Homemade Dog Treats or Commercial Dog Treats

Commercial Dog Treats
Your dog will enjoy the treats that you give to him, no matter where they come from. But not all commercial dog treats are created equal. He might go nuts over the bag of treats that sells for $1.99 at the Superstore, but the odds are that those treats are high in fat, salt, sugar, and artificial colors.

Interestingly, artificial flavors are rarely used in dog treats except to make "smoked" or "bacon" flavors; instead, a "digest" of meat enzymes are used to flavor dog treats and food.

These kinds of treats, however, are "junk food." Junk food is no better for your dog than it is for you. Junk food is not something that he should even have daily. If you use "grocery store" treats with your dogs, then consider using them a couple of times a week at best. They are convenient to use, but should be used sparingly.

There are dog treats being marketed that are somewhat similar in appearance to commercial treats. These treats are also semi-moist in nature and have the potential to be too high in sugar and salt the way that the previously discussed treats do.

The manufacturers of these treats, however, go out of their way to use better ingredients and to and to avoid the chemicals--such as artificial colors--from these treats. These treats are more delicate and they do not withstand extremes of heat and cold as well as the previously mentioned treats. However, they can be used more frequently than those treats and are not as likely to contain artificial preservatives.

Homemade Dog Treats
The greatest advantage the homemade treats have over commercial treats is knowledge. You know what ingredients went into them. You know how and when they were formulated and turned into the final product. The knowledge that nothing artificial went into making these treats is sometimes worth any amount of time or effort that goes into making them.

The greatest disadvantage that homemade treats might have is that they are labor intensive. Because they are not found on a retailer's shelves, they are not as convenient as the other treats. Neither do these treats last as long in terms of freshness; because of the lack of preservative in their ingredients list, they will spoil more quickly. Regardless, if your dog has a food sensitivity of some kind, homemade treats are for you.

No treats should be given to your dog too often. No matter how good the ingredients listed, treats are not formulated with good nutrition in mind. However, the size and shape of these treats make them ideal for training new behaviors. Be careful and be informed about whatever goes into your dog's treats. Taking a few minutes to sort things out early can save you a lot of headaches later on.

Next article: Toxic & Bad Treats to Avoid