Tiny treats

I am always on the lookout for small treats to give my small dog.  Giving too many treats has made too many dogs overweight.  Since my dog only weighs five pounds, a one pound gain is 20% overweight (similar to me being 30 pounds overweight.  Ahem).  So I need treats with very few calories to keep Franklin within his total daily caloric allowance of about 200 calories.  Oh, I could just not give treats, or give fewer treats, but what fun is that?

An easy way to give tiny treats is to use the dog's own kibble.  That way you can give quite a few treats before giving too many calories.  But I think dogs, like people, enjoy variety in their diets.  And so my search.

One of the first small treats I found is Charlee Bear dog treats. 
They look like a tiny round, flat cracker, and they are only 3 calories per treat.  They come in several flavors, don't crumble easily or stain your pocket, and are the perfect training treat.  Excellent for rewarding "potty outside".

My big dogs always got a large Milk Bone each before bed.  So why not my little dog?  Well, at 115 to 120 calories each, that is more than half the total daily calories for a five-pounder.  Not to mention, it would take him an hour to eat the whole thing!  Even the small size has about 20 calories apiece, so 4 biscuits is an extra meal for a micro dog.

So I was excited to find Mini Milk Bones.  At 5 calories per treat, I can give quite a few in a day.  And if I'm worried I'm giving too many, I can easily break them in half!

My latest find is from Fruitables -- Skinny Minis.  I found a seasonal Pumpkin Spice mini that has only 2 calories!

I could give 50 treats before I approached the calories in a meal, and even my dog with his tiny bladder doesn't go outside that much!

What tiny treats have you found?

A Dog is a Dog?

Having always had big dogs, I figured a dog was a dog.  Then a tiny teacup terrier stole my heart, and I realized that tiny dogs are different.  

Dogs under ten pounds are not just smaller versions of big dogs.  They have their own challenges and concerns, and a different set of common diseases and genetic problems.  Some can be difficult to train.  All have just as big a capacity to love as any dog.

I have nothing against big dogs.  I love dogs you can pat on the head without bending down and thump on the thorax without knocking them over.  There is a wealth of information available about dogs in general, but not so much devoted to itty-bitty dogs.  

So I decided to create a resource that addresses some of the issues of tiny dogs.  I hope you find it informative and interesting.  Let me know if there are specific topics you would like me to cover.  And thanks for reading the tiny dog blog!