A dog's diet plays a crucial role in providing balanced nutrition to support their health and wellbeing. While the primary source of nutrients should come from a complete and balanced commercial dog food, many owners also like to give their dogs treats. Energy-boosting treats in particular can provide an added pep in a dog’s step for occasions when some extra energy is useful, such as before a long walk or playing at the dog park.
However, as with any treat, energy-boosting treats need to be fed judiciously alongside a nutritionally balanced primary diet in order to promote good health. Providing too many high-calorie treats can lead to obesity or nutritional imbalances over time. Additionally, there are optimal times when energy-boosting treats are most useful or should be avoided altogether.
This article will guide dog owners on balancing homemade or store-bought energy-boosting treats within a dog’s diet. It covers the key nutrients these treats contain, how to formulate balanced homemade recipes, recommended portion sizes and feeding frequencies, when timing matters in providing these treats, and what signs of overfeeding to look out for. The goal is to empower owners to make informed decisions on incorporating energy-boosting treats responsibly while avoiding excess or imbalance. Feeding treats should be an enjoyable experience for both owner and dog, so following guiding principles for balance and timing is key.
Understanding Energy-Boosting Dog Treats
Energy-boosting dog treats are those formulated with ingredients meant to provide dogs an extra kick of fuels and nutrients to energize them. Common energy-boosting ingredients include proteins like beef or liver, carbohydrate sources such as sweet potatoes, healthy fats like salmon oil, and micronutrients such as iron, B vitamins, and antioxidants.
The nutrients and calorie density help provide a burst of energy, making them ideal as a pre-walk snack but less ideal right before bedtime when energy expenditure is low.
Store-bought energy treats encompass a wide range of formulations, but some common examples include:
- Beef or liver flavored treats: Contain high protein for building and repairing muscle but are also calorie-dense
- Sweet potato or veggie bites: Provide natural carbohydrates for fuel
- Treats with added omega fatty acids, like salmon oil: Promote skin/coat health and provide fatty fuel sources
- Treats with added vitamins/minerals: Help support metabolism and energy production.
Homemade energy-boosting treats also allow tailoring recipes to a dog’s needs and restrictions. Some examples of handy ingredients include:
- Meat, organs meat or meat broth: Provides protein for muscles
- Whole grains like oats or brown rice: Give complex carbohydrates for sustained energy
- Fruits and vegetables like bananas, sweet potatoes, peas, or carrots: Additional carbohydrate sources high in vitamins/minerals
- Healthy oils like olive or coconut oil: Energy-dense fuels that also provide omega fatty acids
- Eggs: High protein and fat for energy, also contain vitamin B for metabolism
- Low-fat cheeses and yogurts: Lean dairy proteins and probiotics
The advantage of homemade treats is controlling the precise ingredient list to avoid any allergies or intolerances. However, designing balanced recipes takes some work to ensure correct nutrient ratios suitable for dogs.
The Role of Nutrients in Dog Treats
All nutrients play interdependent roles in regulating a dog’s health and providing proper fuel sources for bodily functions and activity. Energy-boosting treats tend to be nutritionally dense, meaning they provide larger amounts of key nutrients per bite. The most relevant nutrients include:
Proteins: Protein-rich dog treats support the building, repair, and maintenance of muscle mass. Proteins get enzymatically broken down into amino acids that get absorbed and transported around to cells in need of protein synthesis. As the primary functional and structural components of muscles, organs, hormones, neurotransmitters, etc., proteins are essential for sustaining life. High biological value proteins that provide complete essential amino acid profiles are best, hence animal-sourced proteins like chicken, beef, and organ meats are prized. Most energy treats contain some form of animal protein to renew muscles continually tasked with movement during an active dog’s day. Without sufficient protein recouping, muscles tire and weaken over time.
Fats: Energy-dense and a key fuel source, fats provide more calories per gram than any other nutrient. Triglyceride fat molecules get broken into fatty acids the body either oxidizes for immediate energy or stores for future energy needs. Additionally, essential omega fatty acids play imperative roles in hormone and cell membrane synthesis contributing systemically to health. For dogs expending lots of energy, getting adequate healthy fats helps meet caloric needs in a smaller treat volume while improving skin, coat, joint, cardiovascular and cognitive functions long-term. Most energy boosting treats add in omega fatty acid containing oils or animal fat sources.
Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates encompass sugars, starches, and fiber molecules derived from plant sources. They break down into simple sugars, predominantly glucose, that directly fuel working muscles, organs and tissues through metabolic processes. Unused glucose gets stored as glycogen in muscles or converted to fat for energy reserves. Complex carbs with natural fiber allow more sustained energy release preventing spikes and drops in blood sugar. Common carb additions include sweet potatoes, brown rice, oats, or veggies. Without adequate carbs from the diet, tissues rely on breaking down fatty and amino acids for direct energy - thus impairing their specialized roles described above.
Vitamins & Minerals: These essential micronutrients serve as enzyme cofactors enabling the biochemical reactions related to energy and carbohydrate/protein/fat metabolism. B vitamins in particular help facilitate cellular energy generation processes. Common additions providing a diversity of key vitamins and minerals include organ meats, peas, carrots, eggs, and probiotic yogurt.
In total, various proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals all work synergistically to ultimately supply a steady stream of fuel molecules while enabling complete use of those fuels for energy, muscle and organ function. However, overdoing any one nutrient can impair this balance.
Balancing Nutrients in Homemade Dog Treats
Achieving nutritional balance involves not only choosing energy-boosting ingredients, but properly proportioning and combining them.
