Every dog loves treats and we love giving them. We love to see the excited faces, the vigorous tail wags, the dramatic whine and the look of joy after they finally get to eat it. But how do you know that the treats you are feeding them are healthy? It’s simple. As with all the food you buy (for yourself or your dog), it’s all about the ingredients. If you do not already read the labels of every food item you consider buying, get in the habit! Most of the information you need to know to determine if the quality is good is legally required to appear on the label.

So, here’s a little test. Can you tell the difference between these two different treat brands? One we carry, one we do not. Take a look at the difference between these labels.

The First Treat Brand:
Oat Flour, Chicken, Pumpkin, Rosemary – That’s it. Nothing else.

The Second Treat Brand:
Chicken, Meat by-products (what type of meat?), Soy Grits, Sugar (yikes), Beef Liver, Salt, Gelatin, Propylene Glycol (chemical), Flaxseed, Garlic Powder, Natural Smoke Flavor, Potassium Sorbate (preservative), Titanium Dioxide (chemical coloring), Sodium Nitrate (preservative), Onion Extract (improve flavor and shelf life), BHA (carcinogen).

You shouldn’t have to add so many ingredients for a treat to be palatable.

Every ingredient on the label should be an easily recognizable food. You should have no question as to what the source is. For example, “meat meal” or “animal fat” could come from just about anywhere. On the other hand, if you see “pork” as an ingredient you know that it comes from pigs, and so does “pork fat.” So if you cannot determine what species of animal a meat or fat has come from, you really should not feed it to your dog.

Most dog biscuits also contain wheat as the first ingredient. We know that wheat contains much higher amounts of gluten. The problem is, a dog’s digestive systems is not evolved enough to digest plant proteins like gluten—they are designed to digest animal protein, and gluten is not the same— feeding foods that contain gluten can result in many of the same problems that afflict humans who are sensitive to gluten. This can include allergies like itchy feet and skin.

Of course, if you didn’t already guess we carry the first brand of treats in our store. The less ingredients the safer the treat and better for dogs with allergies!

Here at Hungry Hound we provide all natural treats and food. This means that when you look at the ingredients on the back, you aren’t standing there reading the list for 5 minutes. Plus, you can pronounce every single ingredient. You can always be sure that the treats we bring in are 100% safe, digestible and of course tasty…trust us, we know what they taste like. If we can eat them, you know they are safe!