What are the Best Dog Treats for GSP?

German Shorthaired Pointer puppies and adults can do anything for food and treats. They stare irresistibly at you and beg for more. If you use this feature properly, you can turn a routine training into a happy entertainment with perfect results. Though your dog should get most of his nutrition from a healthy dog food formula, there is no harm in giving him a few treats now and then. Best dog treats for GSP for training purposes are small and aromatic to encourage your pup to obey commands.

There are dog treats suitable for all ages or designed specially for puppies. You can switch between meaty jerky and vegan treats to provide a diverse nutritious support. There are also treats to satisfy special needs like dental or joints care, maintaining immune system etc. And let’s not forget about treat dispensing toys which are filled with suitable treats. There is also a huge variety of everyday treats that are soft, crunchy, bigger or smaller, jerky or steaks.

The options on the market may seem overwhelming, so we have tried and tested hundreds of them to select those to be proven healthy, highly rated products, all proudly made in USA. To make the choice easier we have divided all treats into Basic Categories according to their purpose and main features.

11 Best Dog Treats for GSP

Unfortunately, many treats are not healthy at all. On the contrary, most of them make your pup fat and sick in the long run. Many dog snacks are even the cause of constant diarrhea and stomach problems. But it is important that the dog has a strong immune system! If your pet’s well-being is important to you, you should therefore not only pay attention to a good healthy food, but also look for healthy alternatives when it comes to treats for daily training and in between meals at home.

• Best Dry Food for GSP Puppies and Adults

Types of Treats for German Shorthaired Pointer in Detail

We would like to tell you more about differences between kinds of dog treats. We have tried and tested many of them and selected those proved to be healthy and tasty:

• For Training
• Bully Sticks
• Jerky
• Vegan
• For Puppies
• For Stuffing Treat Dispensing Toys
• For Dental Care
• For Hip and Joint Support
• Calming Treats to Reduce Stress and Anxiety
• Natural Treats like Hooves, Ears, Bully Sticks, Bones, Antlers etc

Best Treats for Training

Training of a GSP puppy should begin as early as possible. This a very smart and active dog breed with energy necessary to be properly channeled. A treat can basically be given from the beginning. However, it is important not to start with something unhealthy like too fatty etc, which can quickly lead to severe diarrhoea and abdominal pain. So it is important to start with treats that are easy to digest. When your pup grows up, there is a wider choice of treats you can use for training. For better results usually you praise a dog rather often, so low calorie treats are much better to prevent overweight. There are treats with limited amount per day restrictions based on weight and age of a dog. This is not the best solution, as you will not be able to reward a dog as many time as needed.

As soon as the treats are to be used exclusively for training, small treats are better. These have the advantage that they can also be given in the middle of training, for example when training for “Heal”. Here the dog does not have to stop to eat a big snack. If you don’t want to buy small treats, you can of course also break larger products. However,  small treats are more suitable, can be easily packed in a convenient treat bag and less complicated.

Best Jerky Treats

Jerky treats are most natural chews for a dog. Dogs belong to the carnivores. For this reason it is advisable to make sure that in most cases the meat content is not too low when choosing treats. Jerky treats come in sticks, steaks, cuts, strips or grillers. Premium quality products do not contain any allergenic fillers like soy, corn or gluten. They are ideal as everyday complement to basic food.

Best Vegan Treats

Dogs just love crunchy fruit or vegetables cookies and biscuits. Premium quality treats should be made of all natural and organic ingredients, grain-free, with no artificial preservatives. They are enriched with omegas, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Vegan treats are good for dogs of all ages as they contain useful substances which differ from those in meaty and jerky treats. They are also perfect for dogs with sensitive stomach or food allergies.

Best Treats for GSP Puppy

You would like to get a puppy or a new dog has recently moved in with you? Then you have a great responsibility towards your pet in the future. This does not only refer to sufficient exercise, daily walks and the right food, but also includes a good and careful education, so that your dog obeys you. For GSP puppies training may be an easy task if you do it on a regular basis, in a form of game and reward your pup for good job. All beginnings are difficult and why should a puppy do things without getting anything in return? Rewards in the form of small treats support the puppy’s education.

Best for Treat Dispensing Toys

To make your dogs busy and to promote a long lasting effect from toys, there is a variety of Treat Dispensing Toys among best toys for gsp puppy. They also help dogs, prone to overeat and keep them in shape. These toys have unique design. You can put treats inside or outside the toy, depending of the model. KONG Classic and PetSafe Busy Buddy series toys are pioneering for this aim. See below a selection of corresponding treats for filling these toys.

Best for Dental Care

Teeth and gums of your lovely GSP also need care. Dental care dog treats have special formula of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients to fight plaque and tartar and freshen bad dog breath. Some of them are made in a shape to clean gum line and create a preventive barrier for bacteria. Use them from time to time to keep your pup’s mouse in proper condition, or if advised by a veterinarian.

Best for Hips and Joints

Calcium, Glucosamine and Chondroitin are essential supplements for dog during their growth period, for senior dogs to cushion and protect their joints, or if recommended by a veterinarian due to some problems with hips and joints. Tasty treats are an advantage making dogs eat them with pleasure.

