|
Treating Your Pet Right
Can you fathom a time when pet treats didn't exist? In this
day in age, what would we do without treats? They're
communication tools, training tools, nutritional supplements
and not to mention great for the human-animal bond.
The first commercial dog food was a biscuit product produced
in 1860. A lightning rod seller named James Pratt was
visiting London from Ohio and saw dogs surviving off of
left-over biscuits from ships. He then decided to prepare a
dog biscuit of wheat meal, vegetable, beetroot and meat, and
started selling them exclusively to English country
gentlemen who had sporting dogs. The rest became history.
Much has changed since the 1860's; as our ideas of nutrition
have evolved, so have our pets' foods. The introduction of
dry kibble, canned foods, and soft moist products have
broadened our choices tremendously. |
For many of us, the food we give
to our pets means everything, and the treats we bestow onto
them in between meals, just an afterthought. Even the most
health-conscious of us who buy the costly-but-worth-it pet
food end up going to the supermarket and plucking the
cheapest treats off the shelves. Why do many of us have a
tendency to feed our pets top shelf foods packed with
healthy meats and grains only to feed them artificially
colored and flavored treats with the nutritional value of
cardboard?
Do we have some perception that treats don't matter as much?
This cannot be further from the truth. Everything that we
sink into our pets' mouths should enhance their daily
nutrition. We ask a lot of our pets' foods. Even the
healthiest pet food doesn't provide everything. Every animal
is different and has different needs.
Because we only feed our pets about twice a day, treats are
a great extension to the diet. Even two or three treats a
day add up. If we are going to add calories, shouldn't they
be healthy ones? So why not find a treat that is yummy yet
augments the diet in some way? We at HealthyPetNet are going
to give you the lowdown on the junky ingredients in treats
that you should stay away from. Let us help you to treat
your pet right.
Click Here to Read the Rest of the Newsletter |
