How to treat your dog

We love our dogs, and it can be tempting to show them how much by ‘treating’ them to tasty extras. However, too many treats can lead to your four-legged friend putting on weight, making them unhappy and unhealthy.

Just like humans, pets that eat too much get fat. The odd (healthy) treat can be okay, but feeding too many treats on top of your dog’s regular diet will cause them to pile on the pounds. And remember most dogs are smaller than us, so a tiny treat for us is a lot of calories for a dog! 

Not giving into begging puppy dog eyes can be hard, but remember treats don’t always have to be food. Perhaps you could show your love or reward them with extra fun-filled playtime, a new toy, extra snuggles or even a good groom! But if food is your go-to treat to reward good behaviour, we recommend making sure treats don’t take up more than 10% of your dog's daily food allowance - and their usual food will need reducing by the same amount to make sure they aren’t overeating.

You could even take 10% of your dog’s daily food and set it aside as their treat allowance for the day.

If you fancy rustling up a healthy alternative, try steam cooking some chicken, cutting up some dog-safe fruit and veg, or feeding some frozen broccoli (most dogs love it, give it a go!).