DoggSnaxThere has been an increase in entrepeneurs baking ‘homemade’ Gourmet Dog Biscuits and using as the forum for their goodies. While I encourage anybody to bake healthy treats for their ‘Best Friend’, I must address the issue of “What Are Gourmet Dog Biscuits/Treats”?

Canine Nutrition has been an interest of mine for years. I lost my Boxer to cancer three years ago and I know the food and treats I was feeding her expedited her death. Since there are NO government regulations concerning Canine Biscuits and Treats (other than the State Regulatory Agencies which most Home-Based Canine Biscuits makers ignore) there are some very dangerous dog biscuits being peddled as ‘Gourmet-Healthy-Protein ‘etc. etc biscuits. You Must BE WARY of what you are feeding your dog!

Todays environment is filled with toxins, poisons from fuel, smog, etc and our dogs are ingesting these gases just like we are. The problem is, their digestive systems are several times more sensitive than our own. Two of the most popular flours used in making homemade dog treats can cause irreversible damage to your dogs immune system!!! Wheat Flour and Soy Flour cause the majority of allergies in dogs. You do not know if your dog is allergic to these flours until it may be too late. Your dog can not tell you “I don’t feel good after I eat that biscuit”-you have to rely on research and that research states ‘Whole Wheat and Soy Flours are the biggest cause of allergic reaction in dogs’!

Why do people use wheat and soy flour in their ‘Gourmet Dog Biscuits’? It is CHEAP. These flours are fairly inexpensive to buy in bulk and they have a different flavor that dogs become used too. Unlike people, however, dogs do NOT need a lot of fiber in their diet-people switch to wheat and soy to add fiber to their diets. Dogs Do Not Need It!. If your ‘Gourmet Dog Biscuit’ is made with wheat, soy or regular white flour-AVOID IT AT ALL COSTS!!!!!!!.

Nutritional Yeasts and Brewers Yeasts can cause bacteria to form if they are introduced to high temperatures-duh-baking a biscuit constitutes high temperatures. The same with Nonfat Dried Milk-again, bacteria can form inside the dough when cooked or baked at high temperatures. If your ‘Gourmet Dog Biscuit’ is dipped in yogurt-how do you think the yogurt gets hard enough to stick to the biscuit? Just add FOOD WAX to the yogurt and presto-yogurt dipped biscuits! I do NOT want my dog ingesting food wax-just like the popular ‘Greenies’, bits of wax can adhere to the walls of the intestine and cause colon blockage inside your beloved puppy.

There is hope, however. When purchasing ‘Gourmet Dog Biscuits’ PLEASE watch the ingredients. If your potential buyer does NOT have a guaranteed anaylsis of the ingredients-walk away from it-if they do not care enough to spend the money to have USDA approval for their biscuits-what are they trying to hide? I find that there are a couple of biscuit bakers that use whole-grain flours like quinoa, spelt, brown rice, etc. These are excellent flours that provide your dog with minerals and vitamins and make a wonderful, tasty biscuit your dog can enjoy and will beg for more.

In conclusion, be picky about which biscuit you feed your dog. Read the ingredients-read the guaranteed analysis- your crude protein needs be over 12% and your crude fat should be close to the crude protein for optimal canine digestion (10-15%). Crude fiber needs to be low, as I said before, fiber is NOT that important for canine nutrition. The moisture percentage can range from 5-12% depending on the ingredients. It is also better to bake with organic ingredients, after all, dogs used to eat prey and grasses straight from the prarie before pesticides and toxins. (as did people also). The taste is purer and dogs can taste the difference.

And, always supervise your dog while they are enjoying their snacks. They can love what they’re eating so much, they may choke (just like kids)-so watch them, encourge them and love your dogs! They are giving us their lifetime of service, unconditional love and protection- the least we can do in return is make sure they are eating only the BEST possible treats on the market.?

Thanks for looking!!!