Healthy Treats Breath & Dental Dog & Puppy Treats - 70g

The Healthy Treats Breath & Dental Dog & Puppy Treats are crunchy cream-filled treats aimed at breath, built around parsley seed oil, peppermint oil and a chlorophyll complex, with duck meal and added vitamin C. They do the job they are actually designed for well: they make a dog's breath smell better and they are small enough to use freely. We have been straight below about the difference between fresher breath and dental health, because they are not the same thing.

Key Features

• Breath Ingredients: Parsley seed oil and peppermint oil, with a chlorophyllin copper complex, which is the ingredient doing most of the odour work.
• Protein: Duck meal at 4 per cent with added poultry protein.
• Added Vitamin C: Included in the cream filling.
• Calories: Under 7 calories per treat, so they are easy to fit into a day.
• Shell: Mark & Chappell say the crisp outer shell helps massage the gums as the dog chews.
• Pack Size: 70g resealable bag.

Fresh Breath And Dental Health Are Different Things

• Parsley, peppermint and chlorophyll work on the smell. They are deodorisers, and they are good at it. What they do not do is change what is happening on the teeth and under the gumline.
• In most dogs, bad breath is caused by periodontal disease: plaque hardens into tartar, the gums become inflamed, and bacteria produce the smell. Covering the smell leaves the cause in place, and the disease is painful and progressive.
• The honest version of the shell claim: a small crunchy treat gives some mechanical contact, but nothing like a product designed and tested to reduce plaque. If dental control is your goal, the things that work are daily brushing with a dog toothpaste, a vet dental check, and a scale and polish when your vet says one is due.
• Breath that is persistently bad, or that has suddenly got worse, is a reason to have your dog's mouth looked at. Very bad breath can also point to kidney disease or diabetes, so it is worth taking seriously rather than treating.

Where These Earn Their Place

• As a treat for a dog whose teeth are already being looked after, these are a pleasant extra and the breath effect is real enough that owners notice it.
• They are also useful for getting a puppy used to having its mouth handled. Give one after you have lifted a lip and touched the gums, and you are building towards a dog that will let you brush its teeth, which is worth far more than any treat.

About The 4 Week Label

• Mark & Chappell label this range as suitable for puppies from 4 weeks of age. That is written for breeders: a puppy of that age is only starting to wean and is still with its mother and litter.
• What it actually tells you is that the recipe is gentle enough for a very young puppy. It is not a suggestion that a four-week-old puppy should be having treats, and it is not a reason to take a puppy off its mother early.
• Most people get their puppy at around eight weeks. From that point these are genuinely useful, because a soft-centred treat a puppy really wants is the easiest way to get house-training, handling, lead work and crate practice started.

The Main Food Does The Work

• A complete dog or puppy food is formulated to supply every nutrient in the right proportion. A treat sits on top of that, and it is not a way to patch a diet that is falling short.
• If you think the main food is not working for your dog, the answer is a better main food, chosen with your vet, not a supplement bolted on top. Adding things to a poor diet rarely helps and makes it much harder to tell what is causing what.
• Growing puppies are the case where this matters most. A growth food has calcium, phosphorus and energy balanced deliberately, and that balance is best left alone.

Who Makes It

• Healthy Treats is a range made by Mark & Chappell Ltd, a British company that sells pet healthcare under the VetIQ Healthy+ name. The brand is VetIQ; Healthy Treats is the dog treat line, and Healthy Bites is the matching line for cats and small pets.
• Every treat in the range is built the same way: a crisp baked cereal shell wrapped around a soft cream-filled centre, with the active ingredients carried in the filling. That is what lets them put something useful in a treat a dog will take by hand.
• Mark & Chappell state there is no added sugar in the range and no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. The antioxidants used are vitamin E, ascorbyl palmitate and rosemary extract.

These Are Rich Treats

• Worth knowing before you buy: the cream filling makes this a high-fat treat. Across the range the crude fat content runs from roughly 23 to 30 per cent, which is higher than most dry dog foods. The calories per treat are low because the treats are small, not because they are lean.
• On a small dog that adds up quickly. Keep everything outside the main meals under about a tenth of the day's calories, and take a little off the main meal on days you use a lot of them.
• If your dog has had pancreatitis, is prone to it, or has been put on a low-fat diet by your vet, check before using these. A rich treat is exactly the kind of thing that gets overlooked when someone is being careful about the main food.

Feeding Safely

• Mark & Chappell ask that dogs be supervised while eating these, that they are fed as a snack between meals, and that fresh drinking water is always available. Sensible advice for any hard treat given to a puppy.
• Hand-feed rather than tipping a pile into the bowl. You can see what went in, you get the training value out of it, and in a multi-dog house nobody takes more than their share.
• Introduce them a couple at a time over a few days. A new ingredient in a large first helping is the usual reason for a loose stool that then gets blamed on the product.

A Treat, Not A Medicine

• This is a complementary pet food. It is not a veterinary medicine and it is not licensed to diagnose, treat or prevent any disease. The VetIQ name on the bag does not change that, and neither does the wording on the front.
• The fair way to read the range is good treats with a sensible extra in them, chosen to suit a situation. That is a reasonable basis for picking one bag over another. It is not a reason to use one instead of seeing your vet.
• If your dog is already on medication or a prescription diet, mention any treat you are adding at the next appointment. Prescription diets work by controlling exactly what goes in, and extras can work against them.

Storage In The UAE

• Mark & Chappell ask that the pack be stored cool and dry, out of direct sunlight, and used within four weeks of opening. That matters more here than in the UK, because heat and humidity turn the oils in a high-fat cream filling stale faster.
• Press the resealable strip shut after each use and keep the bag in a cupboard rather than on a sunny shelf or in the car. A fridge is not needed and tends to soften the shell.
• If a treat smells of old oil or crayons, or the shell has gone bendy, throw the bag out. Rancid fat is unpleasant rather than dangerous, but dogs refuse it and you have lost the pack anyway.

Currently Out Of Stock

• This one is out of stock at the moment. Message us and we will tell you when the next shipment is due rather than leaving you guessing.

Good To Know

• Complementary pet food for dogs. Not a complete diet and not a veterinary medicine.
• Supervise your dog while feeding. Feed as a snack between meals, with fresh water available.
• Resealable bag. Store cool and dry, out of sunlight, and use within four weeks of opening.
• A high-fat treat. Keep treats to roughly a tenth of your dog's daily calories at most.
• Made in the UK by Mark & Chappell Ltd under the VetIQ Healthy+ brand.
• Not for human consumption. Keep out of reach of children.
• Contains duck, poultry protein and wheat flour.
• Not a substitute for brushing, a dental check or a professional clean.