Have you ever tried reading the labels on your dog’s food or treat bags? It can be so confusing! Even though most dog owners understand that choosing quality food and treats is key to their dog’s health, deciphering the labels on products and figuring out which ingredients are quality and safe can definitely be challenging.
What are quality ingredients?
According to Wild Earth dog blog, quality ingredients have two main characteristics:
- It is free from contaminants like antibiotic residues, toxins, pesticides, or disease-causing pathogens.
- It is a good source of one or more important nutrients
Ingredients that meet this criteria include meat, vitamins, carbohydrates, and more! But how do you know what means
what when looking at a product label? We recommend this guide from the American Kennel Club which breaks down the different lingo used in pet food and treats labels from the product name to the ingredient list!
Why are quality ingredients important?
Feeding your pet food and treats with quality ingredients can help prevent various health issues. Unfortunately, it is common for dog food and treats to contain ingredients that do not meet the quality criteria, and repeated ingestion of those ingredients can cause subtle, long-term damage. This is typically caused by the lack of essential nutrients in certain dog foods and treats, and therefore deprivation of vital nutrients which is obviously not what we want for our furry friends!
So what should I give my dog?
Although label guides can help consumers understand what they are looking at, the ingredients themselves are often the root of confusion, and they are also what can determine the quality of a product. In order to avoid this ingredient confusion, we recommend feeding your pup single ingredient treats. This way you know exactly what you are feeding your dog without the additives, preservatives, and other mystery ingredients. Single ingredient treats made from protein are even better! You can shop single ingredient chicken and turkey dog treats here.
All in all, dogs deserve to eat as cleanly as humans are able to in order to avoid health issues, and a great way to do that is through single ingredient, human-grade treats!
Treat you Fit Floofs next week!