Hardly any nutrients

Test: Dog treats are calorie bombs

Treats should make up no more than a tenth of the daily energy requirement.(Bild: Javier Brosch )

A test by "Konsument" magazine has shown: Dog snacks have too many calories and hardly any nutrients. Some brands also contain too much sugar. All twelve tested treats from popular brands failed the test.

Dog cookies and other treats are an integral part of dog owners' everyday lives, but they can also make them fat. If you want to feed your four-legged friend a healthy diet, you should pay attention to the quality of the treats and their nutrients. However, this is not so easy: as the Upper Austrian Chamber of Labor informed us, there is often no information on the packaging about the optimum feeding quantity for dogs of different weight classes. 

Without this information, it is difficult for owners to estimate the correct quantities. If the main food is reduced too much - to compensate for the calories in the snacks - there is a risk of nutrient deficiency for the four-legged friend. This is because the treats contain hardly any nutrients and the sugar content of some well-known brands was too high.

Snacks should cover a maximum of ten percent of a dog's daily energy requirement, advise the consumer advocates. For a ten-kilogram beagle, that would be a maximum of eight snacks per day. 

Healthy rewards
As an alternative to fattening foods, dog owners can give dry food as a reward between meals - although the amount must be deducted from the daily ration - or fruit and vegetables. For example, dogs are happy to receive carrots or cored apples and pears.