Perilous Dog Treats

Each dog likes to get a tasty tidbit as a treat and each dog-owner likes to give them. But do you know whether the dog treats that you are giving are healthy or dangerous for your pet, because there are both kinds on the market. In fact, there are hundreds of types of dog treats of all sizes, shapes and colours.



No matter what you feed your dog, it is worth checking whether he has eaten it all and if not why not. There could be a number of factors, but each dog owner should know how much their dog normally eats and what he particularly likes. Not eating normally is often a sign that your dog is ill or about to become ill. Some foods can cause this symptom though too.



Treats that are made to clean your dog's teeth frequently come in the shape of a bone, not that that is significant to the dog, He knows it is not a bone certain enough. But most dogs do like them. A difficult can occur if your dog has powerful jaws and attempts to consume big pieces in one go.



These substantial, slightly soggy chunks can become lodged in the throat or intestines resulting in blockages. Often these blockages will dissolve away over a couple of hours, but if they are resulting in breathing worries or discomfort, you may need to take your dog to a vet.



Rawhide chews also fall into this category although they come with worries of their own too. Rawhide chews are useful for scraping plaque and tartar off your dog's teeth that would otherwise lead to bacteria, bad teeth and bad breath, but they can also get lodged in the animal's throat or intestines, so endeavor to buy pieces that your dog cannot swallow but has to chew on.



Rawhide is an animal by-product, so it has to be preserved to stop it going off. Try to find out what that preservative is and find out whether it is perilous or not. It has been stated that some countries have been using arsenic to conserve their chews, this is naturally not a good idea and is one of the most perilous dog treats.



Chocolate is lethal to dogs. Not many adults and very few children are aware of this, because you frequently see people giving their dog a square of chocolate. The reason these dogs do not die a horrible death is that most of the chocolate that we can buy these days does not contain much chocolate. It is chocolate-flavoured paste. Look on the list of ingredients on the wrapper of your next bar of chocolate to verify what I mean.



However, different countries have different laws concerning what can be known as chocolate. The European Union is fairly good, America not so decent and Thailand is atrocious. Normally, bakers' chocolate is the most powerful, which makes a chocolate covered chocolate cake the most perilous for dogs - exactly the type of thing they can take from the picnic blanket.



Sickness, irregular heartbeat, 'craziness', hyperactivity, a visit to the vets for a stomach pump or death are usually the result.



Dogs love bones and they are good for them as well (which makes you ask yourself why so many dog chews are purchased). However, not all bones are healthy for dogs. Cats grind everything up small, which is why they can be safely given fish, chicken and turkey bones. But dogs tend to wolf items down, so never give these bones to your dog.



Fish bones are thin and sharp and can stick in the throat or gut as with humans requiring surgery, but chicken and turkey bones splinter into these slender slithers as well when crunched. Do not give them to a dog as a treat.



Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a number of topics, but is now involved with the canine distemper vaccination. If you want to know more, please visit our website at Distemper Vaccines