Celebrate Canine Fitness Month with Healthy Pet Treats Galore!

Of course, as makers of the best healthy pet treats around, how could we not include actual healthy pet treats on our list of ways to boost pet fitness? Indeed, healthy treats can and should be a part of every pet diet. The right treat can add variety, motivation, flavor, happiness and nutrition to a dog or cat’s life. They can also be used in fitness activities and toys as we mention below. What makes the right treat? It should be limited- or single-ingredient, low in fat and calories, all-natural, rich in nutrients and free from artificial ingredients, to name a few attributes. Sound familiar? Farm To Pet Chicken Chip and Turkey Chip healthy pet treats check all of these boxes and more. At just 7-8 calories apiece, they are also 100% human-grade poultry, made in the USA, loaded with pure protein, and packed with flavor and crunch dogs love! Here’s another helpful blog article if you’d like to learn more about what to look for and what to avoid in healthy dog treats.

An organic dog chew, like our responsibly harvested elk, deer and reindeer antler chews, is another excellent way to treat your doggo to a fitness boost – in two ways! First, they are nutritious and healthy, offering an all-natural, low-allergen and fully digestible source of protein and minerals that support bone, joint and dental health. Second, antler chews also provide a fitness activity for dogs. Yes, chewing is both physical and mental exercise for our canines! Not only does it activate jaw muscles, releasing energy and tiring out avid chewers, but chewing also provides a sense of accomplishment as the antler wears down or when the marrow flavor is reached. Additionally, chewing can even relieve tension and anxiety for a dog, providing distraction and focus during stressful times or rainy days, as well as helping to remove plaque and tartar from teeth. As always, be sure to monitor dogs when chewing and take away any antler that has become small enough to potentially be swallowed!

Toys can be a great way to treat your pet to fitness and fun in one fell swoop. Again, the benefits can be physical and mental. For instance, fetch toys like balls or frisbees, like ours from Farm To Pet, get dogs moving as well as honing their tracking and retrieving skills. Puzzle and hide-and-seek feeder toys provide mental challenge – and are even nutritious as long as you use them with the right healthy pet treat! Plush, squeaky or tug toys can provide a multitude of opportunities for fitness and active play, like cardio, flexibility, strength, agility and even better – time with you! Many of these options can be found from our friends at Bulltug.com , known for super durable 2-in-1 toys in cute, clever designs that make them as appealing to humans as they are to pets!

For pet parents who really want to level up their fur baby fitness, or maybe they are fitness buffs themselves, a fitness collar might be the ultimate healthy pet treat! Fitness collars, like the human wrist versions, monitor steps, active time and other fitness metrics to be sure our puppos are getting the 30 minutes to two hours of exercise a day most vets recommend. Some more advanced models even track sleeping and heart rates, as well as offer a combination of fitness and safety thanks to tracking capabilities that allow us to locate our doggo if the unthinkable happens and he gets away from us on a walk. While this is usually an airtag-type feature that is limited to a certain radius, the Fi collar takes it up another notch by incorporating GPS. This means we can keep track of our dogs while we’re at work or on vacation and can be located regardless of how far they are from our phones. And Fi's comprehensive fitness metrics and app are personalized to your dog’s breed and stats. Talk about peace of mind!

While it shouldn’t be considered a treat, quality time with our fur babies sometimes ends up getting pushed from our hectic schedules. However, even in these days of multitasking and beyond-busy lifestyles, our pets deserve a hefty slice of our time, affection and undivided attention every day. In fact, it’s arguably the best thing we can do for their health – and ours! Research has shown that both pets and their owners get a surge of oxytocin just from being together, giving each a sense of calm, security and wellbeing. And if that isn’t a healthy treat, we don’t know what is!