It's a common question right..? What is the difference between supermarket or cheap dog treats and those expensive ones from a pet store?
So, we all know how bad certain things are for us humans right, too much salt, too much sugar (or the wrong types of sugar), too much fat and so on and so forth. Well, the same goes for our dogs, too much salt and fat is bad for them as well as sugar and for some forms of sugars and sugar substitutes it can be fatal for our four-legged fur babies.
The biggest reason supermarket treats are cheap is because they are made cheaply (not made in Australia), often contain meats and ingredients from overseas and full of nasties or fillers that really aren't nutritional for our dogs. When we choose a treat for our pet we really need to read the ingredients to see what is actually in the treat we are giving to them. When we read the ingredients list we read from first ingredient to last as this is in the order of the most to least of each ingredient. Ideally we would like to see salt (commonly listed as sodium) and sugars towards the middle-end of the ingredients lists and when we look at the fat content percentage we would like to see it be under 10%.
Lets take a look at a couple of comparisons between supermarket treats and our treats:
Purina Dentalife Dental Sticks
The ingredient list: Rice, Glycerin, Wheat Flour, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Malted Barley Flour, Chicken By-Product Meal, Mono and Dicalcium Phosphate, Sorbic Acid (a Preservative), Calcium Propionate (a Preservative), Sodium Bicarbonate, BHA (a Preservative), BHT (a Preservative), Calcium Carbonate, Citric Acid.
As we can see there are a lot of other ingredients or 'fillers' in these treats with very little vitamins and minerals.
Our Evolution Chicken Dental Sticks
The ingredients list: Rice Flour, Sorbitol, Tapioca Starch, Potato Starch, Australian Chicken Meal, Sugar, Sea Salt, Canola oil, Vitamin and Mineral Mix ( includes: Zinc, Iron, Vitamin E, B2, B1, B6 ) Potassium Sorbate, Natural Colours
With our dental treats you can see the difference, there are less unfamiliar fillers and these contain actual Chicken meal that is Australian as well as a range of vitamins and minerals. There are sugar and salt included but there are in the proportions we'd like them to be in to help keep our dogs happy and healthy.\
BOW WOW Pigs Ears- your probably thinking 'Really, shouldn't the ingredients just be pigs ears?' Unfortunately no- this is their ingredient list: pork, salt
Our pigs ears ingredients- yep you guessed it- 100% Australian Pork.
These are just a couple of examples- there are actually some good treats available in the aisles of your local supermarket but cheapest isn't always the best. Make sure you read product labels for the ingredients lists before purchasing and if your unsure purchase your treats from an independant pet store like us so you know you're getting quality and healthy treats.
We hope you have learnt a thing or two about healthy dog treats and the difference between supermaket treats and the more expensive treats.
"Paws Up!"
Cassie, Mia, Poppy and Arlo.
PS. We here are a couple of treats we can say are ok for your dog from the supermarket:
Love em' air dried beef liver, Open Paddock Turkey Air Dried Sticks, VitaRapid Tranquil Treats.
Please by all means steer clear of raw hide unless you know the origins of it as to make this product they use bleach which in turn ends up in your dogs system.
Shop our range of dog treats at thepawfect.com.au