When choosing what to treat your dog with, you want to be sure that it will actually be a treat, not a potential problem-causer. Let’s have a look at the ingredients that should make you think twice.

Looking for healthy dog treats with simple, natural ingredients that you can trust? Look no further than the TP Feeds range.

1. Glycerin
If the ingredients list specifically states that it is ‘vegetable glycerin’, then you needn’t worry too much – although it has no nutritional benefit to your dog. It is purely used as a sweetener, preservative and to bind the ingredients together into a chewy treat. If the packaging merely states ‘glycerin’, then you might like to question whether this has been sourced as a by-product from processing diesel fuel. In which case, there could be potentially harmful levels of residual chemicals in those treats.

2. Sodium Tripolyphosphate (aka STPP or E451)
This is an artificial preservative that has actually been listed as a potential neurotoxin in the US and is widely considered to be a skin irritant. Many of my customers come to me looking for recipes which are suitable for their dog that has skin sensitivities; how many are looking not only at their meal options but also at their treat choices?

3. Vague ‘Catch-All’ Terms
It is genuinely alarming to me how many manufacturers label their treats with only open-ended phrases in their ingredients list, including many of the UK’s most popular choices. Phrases such as ‘meat and animal derivatives’, ‘derivatives of vegetable origin’ or ‘cereals’ are used by manufacturers so that they can change the exact ingredients each time they manufacture a new batch to enable them to use the cheapest ingredients available at that time. I discuss this in more detail here: Meat And Animal Derivatives, And Why They Should Be Avoided

4. Wheat
Many dogs are intolerant to wheat gluten; it can cause damage to the digestive system, preventing your dog from absorbing important nutrients from their food, leading to more serious issues throughout the body. All TP Feeds recipes are hypoallergenic – ie wheat and wheat gluten free. Why take the care to avoid a potentially harmful ingredient in your dog’s main meals, but then feed heavily wheat-based treats in between?

5. Butylated Hydroxyanisole (aka BHA or E320) & Butylated Hydroxytoluene (aka BHT or E321)
These are both chemicals added to the oils in poor quality dog food and treats to act as preservatives. Both are considered as carcinogens in the US and proven to promote the growth of tumours by studies in both Europe and the US.

6. Potassium Sorbate (aka PSG or E202)
This artificial preservative is a known skin and eye irritant, as well as being believed to be a digestive irritant.

Explore TP Feeds' range of naturally healthy treats here.

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