The Worst Treats for Dogs

Who doesn’t want to give their dog treats for doing something great? Almost every dog owner uses treats as a form of reward for their pets. Being able to teach your pet dog what you want it to do, along with good behavior and using treats to reward them is a great way of training them. However, not all of the treats you can think of are safe for your beloved pet. But what type of treats can harm your pet? Below are some of the worst treats you can give your dog:

• Chocolate – Chocolate may sound like a great treat, but it actually contains substances that can be harmful to your pet. Too much chocolate can cause your pet to feel dehydrated or become excessively thirsty, seizures, and it may also lead to irregular heartbeats. Sometimes, too much may even be fatal to your pet dog, so it’s best to stay away from these treats.
• Grapes – Grapes may seem harmless, but they are among those fruits that aren’t really recommended for your pet dog. Your dog might like them, but grapes can cause depression, fatigue, and even kidney failure for your dog, even if they are consumed in small amounts. If you’ve accidentally given your pet dog some grapes, make sure to watch out for signs of poisoning such as vomiting.
• Macadamia Nuts – Nuts can easily be given to your dog, and they may seem harmless. However, macadamia nuts can lead to muscle tremors, fever, increased heart rates, and fever as well.
• Rawhide Treats and Chew Toys – These types of dog treats are readily available in the market, however, they can be harmful to your dog. Read a little more below before making your decision on rawhide dog treats.

What is rawhide?

Rawhide is made from the inner soft later of an animal, usually a cow. However, it can be mixed with other chemicals as well. It also contains a lot of artificial flavors to make it taste better for your dog. Ask your vet if your dog’s breed is okay to gnaw on rawhide, and watch them closely the first few times you give them these treats (you may prefer giving your pup rawhide-free dog treats). Among the potential dangers of rawhide treats are:

• Choking
• Obstruction in the digestive system
• Toxic (because of the chemicals used to process the treats)

WHAT YOU CAN DO

The good thing is that there are now a lot of natural treats available for your pet. However, some of these natural treats can still contain starch, which isn’t really the best ingredient. So what can you do to make sure that you are feeding good treats to your dog and making sure that they are kept healthy? Below are some tips:

Don’t Give Your Pet Too Many Treats

Treats, even if they are natural and healthy, shouldn’t be given too often. Try to limit giving your dog treats, and do it only when you feel that they should be rewarded for their behavior. Treats aren’t exactly the main source of nutrition for your pet so too much of it can lead to obesity.

Choose High-Quality Treats

When buying dog treats, make sure that it doesn’t contain grains or fillers, added sugar like honey or molasses, and other chemicals and preservatives.

Prepare Your Own!

You can also try to make the treats yourself. For example, you can use chicken strips as a treat and make them as chicken jerky. To do this, you can just slice chicken breasts into thin strips and bake them for approximately three hours at 180 degrees. There are even dog treat molds to build your pup their own cake or mountain of their favorite treats.