Guide
New Year's Eve with a dog: how to avoid a nervous breakdown
by Anne Fischer
Healthy snacks for your dog
8.10.2024
Translation: Elicia Payne
Too much sugar, too few nutrients. Last week we criticised dog treats that failed tests by consumer safety organisation «Stiftung Warentest». So here are a few healthy alternatives.
A total fail – 17 out of 17 snacks tested recently received a «poor» rating from «Stiftung Warentest». Some of them were also from our store.
But complaining doesn’t get you very far. So here are some healthy treat alternatives that you can give your four-legged friend instead:
2. Fruit and veg
Even if it seems a little strange, fruit and vegetables are perfect dog treats. They provide fewer calories and more nutrients than industrially produced snacks. What tastes good to which dog is a matter of taste and you have to try it out first. Generally recommended:
- Fruit: apples (remove skin), bananas, pears (remove skin), apricots (pitted), berries, rose hips, melons, cherries (pitted), kiwis, peaches (pitted) and plums (pitted).
- Vegetables: carrots, cucumbers, potatoes and sweet potatoes (ripe and cooked), pulses (cooked), cauliflower (cooked), broccoli (cooked), manioc (cooked), fennel, spinach (cooked), rice (cooked), chicory, lettuce, kohlrabi, zucchini and asparagus.
Caution: you should definitely avoid grapes. They can lead to kidney failure in dogs for reasons that can’t yet be explained. You should also avoid the following (due to various toxins and alkaloids): aubergines, avocados, raw potatoes, garlic, onions, leeks/leek onions, raisins/sultanas, peppers/pepperoni, rhubarb, raw legumes, chili, radishes, red radishes and tomatoes.
3. Chew sticks
What dogs particularly like to chew on are buffalo skin bones. However, as they’re quite high in calories, try chew sticks or chew roots instead. You can wrap them in ham or cheese, for example, and put them in the fridge for a few days. The flavour is transferred to the wood and you can give it to your dog to nibble on without a guilty conscience.
By the way, you can also reward your dog with petting, brushing, playing or a walk. This motivational boost isn’t just good for your health, it actually promotes it – and it’s free.
What dog snacks do you have with you? Have you tried any of the tips above? Let me know in the comments!
Darina Schweizer
Senior Editor
Darina.Schweizer@digitecgalaxus.chI love anything with four legs or roots - especially my shelter cats Jasper and Joy and my collection of succulents. My favourite things to do are stalking around with police dogs and cat coiffeurs on reportages or letting sensitive stories flourish in garden brockis and Japanese gardens.
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