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Dog Training Tips: Why You Should Use Healthy Dog Training Treats

Written by FOTP Team

Updated

happy husky training

Good nutrition builds the foundation for your canine friend's life and healthy dog training treats not only help improve behavior and bring joy to pets, but they can also add substance to their diet. When teaching your pup new tricks, it's important to make healthy choices.

What Are Healthy Dog Training Treats?

To stay healthy, dogs need a balanced diet. They require a mix of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, fats, minerals and water so it’s important their treats enhance their diet rather than ruin it.

Training treats do not need any added fillings or flavors and they shouldn’t include rendered byproducts. Look for something like Freeze-dried treats, which are prepared from raw protein and are incredibly nutritious. 

Why Should You Choose Healthy Dog Training Treats?

If your dog otherwise eats a healthy diet, your choice of training treats could make or break it. The snacks we feed our pets can add unnecessary calories to their daily intake as lots of dog treats have fillers with little to no nutritional value. When training treats have healthy ingredients, they can supplement an animal's regular food.

If you’re using processed treats for training, you might find your life becomes much easier if you switch to something more natural. Many dog behaviorists will start by recommending you strip any junk food from your dog’s diet because just like humans, your dog will become much calmer when they’re not pumped full of artificial chemicals. 

Treats should never make up more than 10% of your dog's diet and giving canines limited-ingredient treats or veggies and fruit can avoid excess, empty calories.

How Can You Use Healthy Dog Training Treats With Your Pup?

When you have healthy dog treats on hand, you can use them to teach your pet new behaviors and tricks. Many owners find different types of snacks can serve a variety of functions when working with a food-motivated dog.

Quick Bites

When you're training dogs, you want to keep them motivated. To keep your pooch on task, you need treats that have a high rate of reinforcement, these are called high value rewards. Choose healthy treats that come in small bites so your pup can devour them while still paying attention to your commands, by using small training treats, you can quickly move on to each repetition.

Bite-sized healthy treats not only are easier for a canine to chew, but they’re better for your dog's weight, you don’t want to feed your pooch excess calories. When it comes to training, low-calorie, simple-ingredient treats are healthier. 

Long-Lasting Treats

Sometimes you need training treats that last a long time. For example, if you need to teach your dog to enjoy time in their crate, then it helps to provide a long-lasting treat that keeps them distracted and stops them becoming anxious. 

Treat Your Pet to Healthy Snacks

Without adequate nutrition, your dog could suffer from health issues. Healthy dog training treats are a critical part of training your pup, but you should take care and research the types of treats you provide your four-legged friend. The right treats have limited ingredients and should add substance to the diet, rather than loading an animal up with excess filler and calories. To learn more about how proper nutrition benefits your dog, check out Front Of The Pack's natural food options.