Hazards while baking homemade treats for your Pets

How do you know what the contents of any product are? That’s easy, right? Just flip the product to see the labels and believe the way it has been manufactured and the components that have been used. Although there are laws to safe-guard the interests of the consumers, when it comes to ensuring health of little pets, it is better to take no chances.

As confirmed by most vets, treats that are widely available in the markets are loaded with salt, sugar, preservatives and colors. So now the question arises of how to treat a pup without accidently giving it something that would contribute to a poor health?

There are two options that every pet parent has:

The second option is to bake the treats yourself. This may not always be easy, especially when you do not know where to start from. On the other hand, if you do, it is the best for your little one as the ingredients can be carefully picked as suggested by the vets according to the individual needs, allergies and sensitivities.

Prevention of Injury and Illness

Baking treats for your pup by yourself may be the best gesture towards its health but the following precautions need to be taken to prevent accidents and foodborne illnesses:  

• While baking treats, make sure you keep your pup away from stoves and ovens. One of the best ways is to secure the area by putting a dog gate.
• Avoid the usage of toxic ingredients like chocolate, onions, garlic and raisins in the treats

Skip Unhealthy and Unnecessary Ingredients

The ingredients we enjoy in our treats are not necessarily good for dogs. Since every pet parent is either going to order for treats or make by themselves, it is easier to make sure that fat is avoided as some dogs have the tendency to develop pancreatitis with high-fat treats and foods. This is a painful inflammation of the pancreas that may result in hospitalization for a pet.

Safe ingredient options include certain vegetables and fruits such as broccoli, carrots, summer squash, zucchini, Brussels sprouts, pumpkin, cucumber, celery, spinach, kale, dandelion greens, apple (and unsweetened apple sauce), peaches, pears, strawberries, blueberries and bananas.

Keeping a constant check on calorie intake

You must have often heard recommendations of not giving your pet a lot of treats. This is simply because too much intake of the treats may result in nutritional imbalances in the bodies of the pets. Hence, it is advisable to keep a constant check on the intake and ensuring that treats do not take more than 10% of its calorie intake. The best way to keep a track is to weigh the treats on a food gram scale and alter the habits accordingly.