The "Scoop" on Snacks and Treats
My-Dog.info > Dogs, Diet & Food
Treats and snacks are small food rewards that pet owners use
for reinforcing the human-animal bond, as training aids and often
just for fun. The number of different snacks and treats available
for dogs and cats are astounding.
Survey statistics reveal that up to 86% of dog owners and
about 68% of cat owners regularly give treats to their animals.
About half of these dog owners give their dogs treats every day.
Treats for dogs represent approximately 10% of the total pet food
market in North America.
Owners often ignore mentioning treats when giving information
relevant to dietary history – either because they don’t
consider them as part of the animal’s diet or because they
feel guilty and don’t want to be perceived as cheating,
especially if their pet is on a special diet for obesity,
diabetes, IBD, or food allergy/ adverse food reactions. As a
generalization, dietary balance is maintained when less than 10%
of the daily food intake consists of table scraps or treats and
the remainder is a prepared food that is complete and balanced.
At low levels, treats can be considered nutritionally trivial,
except in certain medical conditions as previously mentioned.
Treats can be part of the dietary management of obesity, diabetes
mellitus, urolithiasis, cardiac failure, renal failure and
adverse food reactions to foods when used under medical
supervision.
Giving several treats per day can markedly affect a pet’s
daily cumulative caloric intake and later the nutritional
adequacy of the diet. A 7 kg adult dog receiving two snacks per
day may become 30% overweight in one year, unless comparable
calories are withheld from the daily food intake. A growing
large-breed puppy may double its calcium intake, if it receives
too many daily snacks.
A dietary history should always include specific questions
about treats, including the brand, size and number of treats
given daily. This information is critical when specific
nutritional problems must be ruled out ( e.g., skeletal problems
in large breed puppies, adverse reactions to food and obesity ).
When a dog or cat is affected by disease, such as urolithiasis,
diabetes mellitus, heart failure or renal disease, dietary
restrictions should be followed rigorously and treats should be
carefully selected or even banned. Of particular concern are
caloric density, protein, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium
and urinary pH. The ideal treat should match the nutrient profile
of the food or diet that is recommended for the life stage or
disease of the pet.
The majority of the treats and snacks are harmless, if fed
judiciously. Many have high concentrations of carbohydrates such
as sugar, molasses or maple syrup, hence are very high in
calories. Others are similarly unbalanced with high protein
levels in excess of 67%. It is important to be aware that in both
Canada and the United States, there is no legislation or controls
in place to monitor the nutritional quality of a treat or snack.
Both the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA)’s
Pet Food Certification Program and the Association of American
Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) have no jurisdiction regulating
the contents of a snack, unless the packaging makes a nutritional
claim. It then must be able to support its claims with
nutritional analysis and food trials.
The successful marketing of pet snacks and treats relies on
verbiage which appeals to the emotions of the pet-owning
consumer. Most of the catch phrases are designed to appeal to an
owner’s conscience and sense of responsibility. Examples of
misleading statements include – “these treats are the
answer to your dog’s prayers”, “Even you may be
tempted by the mouth watering aroma of ……, but sorry
we’ve made them for dogs only” , “......are not
like ordinary treats – they’re special, combining
naturally great taste with the high nutritional benefits your dog
deserves”, “baked in small batches!”,
“doesn’t the best dog in the world deserve the
world’s best biscuit?”, “these biscuits are
excellent for dogs with allergies, diabetes or prone to epileptic
seizures”- and “when it comes to choosing a healthful
food for your dog, you won’t cut corners.”
It would behoove all practising veterinarians to visit a local
specialty pet food retailer to familiarize themselves with the
different types of treats and their contents. In this manner,
they would be in a far better position to address the medical
issues that might arise from the overfeeding of treats and the
pitfalls of succumbing to aggressive marketing techniques.
Reprinted with permission from www.animalhealthcare.ca
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