Sugar in Treats      


Sugar in Treats Image | German Shepherd grabbing a donut off a table.

Have you noticed that there are more sugars being added to your favourite pet treats?

As your Natural Grocer and pet health advocate, Pet Planet is seeing more sweeteners such as cane sugar showing up when pet treats are reformulated.

So, let’s ask the question “Are these added sugars harmful to my pet’s health?”

 

Let’s Look at Sugar

  • Natural sweeteners such as sugar, cane sugar, molasses, and honey are all carbohydrates. Carbohydrates provide added calories to the diet.
  • They improve the flavour and improve the flavour of the treats. Sugar tastes good.
  • If a pet is eating too many treats, and therefore calories, daily for their activity level, then weight gain is likely. This may lead to obesity and obesity may lead to disease.
  • Did you know that dogs have no requirement for carbohydrates in their diet? But they can utilize some carbs. Carbohydrates are not all bad. Again, it’s all about the daily consumption of carbohydrates.
  • Treats should not be a large part of the daily diet.
  • Treats are intended to as a reward for good behavior.
  • Always account for the calories by way of treats during the day and then adjust the amount of food at mealtimes.

 

Consider This

  • Treats can be broken into smaller pieces as rewards for good behaviour; this will help to limit the carbohydrates.
  • Adding a small amount of sugar shouldn’t make much difference when we look at the entire calories ingested daily.
  • Those pets that may have illnesses like diabetes that cause them to process sugar differently should not be offered treats that contain sugar.

Always keep an eye on your pet’s body composition and look for any weight gain and observe your pet’s overall health. If weight gain is noted, then alter the daily calorie intake and increase daily physical activities.

You can trust Pet Planet, your Natural Grocer. Pet Planet is always monitoring reformulations in food and treats through The Certificate of Trust program. The Certificate of Trust ensures that any ingredient changes are guaranteed to do no harm to your pets to support your pet’s health. You can shop without worry at Pet Planet because of the Certificate of Trust. We do all the product research for you to know that the products on Pet Planet’s shelves are safe and will support pet health!

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