Holistic Treats for Your Dog

I have two Chihuahuas one is 6 pounds, the other is overweight at 8 pounds. He looks like a loaf of bread. When it comes to treats I usually give him carrots and have tried numerous biscuits .The larger Chihuahua has luxating patellae (blown knees) so we try to support his bone conditoin as much as possible, partially by working on getting his weight down. He can't exercise a lot due to the knee problem so diet is very important. This biscuithas 25% crude protein, good for bones.Since the food reacalls I read the ingredients of dog foods and treats zealously. I came across Nutro Ultra Puppy Biscuits. What caught my eye was the fact that they are Holistic.

I basically give my dogs carrots for treats and now the Nutro Natural Puppy biscuits. The box suggests giving the dogs 3-4 biscuits a da y or as a compliment to their meals. I do not do this. I break a small fragment off the bisuit and give them to my dogs as treats when they obey a command. They don't care about what size a treat is they are just thrilled to be getting a reward for good behavior. There is no calorie amount indicated on the box so I'm holding back on the size and amount of the biscuit they get. I love that the picture in actual size is on the box, I think all dog foods and treats should let you know the size witha picture toavoid bringing home foods that don't work for you and your dog. This particular product offers a guarenteed return if you aren't 100% satisfied with it.

The biscuit has 3 animal proteins in it, chicken meal, salmon meal and lamb meal for good muscle development. It has Sunflower Oil for good skin and coat condition. The Flaxseed is another key to good coat and skin condition. The Brown Rice is an important easily digestible Carbohydrate. Cranberry Powder is included for vitamin C. Kelp gives them iodine. The Alfalfa is a natural source of Chlorophyll to help keep your dog's breath pleasant. Tomato Pumice supports your dog's immune system. So all in all this is a real healthy treat. All these ingredients are highly digestible and are geared to the well being of your pet.It's very impressive that there are so many very healthy ingredients.

Another aspect of this nice crunchy biscuit is that it helps scrape off tartar from your dog's teeth. This will help reduce the amount of visits to the veterinarian for a tooth cleaning. It's very important to keep an eye on your dog's teeth. Tartar can lead to a number of health problems. A little prevention goes a long way.

These biscuits measure about 1" x 1 1/4" and are a light tan. They have a little dog profile on them, to appeal to the pet owner I imagine. The Ultra Puppy Biscuit by Nutro meets the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for all life stage. This is always something to look for in pet foods and treats. To my only human sense of smell I smell no particular odor in thebiscuit. I'm sure the dogs do since they do a grab and run when I give them their little pieces. As much as they are definately food hounds they are particular about their treats.

The ingredient list is positively super impressive. Wheat Flour, Ground Whole Wheat, Chicken Meal, Corrn, Gluten, Salt, Flaxseed, Natural Flavor, Rice Bran, Chicken Meal, Salmon Meal, Whole Brown RIce, Dicalcium Phosphate, Lamb Meal, Potassium Chloride, Parsley, Tomato Pumace, Oatmeal, Dried, Beet Puhp, Sun Cured Alfalfa, Tocopherols, L Lysine, Monohydrochloride, Choline Chloride, Dried Egg, Salt, Fish OIl, Tocopherols, Taurine, Fried Kelp Meal, Cranberry Powder, Sodium Metbisulfate, Copper Suafate, Niacin, Calcium Penthothinate, Sodium Selenite, Beta Carotens, Vit A ,Vit K Biotin, RIboflavin and more. You can go to www. nutroproducts.com for the guaranteed analysis.

Another, close second in teh dog biscuit area is Drs Foster and Smith Premium Natural Biscuit. This also has wholesome ingredients, is low fat (that diet again) is tartar reducing in texture and is full of itamins and mineral. This biscuit has real meat, peanuts, and no articiccial ingredients. This comes in asmall and large fo different dog sizes. One important aspect is that these are hypo allergenic, No wheat, no corn, no soy. These come in seven different flavors, Chicken, Liver, Liver Lite, Bison (!!!), Peanut Butter, Lamb with rice and Fish with potato. These are available through the Drs Foster and Smith catalog or through their web site..

I mention these because they are also healthy and dogs tend to like variety. Although this biscuit doesn't have the incredible amount of health oriented ingredients the products are only good if your pet will eat them.