[QUOTE=wendy;5593524]
why feed dog biscuits at all? never grasped the concept. Too big to be a training reward. Most dogs are overweight so they don’t need high-carb snacks, with or without charcoal.[/QUOTE]
Because. They. Loff. Them.
I’ve heard about the tummy settling properties, too. A recipe I used one for breath buster treats called for a tablespoon of activated charcoal, too. One vet thought maybe it also added a tooth-cleaning property?
As a kid I never wanted to give my dog the charcoal milk bones, they just seemed gross. To me it went, in order of perceived yummy factor- red, yellow/white, black. but he loffed them all 
Because. They. Loff. Them.
seriously? my dogs won’t eat them. One almost put out a petsmart clerk’s eye when he tried to give one to the dog, the dog said yuck and spat it at the poor guy.
I see fat dogs all over the place. Giving dogs food items “because they love them” isn’t a good reason.
[QUOTE=wendy;5604555]
seriously? my dogs won’t eat them. One almost put out a petsmart clerk’s eye when he tried to give one to the dog, the dog said yuck and spat it at the poor guy.
I see fat dogs all over the place. Giving dogs food items “because they love them” isn’t a good reason.[/QUOTE]
But if the dog is fit and healthy (no dietary restrictions), I don’t see the problem. Of course many owners of obese pets refuse to see that their pets are dangerously overweight.
Mine look forward to getting their snack at night - they follow me into the kitchen when I go to get my yogurt and coffee (yeah, I know). They know what time it is. And yes, they must sit nicely to get the biscuit.
One of my dogs enjoys eating genuine hardwood charcoal; he’ll pick up chunks we’ve dropped in the yard near the grill. This habit tends to weird out our summer dinner guests.:lol:
Charcoal vs. non-charcoal dog biscuits doesn’t seem to make a difference. Variety is more important if I want to keep the treat interesting and attractive for training purposes. Of course, any treat is attractive if it looks like I might offer it to another dog instead.
Also want to add that dog biscuits have come a long way as far as health. I buy Natural Balance dog biscuits for my small dogs b/c #1- they are small and i can even break them in half. And #2, they are healthy enough that i am not feeding them corn or anything else i don’t want them to eat. There are many good companies who make dog biscuits that are not full of corn and other fillers.
[QUOTE=wendy;5604555]
seriously? my dogs won’t eat them. One almost put out a petsmart clerk’s eye when he tried to give one to the dog, the dog said yuck and spat it at the poor guy.
I see fat dogs all over the place. Giving dogs food items “because they love them” isn’t a good reason.[/QUOTE]
I don’t understand how you fail to grasp the concept of a biscuit. Were you never allowed to have cookies as a kid?
A biscuit is a treat, a reward…kind of like how you treat yourself to a cookie, some ice cream, or whatever occasionally. NO, it’s not the majority of your diet. NO, it’s not good to have too many. But really…what is the harm in having a treat if it’s in moderation and you (or your dog, or cat, or horse, or whatever) is fit and healthy otherwise? There are also a lot of really good dog biscuits out there that are low-calorie.
I agree that many dogs ARE overweight, but you can’t generalize and say that biscuits shouldn’t be given. I KNOW for a fact (having talked to many owners of obese dogs) that they’re not fat off of dog biscuits…they’re fat off of overfeeding normal food, getting fed table scraps too much, and not having enough exercise. The same reasons that PEOPLE are overweight…
Anyway. Charcoal-flavored dog biscuits. Don’t know why they would make that a flavor, but I guess some dogs will eat just about anything…
