If you are a pet lover and have one or more dogs included in the canine family you care for, you are bound to experience the joy that your dog presents every single day by bounding to your door the moment they sense your footsteps, or proudly trotting with a new squeaky toy. These simple actions represent pure joy for you and your family. It is only natural that you want to reciprocate the joy. Healthy dog treats can be an ideal way to reward good behaviour as also in training sessions. What is important however, is the way you identify what is healthy and what is not for your canine.

When you start browsing the internet for healthy dog treats, there is no dearth of options before you. But how do you distinguish between what is ideal for your pet and what could potentially work against the best interests for your dog and perhaps even you. We have therefore culled out some useful information to help you along the way to ensure that your dog gets only such foods that is ideally suited to his/her age, health profile and any pre-existing health concerns.

Let us start with a healthy dog treats that can also be homemade

Healthy Dog Treats represent balanced and complete food with all essential nutrients to support the body functions of your dog day in and day out. There are at least 6 groups of these nutrients that are crucial for every dog. These groups are carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, fats, water and minerals. Let us understand these groups in greater detail now.

Protein

Proteins have multiple functions and are crucial for maintenance, growth, repairing damaged tissues and reproduction. Amino acids form the building blocks for formation of proteins. Essential amino acids should form part of the dog's food since its body cannot synthesize these in adequate quantities. However, some amino acids are not essential since your dog's body is capable of synthesising them and therefore need not form part of a regular diet for the dog.

Fats

Fats constitute an important source of energy apart from catering to various other body functions. Fatty acids represent a specific form of fat playing a decisive role in regulation of the inflammatory response from the body and are of significant importance to the health of your dog, and particularly so with regard to its coat and skin.

Carbohydrates

Another important energy source for your dog is carbohydrates. Simple sugar like glucose and more complex forms of sugar like fibre are forms of carbohydrates that cater to the health of your dog's intestinal tract. There is no stipulation on the minimum level of carbohydrates in your dog's food, they do form a valuable source of energy and fibre allowing the protein in your dog food to take care of other body functions that are important.

Water

Most dog parents take care in feeding their canines with the right composition of food. But, how about adequate water for him/her?, adequate clean water is necessary to maintain optimal hydration levels just as it is with humans. Every human or animal body needs optimal hydration to help with absorption of nutrients in the food, digestion, movement of nutrients into and out of cells cushioning joints and internal organs and providing help in elimination.

It can take several weeks before you may notice deprivation and it could take even months before the problem aggravates. But, with water the deprivation becomes noticeable in days or more quickly. Dehydration of your pets poses serious threat to his/her health with blood volumes thinning down, damage to internal metabolism, organs and a general drawn down disposition. Put together, this can also compromise the respiratory system and potentially led to other lethal consequences from dehydration.

In the normal course, healthy dogs will drink adequate water to keep well hydrated and pet owners only need to ensure that water is accessible to him/her at all times. It is also a good idea to keep water accessible to your dog at multiple points across your home except when the dog remains caged or on leash most of the time.

Minerals

You can find a wide array of essential minerals for dogs in vegetables, common fruits, whole grains and meats. While these ingredients in their raw state may not provide adequate quantity of minerals, there are several processed dog foods you can find on shelves in super markets today. Majority of minerals are also powdered and pre-combined, measured and tested carefully to assure quality. It can be a huge challenge for dog food manufacturers to provide minerals exclusively as raw ingredients since such a format may not survive processing. Therefore, many of these minerals will come with different names and when you examine the back of any dog food pack you can find some strange names though they are technically correct.

Types of Minerals For Your Dog

Minerals belong to two basic groups and they are macrominerals and trace minerals. Compared to trace minerals, your dog needs higher volume of macrominerals and this includes magnesium, calcium, phosphorous, chloride, sodium, sulfur and potassium. Iron, copper, zinc, iodine, fluorine and chromium constitute trace minerals. Phosphorous and calcium are crucial macrominerals since they contribute to bone health. When bone health is impacted, canines can cause weakness and bone deformities apart from greater susceptibility to fractures. However, excess minerals can cause weight gain and abnormal development, particularly in dogs belonging to large breeds. Chloride and sodium work in tandem for controlling the balance of fluids in and outside the body. They help with the muscles of the dog, heart and nervous system. Chloride helps in producing stomach acid. Imbalance of chloride/sodium can lead to hair loss, dehydration, fatigue and perhaps paralysis too. Meats, fish, tomatoes, whole grains, sweet potatoes, and beans are excellent source of chloride and sodium.