit cranky when you don’t feel well, and dogs are the same. Feeding your dog high-carb, low-quality, filler-stuffed, difficult-to-digest treats can make them display unwanted behaviors because their digestive system is struggling and making them feel unwell.

On the other hand, high-quality, single-ingredient dehydrated or freeze-dried treats are much easier to digest and are an excellent way to reward your dog for good behavior in a way that won’t make them feel physically unwell.

The Detrimental Effects of Unhealthy Dog Treats

Unhealthy dog treats can cause your dog all sorts of problems, including:

•Obesity
•Bloat (GDV)
•Digestive problems
•Allergies
•Dental problems
•Diabetes
•Cancer
•Diarrhea
•Heart disease

The Importance of Choosing the Best Dog Treats

As you can see, choosing the best dog treats can help enhance your dog’s quality of life, while picking bad dog treats could potentially lead to a shorter, unhealthier, unhappier life. Treats are meant to make a dog’s life better, not worse, which is why it’s so important to choose high-quality treats.

What Are the Best Dog Treats?

The best dog treats do NOT contain:

•Xylitol or other artificial sweeteners (they’re toxic for dogs)
•Sugar, molasses, or corn syrup (dogs don’t need sugar, and it can cause health problems)
•Artificial colors or flavors (they’re unnecessary and potentially harmful)
•Rawhide (it’s difficult to digest and can cause blockages)
•Grapes, raisins, onions, or chocolate (which are toxic for dogs)

The best dog treats ARE:

•All-natural
•Single-ingredient
•Made from human-grade meat
•Free of preservatives and artificial colors or flavors
•Filler-free

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why are dog treats important?

Dog treats are important because they have so many different uses (such as training, rewarding good behavior, bonding with your pup, or keeping your dog busy) and they can either improve or decrease your pup’s overall quality of life depending on the ingredients. You probably want to improve your dog’s life as much as you can, so you should choose the highest-quality treats and ditch low-quality treats that may be making your dog feel unwell.

How do the best treats for dogs contribute to their health?

The best treats for dogs add bonus nutrients to their lives without contributing excess carbs, sugar, or artificial ingredients. The best dog treats can improve a dog’s gut, skin, teeth, joint health, and so much more.

How can the best dog training treats aid in effective training?

The best dog training treats not only help hold a dog’s attention because they’re so delicious, but they’re also easy to digest, so your dog isn’t distracted from training by an upset stomach. Also, dogs that are happy and healthy are much easier to train than dogs with health or digestive problems

How do the right treats influence a dog's behavior?

The right treats help dogs feel their best. When dogs feel their best, they are more focused on training and less likely to display problem behaviors. A dog being fed low-quality treats may struggle with their digestion and may lash out or be less responsive to training because they don’t feel good.