Can you imagine a time when pet treats didn’t exist? What would we do? Today we use treats as a way of communicating and bonding with our pets. Treats also offer a delicious training tool and nutritional supplement.
Did you know the first commercial dog food biscuit product was produced in 1860? An inventive salesman from Ohio named James Pratt was visiting London where he observed dogs surviving off left over biscuits discarded from ships at dock. He decided to prepare a dog biscuit of wheat meal, vegetable, beetroot and meat. A lot has changed since that time and as our ideas on nutrition continue to evolve, so have our pets’ foods.
For many of us, feeding our pet nutritious and healthy food at meal times is a conscious choice we make. Are we giving the same consideration to the treats we give them between meal times? Even the most health conscious shoppers that buy premium pet food may be tempted to pluck the cheapest pet treats off of the supermarket shelf.
Consider that everything we feed our pets should serve to enhance their daily nutrition.
Today there are many more natural treat alternatives to choose from that offer good nutrition without added artificial preservatives and flavours as well as lower calorie formulas. Treats are a great extension to their daily diet however, even two or three treats a day can add up. Why not make them healthy, tasty ones?