Whether it is because they actually deserved it or you just fell for their puppy eyes; we all love spoiling our beloved dachshunds. And in most cases, there is nothing wrong with that. It is OK to spoil your dog every now and then as long as you choose the treat(s) wisely. You do not want your dog to gain weight or to hurt their teeth.
Clever treats
Clever treats are mostly the same as clever foods for humans. When humans try to lose or maintain weight, they will most likely skip the fatty and sugary snacks and eat vegetables instead. Why? Because vegetables are low in sugar and calories, which is exactly what we are going for when we try to spoil our doxie in a responsible way.
Safe and tasty vegetables for dogs are:
– Cucumber
– Carrot
– Celery
– Bell pepper
– Ripe tomato
– Cooked chickpeas
– Cooked pumpkin
– Beets
Just because these treats are low in calorie and sugar does not mean you can feed your dachshund a whole cucumber or a kilogram chickpeas. When you as a human treat yourself, you might be able to eat a whole bell pepper, but it is certainly not recommended to feed your dog a whole bell pepper at once. Why? Because dogs digest food very differently than humans do. Your body might be OK with eating a lot at once, but it can have serious effects on your dog. Dogs and humans are not the same!
The other reason why you should always be careful with how much you feed your furry friend, is that most dogs eat fast. When you give your doxie a whole tomato or celery stick at once, (s)he is not paying attention to how well (s)he chews up the vegetable, which can cause choking and digestive problems. It is best to mince the vegetables and present them to your dachshund in small portions. Always monitor your dog after you gave him/her something (s)he has never had before. Some dogs have issues with certain foods, just like humans do.
The problem with vegetables is that most of them are hard to chew up for pups or dogs with bad teeth. Fortunately, this problem is very easy to solve. You can very easily cook the following vegetables until they are soft and then mash them:
– Carrot
– Chickpeas
– Pumpkin
– Beets
You can do this with the bell peppers and tomatoes as well, but you will have to skin them first. Again: keep the portions small!
Not so clever treats
You can share a lot of human food with your dachshund. But not all foods are clever to share (in larger amounts), even if they seem ok:
– Fruits. Fruits contain a lot of sugar and more calories than most vegetables. Most fruits are however safe for dog consumption.
– Certain vegetables. Some vegetables are harmful for dogs – like onions, garlic, mushrooms, rhubarb and raw potato – and I therefore recommend sticking to the list of clever vegetables above to make sure you do not feed your dog harmful food.
Treat-master
If you stick to the clever treat list above, you are well on your way to become a healthy treat-master. This is a win-win way to spoil your dachshund: you will keep him healthy and fit by not stuffing him with fatty and sugary treats and he will be happy because he is getting spoiled with tasty and crunchy vegetables. Just keep in mind that dogs and humans are not the same, and dogs react differently to food than humans do (even if you cannot see it). Do not feed your mini dachshund a whole bell pepper but eat the other half yourself instead.
