Healthy Dog Treats for your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Giving your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel an occasional dog biscuit can be a sign of your affection, or a little helpful motivation during a training session.  But be sure to offer your Cavalier Spaniel a healthy treat that provides good nutrition and is safe for your pet to consume.

Here are some guidelines to follow:

Go for Bite-Sized Treats

Choose bite-sized, low-calorie, nutritious treats. Your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel will feel just as loved with a small treat as he will with a huge dog biscuit. Given the trend toward obesity in dogs, it's best to keep treats on the low-calorie side. 

If you can't find dog biscuits in the size you want, cut or break them into smaller pieces. Your Cavalier won't know the difference!


Avoid Chemicals, Artificial Colors and Dyes

When Bentley was a puppy, I made the mistake of buying his treats at our local pet store. There were lots of cute little t-bone steaks, chicken leg-shaped treats and green toothbrushes, etc. But I found out the hard way that many of these treats were made with artificial colors and dyes, preservatives and chemicals that made them unhealthy choices.

Those treats may have been cute, but they gave Bentley an upset stomach - which I found out the hard way when Bentley couldn't digest them. To make matters worse, the artifical colors came through in his vomit, making it almost impossible to clean the stain out of the carpet.

Remember that the fun shapes are the product of sale & marketing aimed at pet owners, and doesn't translate into healthy options for your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

Here's a low cost suggestion from one of our website visitors: Cheerios! When Liv is training Bella, her tricolor Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy, she rewards Bella with Cheerios. Just one Cheerio works well as a training tidbit to reinforce good behavior. (There's no need to give your pet a whole handful of Cheerios when one will do!)  Plain Cheerios breakfast cereal -- without frosting or added sugar -- make a small treat that you can safely give your pet. Not to mention, a box of Cheerios is a very economical choice! However, some dogs are allergic to wheat and corn in many cereal products. Consider substituting natural fruits and vegatables for the cheerios. Bentley absolutely loves small pieces of green beans as a healthy treat!

Make Table Scraps Off Limits

Aside from the fact that you don't want to teach your Cavalier to beg, 'human food' is often not a healthy choice for a dog. Our food is frequently too high in calories and fat, may not be easily digestible by your dog, and may even be harmful (e.g. chocolate, grapes, raisins, and more).

Even if you wish to feed your dog a snack while you're at the dinner table (which we don't recommend), choose a healthy dog biscuit designed for a dog's nutritional needs or a small piece of fresh fruit or vegetable.  Try green beans, bell peppers, carrots and even cantalope!

To avoid teaching your Cavalier King Charles the bad habit of begging from the table, take a few small pieces and put it in his regular dinner bowl, rather than feeding him by hand tableside.

Are Bones Safe for My Cavalier?

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, like most dogs, love to chew. But are bones safe for dogs?  Can you give your dog a 'real' bone, or should you stick to synthetic bones and rawhide chews?

There is considerable difference of opinion on the subject of giving a dog 'real' bones. Most agree that it is not wise to feed a dog a cooked bone, such as a leftover chicken bone. Bones become brittle from the heat of cooking and then can splinter in your dog's mouth and digestive tract. 

However, many dogowners feel that feeding a dog raw bones is safe and can be helpful in keeping their teeth clean.  Chicken necks are often recommended for small dogs as poultry bones do not splinter when raw.

For those who wish to avoid the 'real' bone controversy altogether, there are numerous alternatives that are safe for dogs, including nylon or synthetic bones, edible snack bones and rawhide chews. Again, look for natural ingredients and avoid chews that are treated with dyes.

However, consider that many of these products are not fully digestible in a dog's stomach. Rawhide chews, for example, will break down to a point, but are not completely digestible. Pork hide products (made into chews or "porky puffs") are a much healthier choice as they can be fully processed in your pet's digestive system.

Recently, there has also been some question about the safety of giving your pet Greenies.  Greenies are made from wheat gluten which can distress allergy-prone canines. Additionally, Greenie are high in calories so they aren't the best choice for overweight animals. You can read more about the concerns over the safety of giving your dog Greenies here.

Homemade Treats

Why not make your own healthy dog treats in your kitchen at home? That way, you can be sure to use natural ingredients and bake treats in whatever size you feel is best for your Cavalier Spaniel.

You can find lots of free recipes for dog treats on the internet, but here are a couple to get your stated:.

Canine Carrot Cookies

Crunchy Meat Treats

 

Homemade Dog Biscuits