Dog treats are crucial if you wish to reinforce positive behaviors in your dog. Studies support this by adding that most dogs get motivated by food.

Most pet parents also use the treats to calm their pets during grooming sessions. On the baseline, these treats are primarily made for rewards, but today, pet bakeries produce dog treats which serve more than just one purpose.

Depending on your preferences, you can also use these treats as a nutrient supplement for your canine friend. If you’re looking for a reliable source for bulk dog treats, then we got you covered.

Read on to discover how you can identify and pick top quality dog treats. After reading this guide, you’ll also discover the best bakery to buy dog treats in the USA.

How to Identify and Pick Healthy Dog Treats

Today’s market is a little saturated with dog treats. If you’re not keen enough, chances are high you’ll fall into traps of greedy marketers who will gladly sell you poor quality or poisonous treats that would harm or even worse off kill your dog.

Now, as it is with every food, if you want to discover the right or healthy treat for your canine friend, the answer is in the ingredients of that treat. If you’re not used to reading food labels when buying them, it would be better if you made reading the ingredients a habit from today.

• Review the List of Ingredients

Manufacturers usually list ingredients on foods and treats by weight. That implies that the ingredients that appear first on that list are the most dominant ones.

There’s only one exception when this basic rule may not apply. If the ingredients used were applied in the same proportions, then the manufacturer may list them in any order that they prefer.

It’s, however prudent that you pay more attention to the ingredients that come first on the list, especially if you’re shopping for treats to use as nutritional supplements.

• Check the Quality of Ingredients Used

If you’re a first-time pet parent, chances are there you’ll be at crossroads when comparing the quality of ingredients used in a dog treat. Don’t fret still. There is almost no difference in the attributes used when describing human food and those used in describing pet food.

Ideally, it is recommendable that you put more focus on ingredients that are denoted with; fresh, whole or minimally processed (if at all it has been processed) with no chemical additives. Note that, if an ingredient has been highly processed, that processing has most probably diluted its nutrient contents.

It gets even worse if it has been made with additives since the more additives are added to the ingredients, the more it gets impure and contaminated. Still, based on quality, it would also be better if you bought treats that are made with ingredients from the US.

We’re not saying that all ingredients sourced from other countries are harmful. If you use locally, sourced ingredients, you’re assured that they’ve been made or formulated to meet the best consumer quality standards that are applicable in the USA. Perhaps, the only exception would be for ingredients that are very hard to find in the US.

Apart from the quality standards, you’re also assured that if the manufacturer sourced the ingredients locally, then they were used when still very fresh.

• Understand the Ingredient Description

A good dog food manufacturer will also make all ingredients used on their products easy to read and recognize. Be careful with manufacturers who just place words or phrases in the ingredients. Terms like ‘animal fat’ or just ‘meat meal’ are common red flags that you should give more attention.

A manufacturer who holds the interests of their clients at heart will clearly list all the ingredients. For example, if one of the ingredients is chicken meat, they’ll clearly state ‘chicken’. The same will apply for beef and others.

• Processing

Animal health experts advise that you insist on organic ingredients only. There’s very little chance that such ingredients will be adulterated.

If the manufacturer added any sweeteners, they shouldn’t be chemical but organic food-based sweeteners. Ideally, dog foods shouldn’t have sweeteners after all, but when it comes to treats, sweeteners such as honey, applesauce or even molasses can be used.

Just be sure that there are no artificial sweeteners used, and on this regard, if you’re thinking of using homemade dog treats, avoid artificial sweeteners as much as possible. If you’re going to use, for example, peanut butter in the treats, be sure to use the organic one that’s free of Xylitol.

• Preservation

Some treats may need some level of preservation to last long. Usually, most of these treats should last long with freezing.

The treats should therefore not be preserved with any chemical preservatives. If the manufacturer used any preservative, check to ensure that the preservative used is a natural one. Vitamins C and E work well in most cases. Note that the manufacture may list vitamin E as tocopherols. That should not cause any confusion.

Best Doggie Bakery to Source Dog Bulk Dog Treats Locally in the US

Tail Bangers is one of the best dog bakeries in the USA if you’re looking for high quality and healthy treats for your dog. It has been in operation since 2003 so when you buy treats from this manufacturer you’re assured that you’re buying from experts with extensive understanding in dog biology and knows what could be good or bad for your pet.

Many pet parents prefer this manufacturer too because their ingredients are sourced locally in the USA. The treats are soy-free, corn-free and made with no chemical additives or preservatives. To wrap all that up, these treats are all-natural human-grade, so you’re confident that they won’t cause any harm to your canine friend.

Final Words

Treats are great for dogs in very many ways. However, as a concerned dog owner, you must also understand that dogs are different. When trying a new treat, be sure to only give it out in small proportions and then see how your dog reacts to it.

If there are any allergic symptoms, stop giving the treat and consult with your manufacturer to see if there’s a better treat alternative you can use. You may also contact a licensed vet to see if there’s anything you may do to manage the allergic reactions.