Best Calming Treats

Some dogs may experience stress or anxiety caused by many things like separation, traveling in the car, unknown places, thunderstorms, or being just hyperactive like German Shorthaired Pointers, and many more. If a dog is not able to calm down naturally, there special herbal treats to help him relax and come down.

Buyer’s Guide

Dog Food and Treats Legal Regulation Remarks

Pet food on the market is required to be nutritionally complete and balanced to provide a pet parent with certain degree of confidence that a dog will eat a combination of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals to meeting his needs. Commercial diets and treats are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the product’s label is legally required to include “proper listing of all the ingredients in the product in order from most to least, based on weight” along with Guaranteed Analysis (percentages of crude protein, fat, fiber, and moisture).There is also a guideline for the daily quantity of food recommended to be fed based on pet body weight. This is essential information to guide you when choosing treats.

What to Consider When Buying Healthy Dog Treats?

Your dog doesn’t really care whether he gets healthy or less healthy treats and snacks. All that matters to him is that he gets to eat them! But he doesn’t have to pay the high veterinary bills that arrive when he develops allergies because of all the grain and additives. Furthermore, he puts on extra weight by eating lots of treats and that leads to many other problems.

But this does not necessarily have to be the case. Recognizing healthy snacks is not difficult at all:

• Less sugar in the treats

It’s similar to us humans: the less sugar in the treats, the better for the dog. So make sure that you don’t feed your dog too sweet treats. Very sweet treats are the main cause of overweight.

• Grain-free

If it’s important to you that your dog’s regular food is grain-free (which is only advisable), then it would of course be nonsense and inconsistent to suddenly use grain treats for training or in between as a reward. Since grain has been proven to be responsible for many allergies, it is best to avoid cereals in your snacks/treats. Homemade dog cookies can be baked with wholemeal flour and wholemeal flakes, for example, to give your dog a treat every now and then.

• Higher protein content

It’s better to pay attention to a higher protein content than to a funny appearance of the snacks. Your dog doesn’t care how the snacks look. What matters to him is how they smell. And that’s where he pays particular attention to meat and vegetables. Every dog is the same.

• No preservatives, coloring or fragrances

Healthy treats contain no preservatives, coloring or fragrances. Colorful and good smelling snacks may please our human noses, but they only do so because they contain the mentioned additives. Just like grain, these additives can also trigger various allergies and thus make your dog sick. The money you may save on snacks now, you will definitely spend later at the vet and on medication.

• Containing something from the animal

Good and healthy dog snacks should always contain something from the animal. Dried meat from buffalo, beef, horse, rabbit, chicken, turkey and sheep are highly recommended. Busy chewing bones can be wrapped with buffalo skin and poultry.

• Natural ingredient

Dog biscuits and dog cookies, on the other hand, are best made only from natural ingredients. Especially with eggs, you should pay attention to organic quality from free range farming. Treats made of organic vegetables, berries and fruit contain necessary vitamins and minerals.

Purpose

As we have mentioned at the top of the article, there are different types of dog treats. And which one is better for your pup now depends on the purpose.

If your had a stress he needs some calming treats. If he needs high protein and vitamins on daily basis – jerky will be perfect. Or maybe you have started a training program, then you have to choose small in size low calorie training treats. And so on. So, define the purpose first of all.

Ingredients

Delicacies must of course taste good and in training or treating they must lead to the dog being more willing to learn and to implement the commands. Rewards in the form of treats are therefore essential. But it is also advisable to choose a product that not only tastes good but is also healthy and rich in vitamins, minerals, protein.

The best dog treats are not only just tasty, but also proving a well-balanced healthy formula for all dogs. Usually, puppies need more DHA helping with brain development and protein and calcium for growth.  Senior dogs need joint support. We recommend to avoid treats with artificial preservatives, flavor, and colors. Grain-free treats will prevent unnecessary allergies.

Texture

Texture is another important criterion. You can find soft chews, tough long lasting chews, crunchy biscuits etc. Here a lot depends on your dog’s preferences, but not only. For example, for puppies with primary teeth and and for senior dogs soft treats are more comfortable. For cleaning teeth tough treats with special texture are better. Crunchy treats just give fun and pleasure to your furry friends.

Taste

Dogs the same as humans like everything tasty. The less artificial sweeteners in the treats enhancing the taste – the better. Treating your pup properly is also a habit. If you reward your dog with healthy treats with all natural ingredients from his puppy-hood, he gets a good taste habit once and forever.

Size

The size is very important for dog treats and should always be adapted to your dog’s age and size. This is the only way to ensure that your new family member doesn’t choke with a bigger treat than needed, or doesn’t notice a too little piece.

Now you know what healthy dog treats are. Your darling GSP will jump up and down when you tell him what you have learned. 😉

Frequently Asked Questions

Summary

The market for dog food including the dog treats is full of many different products from various manufacturers. For this reason, it is not always easy to get an overview and choose one of the many products. They differ not only in size, taste and appearance, but also in composition. And this is exactly what should be considered, because the ingredients are probably the most important feature of the treats.

The reward of tasty treats is inevitable when raising and educating. It is therefore important that you use quality products and only give your pet the best, so that he doesn’t have to fear any disadvantages from treats. Whether it’s a reward, a healthy supplement or just treating in between meals, it must be healthy and nutritious for your pup. And this completely depends on your choice.

And remember – we are here to help you with your choice. So do not hesitate to ask any questions. We will answer them.