If you are a pet owner, you know that pampering your pet doesn’t mean spoiling them. You can provide you pets with a lovely home and all of the essentials that they need all while keeping them healthy and keeping up on their training. If you want to make sure that you are bonding with your pet, it’s so important to spend time and energy playing with them and giving them the positive attention that they need to feel loved. One of the best ways to do that is with positive reinforcement when you see the behaviors that you want.
We highly recommend using occasional treats to help your dog to feel good about their progress and your relationship. Many experts advise keeping an eye on your dog’s total treat consumption and make sure that you aren’t taking up too much of their daily allotted calories with treats, keeping the total amount in the realm of ten percent or less. Beyond that, there are a few easy steps to make sure that the dog treats you are using for training and bonding are just right for your pet.
The first step when you are shopping dog treats is to make sure you keep an eye on the ingredient list. A good treat is going to have a short list of ingredients that are all full of nutritional value for your dog, not offering empty calories. It’s also important to consider the amount of sodium and fat in your chosen treats. Dogs shouldn’t be getting a lot of extra filler ingredients from their treats that are going to throw their diet off balance.
Next, you should make sure that you factor in your dog’s unique needs. If you have an elderly dog, it’s good to get them soft treats that aren’t going to be too hard on their teeth and take into consideration any deficiencies they may need to fill to have the best possible health. For puppies, extra vitamins and minerals for their growing bodies are going to be essential, and keeping treats small will mean that you can give them out all day long as you work hard on training. Adult dogs are going to appreciate treats that offer them additional protein and healthy carbs that are going to give them energy all day long.
By carefully choosing treats, you are going to be able to offer your dog a healthy incentive for great behavior, bond with them, and not interfere with their healthy diet.