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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.
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