Healthy Treats Skin & Coat Dog & Puppy Treats - 70g

The Healthy Treats Skin & Coat Dog & Puppy Treats are built around salmon, with omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids plus zinc and biotin in the cream filling. Of all the bags in this range, this is the one whose ingredients line up best with the claim on the front: salmon oil, zinc and biotin are the three things most often used for skin and coat, and they are all here. It is still a treat rather than a supplement, and the section below explains where the line is.

Key Features

• Fish Content: Salmon at 4 per cent, with salmon protein hydrolysate in the recipe.
• Fatty Acids: Omega 3 at around 2.4 per cent and omega 6 at around 5.7 per cent.
• Zinc And Biotin: Zinc sulphate at 250mg per kg and biotin at 4.7mg per kg, both of which matter for skin and coat.
• Vitamins: Vitamin A at 2000 IU, vitamin D3 at 300 IU and vitamin E at 113mg per kg.
• Calories: Around 4 calories per treat.
• No Added Sugar: As with the rest of the range.
• Pack Size: 70g resealable bag.

What Omega 3, Zinc And Biotin Actually Do

• Omega 3 fatty acids from fish oil are the best-supported dietary intervention for skin condition, and they are genuinely anti-inflammatory. Zinc deficiency causes crusting skin and a poor coat, and biotin deficiency causes hair loss. So the ingredient choices here are sound rather than decorative.
• The limit is the dose. A few small treats a day supply a fraction of what a therapeutic skin supplement provides, and a dog on a complete food is almost certainly not short of zinc or biotin to begin with. Read this as a nice addition for a healthy dog, not a correction.
• VetIQ also say these help reduce excess shedding. Normal moulting is normal, and more so in this climate where dogs living in air conditioning often shed year-round rather than in two seasons. Regular brushing removes far more loose hair than any treat.

When Skin Problems Are Not A Diet Problem

• This matters here more than almost anywhere, because skin disease is the single most common reason dogs in the UAE end up at the vet, and almost none of it is fixed by a treat.
• Itching, scratching, licking paws, recurring ear infections, hot spots, scurf, bald patches or a smell from the skin point to fleas, mites, a bacterial or yeast infection, or an allergy. All of those need identifying and treating, and some of them get considerably worse while someone waits to see if a treat helps.
• Allergic skin disease in particular is manageable but needs a diagnosis. If your dog has been itchy for more than a couple of weeks, that is a vet visit, not a shopping decision.
• One honest note on sourcing: these contain salmon and salmon protein hydrolysate. If your dog is on an elimination diet to investigate a food allergy, do not add these partway through, because any new protein makes the trial worthless.

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 salmon, poultry protein and wheat flour.
• Do not use during a food elimination trial without asking your vet first.