I was recently asked for my suggestions on different types of low fat dog treats that you can use for your dogs when training. This is something that I have had to really find a lot of information on myself, because both of my dogs require a low fat diet.
Why do they need a low fat diet?
Well both for entirely different reasons!
A few years ago Rico was really unwell. He was vomiting and had diarrhoea in a way that was clearly far more than the usual “upset stomach”. This all happened when we were away on holiday, and he ended up in the vets down in Gloucester for several days on a drip and having various tests and treatments. He didn’t eat in that entire time. They couldn’t work out what was wrong with him despite the fact they did various tests but they just simply couldn’t get to the bottom of it.
It got to the point where the vets actually said if we couldn’t get him to eat soon they were gonna have to tube feed him and we may need to prepare ourselves for the worst. Fortunately, we managed to get Rico to eat some plain warm chicken, that my dad cooked and we took to the vets with us on one of our visits to see him. So we managed to get him to eat a little bit and gradually over a few weeks he made a full recovery. Hence the photo on the bed showing his shaven stomach and bandaged leg!
A few years after that, just before the covid-19 pandemic Rico fell ill again and it was with really similar symptoms.
This time, he had to be rushed to the out of hours vet on a Sunday evening because he was vomiting and had diarrhoea uncontrollably.
When I got him to the vets it was an out of hours, vet in a different building to where we would normally be. All very stressful for Rico and me (especially since the road was closed so there was added drama!) Fortunately the vet said he didn’t look see dehydrated at the time when they did various tests, but they did a blood test because of how concerned I was because it was so similar to what had happened in the past. When they did the blood test this time, they tested for pancreatitis and Rico’s results came back 2000 times higher than what they should have been if his pancreas was working well. So he had pancreatitis and badly! Again he was hospitalised and it was a battle for about a week to get him comfortable and eating again.
Again, the only way we could get him to eat, was when my partner was allowed to sit in the kennel with him and hand feed him warm chicken breast.
Now that we knew he had been diagnosed with pancreatitis he was going to have to be on a low fat diet for the rest of his life.
The low fat diet he was recommended was a prescription diet at first. He was put onto a Gastrointestinal Low Fat kibble, as well as a supplement called Proenzorb to help. He had a capsule sprinkled on his food at every meal, which he ended up staying on for over a year. Now he is still restricted to a less than 5% fat diet but we have moved on to some commercial foods and the one we use is Nature Diet Low Fat Fish for dogs on a limited ingredient diet.
You can still have options for training despite having to be on these type of diets. We still have the gastro intestinal Low Fat Prescription kibble and that is primarily what I used to train Rico with for the videos that you can find on my YouTube channel and on my social media accounts but he does get actual treats to and so does his sister.
Rico enjoying his low fat white fish food on a licki mat with some raspberries
Now Maisy my eight and a half year old jack russell cross pug also needs a low fat diet. Some of you may be aware that Maisy was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and arthritis earlier this year. Because of this, it’s really important that we keep her weight on the slimmer side because when she carries extra weight that puts extra pressure on her joints, which causes additional pain, so she’s also on a pretty tight diet now. Much to her disappointment because the pug character really does show through and she loves her food!
Maisy trying to greed the new delivery from No Fuss Fill
With both of my dogs on a low fat diet, I spent quite a lot of time looking at the back of packets of treats in the supermarket and the pet shop, to be sure that I was giving them the lowest fat rates possible. What you do tend to find is that there are a lot of vegetable and fruit based products that are low in fat. However, certainly what I have found with my dogs, is that they don’t particularly like these, and they don’t work very well for training treats as they tend to be larger more chew type products than small or suitable for breaking up.
Ones that may be something for you to consider the Soopa Range, which has things like carrot, pumpkin and coconut that work really well for some dogs.
A range that I rely on as a staple if I’m away and I run out of treats, is the Pedigree range. Pedigree did a rebrand not that long ago, and they created a less than 5% fat range, which is perfect for my dog because that’s what Rico needs for his pancreatitis. It’s really clear which products are and which aren’t suitable as it says on the front of their packets. Sometimes the price of some of these treats is a barrier for clients. So it’s really good to have these as cheap and easily accessible options that we can all access. You can find these in B&M and in most supermarkets. They tend to be 99p a bag. In particular, if you pick the “tasty bites” which have “cheese” and “beef” inside there they’re really small, but you can actually break them in half so even smaller again making them ideal for doing dog training with.
The other ones which are really good for training are the Doggie Delights Mini Chicken Whirl again these are a really tiny bite sized treats, but they are possible to make even smaller as you can unroll them and snap bits off. I can get about eight or 10 treats out of one treat and again they are less than 5% Fat.
Maisy a jack russell cross pug enjoying a no hide chew
My favourite chew for my dogs, is the Earth Animal No Hide. These look like a rawhide chew but they’re really low fat, and they are actually made with rice flour. Okay, they’re more expensive some of the other chews around, but if you want a special treat for your dog that it’s low fat, and safe then they are a really good option particularly for dogs who are teething.
Alternatively a really cheap option is a carrot and a carrot is a lovely option that most people have available in the house!
Other chews include Yakers then you’ve got now, other companies making similar yak milk chews such as the B&M Cheese bone. The key with these is to remember that when you get towards the end of the chew, when it becomes to a size where your dog could swallow it and it is a potential choking hazard to swap it out from your dogs and then put in the microwave. Yep, really, in the microwave! These then puff up into a crunchy treat but make sure you wait for it to cool before giving it to your dog!
There are also plenty more such as some of the Fish4Dogs range, certain protein types in the JR Products range, and the Cookies and Dokas ranges on the Zooplus website, so please do not panic if you need to find some lower fat options for your dogs for whatever the reason. They are out there!
Thank you to my lovely client Parker for getting his human to ask this question!
If you have any questions you’d like me to cover in the Nose to Trail blog then just get in touch and let me know by emailing info@nosetotrail.co.uk