The Dear Dr.MOZ Baby Blog

Dear Dr.MOZ,

I’m not sure if you take questions about dog health, but our 11 year-old Rottweiler “Shanti” is becoming less mobile with age and it is really beginning to show. She’s gained a few extra pounds over the years, and I think a lot of it can be attributed to her treats. What ingredients should we avoid when shopping for dog treats?

Thanks,
Leonard & Shanti

(Thanks for the great question Leonard! To learn more about healthy treat ingredients, we went to The Doghouse Kitchen TM which is the source of tasty treats made of certified organic ingredients. Our contributing blogger Aaron Pastor is the President and co-founder of Doghouse Kitchen TM of Portland, Maine. Take it away Aaron!)

Ahhh, yes…we see this a lot Leonard. The dog who is just so good/adorable/honest/smart (you choose) that she is always deserving of a treat.

Oftentimes, the people in charge of doling out the tasty morsels become increasingly liberal with their handouts. It starts out that the dog gets a treat at specified times or after completing specified tasks. This often morphs into “Oh look how cute she is right now! She should have a treat.”

Now I’m all for treating your dog and treating her well, so here are a few specific tips to help you out on your pound-shedding quest:

1. THINK HEALTHY: The beauty of a dog and its diet is that you can be in complete control of it. So there is no place for unhealthy snacks, especially since you’re not fighting with your dog’s taste buds as to

whether she *really, really needs* that sweet treat. She doesn’t; and you shouldn’t be giving it to her anyway.

• Avoid refined sugars, and any large amounts of sweetener (if the has some form of sugar and tastes sweet to you, then it’s far to sweet for your dog).
• Avoid wheat flour and other forms of wheat. Wheat is often used as an inexpensive filler and is in many commercial dog foods and treats, most often at much too high a rate for an animal that needs protein. Furthermore, wheat being so prolific has resulted in many dogs becoming allergic to it.
• Certified Organic ingredients are always a plus.

2. THINK SMALL: You might want the whole cookie or the extra scoop of ice cream. Your dog, however much she might seem to *want* the whole treat, will be just as happy and just as incentivized if the treat is smaller. Difficult for us whole-cookie and ice cream sundae eaters to grasp, but true. You can feed small treats or break–up larger ones. You can make great dietary strides by simply making one treat last longer rather than giving a new treat every time.

3. REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE: That’s right, you’re the parent. And your dog, regardless of how mature/intelligent/insightful/emotionally available (again, your choice) she is, is unable to grasp portion control. As the parent you have guide your dog when it comes to food, and that means understanding that lots of treats should equal feeding less food. So if you don’t view your treats as dietary supplements, you must first insure that your dog is getting the proper main meal, and not simply eating crackers, chips or dessert all day.

Give my best to Shanti!

Aaron

(The Doghouse Kitchen is a registered trademark of The Doghouse Kitchen, Inc. )