Diet and Treat Basics

Food is a BIG and highly value driven topic, but there are some basics that all veterinary professionals (even of different feeding philosophies) agree on. We are going to start there.

Diet Basics

The food that makes up the majority of your pets diet should be considered balanced and complete. In the USA the label should have a nutritional adequacy statement. This is found in the small print. The statement should read “diet is balanced and complete for ___ life stages based on ____”. The blanks will be filled to complete the statement depending on the following information for that diet. 

The diets can be balanced and complete for lactation and pregnancy, growth, adult maintenance, or all life stages. Young, pregnant and nursing dogs must be on a diet that includes their group. Young dogs can develop growth abnormalities if minerals are not balanced properly while they grow. For older dogs some types of hormone diseases and heart disease can be caused (and reversed if caught early enough) by an unbalanced diet. 

The statement should also include how the diet has been determined to be balanced. Usually based on feeding trials or formulation. Feeding trials are the “gold standard” but EXPENSIVE and out of reach for all but the biggest pet food companies. All companies, when asked, should be able to answer your quality control and nutritional adequacy questions. If you are a reader who prefers fresh cooked or even raw food, these general principles still apply to these diet formulations. 

And last note on diets, they need to be stored properly. When feeding fresh products these instructions are simple and intuitive based on how we handle our own food. Kibble also needs to be stored properly. While sealed kibble products can last for extended periods of time, once opened they are ideally used within about 1 month - 3 months to avoid rancidity. For maximum freshness, store in an air and rodent proof cool dry location. Kibble can be stored in the freezer to extend the longevity after opening. 

Treat Basics

We all love to reward our fluffy companions when they are cute, or learn a new trick, or their company brings us joy during the day. I get it!

To your veterinarian, everything that is not a part of a balanced diet is considered a treat. This includes things like toppers, pill pockets, dental chews, animal bones or fresh food even if they are given at the time of meals. Anything that has a calorie content. This is because the nutrients in these items are not balanced to remain within minimum or maximum needs. 10% of calorie intake from outside of a balanced diet is considered safe as a rule of thumb. 

If your pet is on the heavy side, reduce their calorie amount at meals by 10% to replace with treats. If your dog is lean to healthy, you can add 10% of calories in treats. If you have a lot of training needs and 10% is just not going to cut it then reserve some of their balanced diet to be used as treats. 

When selecting treats, your feeding philosophy, resources available, and dog’s personal and medical needs are going to have an influences. If your dog has been placed on a prescription diet make sure to ask your veterinarian about treat options that do not undo the benefit of the prescription diet. Regardless of the treat you choose, we recommend pea sized rewards. You can take any product you prefer and break it up into those size pieces. 

Much of the prepackaged treat market is similar to what we would consider “junk food” for ourselves. Fine in moderation, but not something we want too much of in our diet. If you are interested in trying to reward with less junk, here are some tips on how to select your dog’s treats. Just like us dogs enjoy quality whole ingredient food. Animal products (meat, especially organ meat) can be great high value rewards but should be used sparingly. Many fruits and veggies can be cut up and used as treats (check this out for the human foods that are toxic to dogs). And some dogs enjoy a small amount of dairy.