Which dog snacks are safe (for puppies)?

– Written by IC Koutzarov, owner Big Dog Company –

Safe dog snacks

- Introduction -

You can find many types of dog snacks in pet stores, supermarkets and garden centers. But just because they are sold does not mean they are a safe snack. For example, a snack may contain unhealthy substances, but can also be dangerous, for example for the digestive system or dangerous for the teeth. And are all snacks good for puppies? Which snacks are dangerous, what should you pay attention to when buying snacks?

We're going to answer that here!

We try to provide guidance here for the safety of dog snacks, but of course we cannot guarantee that things will never go wrong. It is recommended that you always stay with it when you give a dog snack, but as your dog gets older and you know his chewing behavior better, you can better assess the risk of how your dog handles snacks. This is not the case with a puppy: so never leave a puppy alone!

So many dogs, so much choice

There are several things you should pay attention to when buying dog treats. A dog snack that is good for one dog may not be good for another dog. For example, consider snacks that contain a substance or unknown animal that your dog is allergic to. Or a gobbling dog is more likely to choke on a small chew than a dog that chews calmly.

When choosing a dog snack, different facets play a role, including breed, bite force and chewing behavior and age:

Dog breed

Consider, for example, breeds with a short snout such as (French, English) bulldogs, boxers and pugs. These dogs have a short mouth and tend to gobble, especially the last piece of a chew snack is dangerous, but also snacks that crumble into smaller pieces.

A snack that does not crumble and/or is so large that your dog cannot swallow it in one go or eats it so quickly that you do not get to it in time is recommended for these dogs. Consider, for example, the (large) bovine skin plates

Chewing behavior/bite force of the dog:

Not to tar Staffords with the same brush, but this dog breed can be predisposed to biting hard on a snack (instead of 'scraping') and they have enormous biting force. The risk of the molars splitting is then very high.

Age of the dog:

As mentioned, never leave a puppy alone with a snack. You don't know his behavior (you just got him) and moreover, his behavior changes day by day. What is a safe snack today may suddenly be too small tomorrow and he may choke.

In older dogs, whose teeth are less strong, you also have to be careful with the hardness of the snack due to missing or brittle teeth, but also the reduced ability to digest snacks.

What should you pay attention to when buying dog snacks?

As written in this article, all snacks are a risk, but the risk can be limited by not giving certain snacks, but also by noting that the safety of snacks depends on the breed, chewing behavior and age of the dog. Only you can decide this. What you can pay attention to is:

  • Can the snack crumble or splinter (easily)?
  • Is the snack sharp when biting off a piece?
  • Does the snack become slippery when chewed?
  • It is better to take a 'too big' chew than a small one, as the last piece can be eaten whole (risk of choking).
  • Are the snacks so hard that they can break teeth?
  • For dogs that do not stop until the snack is finished, take it away (and do not leave it alone) because of the last piece and blockages
  • Teach your puppy to chew (ask us or your dog school how)
  • What country does the snack come from? Snacks from outside the EU are irradiated with radioactive Gamma rays and/or sprayed.
  • What's in the snack? (colorants, fragrances, sugar?)

So use your mind. If it looks too harsh, it is. If it looks unnatural, it probably is. Does it seem unsafe? Then that's how it is, even if the sweet lady at the pet store says it's okay.

For example, read our article about the best reward snacks (also for puppies). It also contains all kinds of tips that you can pay attention to when buying a dog snack. The article “the unhealthiness of Dentastix” is also a good example of a snack that looks beautiful, is supposedly good for the teeth, but in reality is downright bad for your dog.