As guidance:
Protein sources should comprise approximately 20-30% of homemade treat calories
Healthy fats around 10-15%
Carbohydrates, fiber and starches around 50-60%
Vitamins & minerals: Addition of a micronutrient-rich component like vegetables, fruit, eggs or yogurt at around a 5-10% proportion
Following these rough guidelines helps provide adequate protein for muscle repair without overdoing fat or carbs. Further individual adjustments based on a dog’s age, size, breed, and activity help fine tune as needed. Smaller or less active dogs require relatively less protein and calories than larger athletic breeds, for instance.
Portion sizes and feeding frequency must align with a dog’s overall diet. The main food diet should supply complete and balanced nutrition meeting a dog’s caloric needs. Treats given on top provide extra fuel bursts but still need balance. Depending on size and content, most dogs can healthily digest 1-3 energy boosting treats per day. To gauge, daily treats should not exceed more than 10% of a dog’s total caloric intake. Adhering to the 10% rule helps avoid overfeeding.
When to Feed Your Dog Energy-Boosting Treats
Timing matters when providing energy-boosting treats. The right timing can achieve benefits like:
- Fueling up muscles right before activities requiring sustained energy expenditure
- Optimizing nutritional balance relative to a dog’s natural circadian patterns
- Preventing unwelcome energy bursts when calmness is preferred
Yet improper timing conversely risks:
Promoting fat storage rather than burning if treats given right before sedentary periods
Interrupting normal appetite signals and eating patterns when treats disproportionately satisfy energy needs
Causing sleep disturbances if energizing a dog too close to bedtime
Thus, owners should tailor treat timing to their particular dog based on their unique schedule, activity patterns and dietary considerations.
However, some general guidelines provide a starting point:
Pre-Walk Energy Boosting:
One of the best times for an energy-boosting treat is 15-30 minutes prior to walks or high activity dog play sessions. The surge of nutrients right before exercising allows tapping into the fuels and proteins during the activity rather than predominantly storing them. The treats end up fueling and building muscle directly put into action shortly after eating. Treat cut off time is however about an hour pre-activity - any longer delays digestion and absorptions.
Post-Walk Protein Kick:
The protein rebuilding process peaks in the two hours immediately following exercise. Thus, another optimal feeding window for energy treats tends to fall within the first 1-2 hours after long walks, runs or dog park play. High protein or meat based treats given during this window aids muscular repair, recovery and rebuilding - ultimately strengthening over time. Carbs and fat become less essential since internal stores get sufficiently tapped and replenished during activity.
Late Morning/Early Afternoon Energy Boosts:
A dog’s natural daily energy cycle tends to peak in mid-morning through early afternoon. So similarly, mini energy boosting treats tend to align well with this window. The added calories help fuel natural activity spikes when dogs feel particularly playful, stimulated or restless. It coincides nicely with routines involving training sessions, interactive play or exercising. In contrast, the evening hours leading up to bedtime tend to constitute a natural energy trough where treat additions become less impactful or welcomed.
Adjusting for Age, Breed & Working Dogs:
Puppies and senior dogs run on different metabolic cycles and activity patterns, warranting adjustments to these general guidelines. Lower calorie mini treats spaced more evenly both supplements the diet and prevents overconsumption at once. High energy working or sporting breeds likewise require more strategic fueling and protein rebuilding revolving around their draining activities and conditioning schedules. Thus owners should adapt treat feeding windows and homemade formulations to best support their dogs unique needs and capabilities.
Potential Risks of Overfeeding Energy-Boosting Treats
While energy supplements certainly benefit active, growing or conditioning dogs in moderation, providing excess treats can lead to negative impacts on health.
Potential risks include:
Obesity: Just as in humans, chronic overfeeding calories quickly leads to weight gain and obesity in dogs. Excess adipose fat deposition stresses joints, impairs heart function, worsens inflammation, and leads to type 2 diabetes over time. Upwards of 50% of dogs in developed countries struggle with obesity - predominantly from diet. Thus, constraint around supplemental high calorie treats proves imperative.
Nutrient Imbalances: Even with balanced homemade recipes, overfeeding treat quantities can skew the overall diet nutrient profile fed throughout the day. For example, providing multiple protein or fat-heavy treats commonly over-satisfies these needs while leaving other requirements like fiber or micronutrients deficient by day’s end. Imbalances lead to improper bodily fueling in the long run.
Gastrointestinal Issues: Dogs’ digestive systems adapt to consistent diets and feeding schedules. Sporadic high-treat diets overwhelm the GI tract, causing upset stomachs, diarrhea, flatulence or even vomiting in sensitive dogs. Such GI distress signals dietary issues arising from treat excess.
Behavioral Problems: Feeding energy boosting treats liberally, especially right before rest or sleep times, undoubtedly causes restless and unruly behavior when that energy gets unleashed at inopportune times. Moreover, using treats as frequent positive reinforcements or bargaining chips can lead to begging, poor obedience and other behavioral issues around treats.
Markers like weight gain, persistent digestive upset, insatiable treat begging/stealing or hyper behavior all indicate overfeeding treats. Catching and addressing the root overfeeding cause early helps reverse associated health impacts. While homemade energy boosting treats serve dogs well in moderation, consistency, balance and portion control helps dog owners avoid the pitfalls of overdoing treat supplementation.
Conclusion
Energy-boosting treats can constitute healthy diet additions when fed judiciously by informed dog owners. Combining protein, carb, fat and micronutrient energy sources in balanced recipes tailored to a dog’s needs provides bonus nutrition. Paying attention to feeding timing windows - like around activities requiring sustained energy - helps these treats fuel dogs appropriately. However, excess treat feeding easily causes weight gain and nutritional issues over time. Monitoring for overfeeding warning signs allows prompt adjustment, maintaining benefits without risks. Overall, integrating thoughtful energy-boosting treat feeding focused on balance and timing does wonders for keeping a dog fit, fueled and strong.
