A Dog Treat Story

A few weeks ago my husband and I were asked to take care of our friends’ dog while they went on vacation. We immediately said yes. Not ever having a dog as a pet, I gladly let my husband handle the feeding, watering and poo-picking-up duties, but I was right there when it came to giving her love, affection and dog treats.

Alas, I didn’t have any of our Happy N’ Healthy Organic Beef Dog Treats on-hand, but our friend had left some sort of dog treat stix for his pet. Figuring that I’d get points for giving her treats, I enthusiastically called her to me and made a big production of giving her a daily treat. She loved the stix, but we noticed that she seemed to choke on the treat with alarming frequency. She never had a bad enough reaction that we felt a trip to the vet was necessary, but it concerned us enough that we stopped giving her the treats.

When we reported our concern to our friend upon his return, he said he gives her the treats regularly and never noticed that she choked on them. But it would only take one time for him not to notice her choking for tragic consequences to occur.

This situation brings home the idea that all dog treats on the market are not equal. A Google search of dog treats sold at one national pet store chain revealed over 400 varieties of dog treats. However, there are many artificial products out there in biscuits, chews, rawhides and the like. Many are filled with artificial ingredients and flavorings. That’s not to say that dogs won’t love these treats – but the question is: are these the best products for dogs?

I may be a little biased, but I think our Happy N’ Healthy Organic Beef Treats are the way to go. They are strips of 100% Organic Beef Liver or Lung (two varieties) and have absolutely nothing artificial added to them. No flavorings, no artificial preservatives, no added anything. Just pure organic beef. And, I might add, I have not met a dog who doesn’t love them!

I remember when we were researching the Treats and they hadn’t even been packaged yet, I brought some samples to my brother-in-law’s dog. The dog, by the way, usually barked ferociously at me – until he smelled the treats. And then he was my new best friend. Imagine that?!

The only thing to remember when feeding our treats is to match the size of the treat to the size of the dog. Small dogs under 20 lbs. should be given ½” to 1” piece of the treat; medium dogs weighing 20-50 lbs. should be given 1”-2” pieces and larger dogs can be given 2” or more of the treat.

Oh, and also – don’t give the dog as much of the treats as he wants at one time. He might eat the whole bag, but that wouldn’t be good for him, would it? Just as it isn’t good for dog’s best friend to eat an entire bag of, well, anything – even if it’s a healthy treat!