Even though it's hard to know what is and isn't okay to feed your doggie doesn't mean you have to skip the treats altogether. You can prepare your own treats or learn about the ingredients you should stay away from. Below is a starting point for you. Learn about these ingredients and why if you see them in the ingredients on the back of treats you should stay away from them.
Wherever you find yourself, you’re probably being bombarded with information regarding one important factor: ingredients. What goes into your dog’s body has a huge impact on their health and well-being, so looking at ingredients is something you should take seriously.
#1 – Corn, Wheat & Soy
These are all fillers, which means they add a lot of calories and fiber, making your dog feel full without any nutritional value. Dogs are not designed to digest these grains and many are allergic to them. These ingredients also contribute to obesity and diabetes because they are high in carbohydrates.
#2 – Meat Meals & By-Products
Meat meals and by-products are essentially the leftovers of animals slaughtered for human consumption. When an animal is processed for humans, the lean muscle meat is butchered and created into human-grade food. What’s left is the bones, organs, blood, beaks, feet, etc. that go into pet foods. These are low-quality meat products that cannot be sold to people. If you wouldn’t eat it, why feed it to your dog?
#3 – Preservatives
The most common preservatives in dog food are BHA, BHT, Ethoxyquin and Propyl Gallate. BHA and BHT are banned for human consumption in many countries, but they are still allowed in the United States. Whatever the reason for adding these ingredients, they should be avoided at all costs. There are plenty of healthy, natural preservatives that won’t cause your dog any harm.
Now that you know what ingredients to avoid when it comes time to pick out some new treats for your pooch, you should know what to say no to and what should be okay. When in doubt you can always look up the reviews for the treats online and also do further research if needed. Plus, there's always the option of making treats for your fur baby at home. Take care of him and hopefully, he'll stay healthy for a long, long time!
For more on why you should avoid these unhealthy ingredients in your dog's treats, visit I Heart Dogs.
