What Dog Food Ingredients Should I Avoid? 8 Disastrous Ingredients

Are you one of the pet lovers that loves and cares for your dog? If so, Dog’s health need to be your top priority. For the health of my dog, I constantly educate myself what dog food ingredients should I avoid? If that is your concern too then you have come to the right place. The dog’s health should be our priority. Thus, I have provided a list of hazardous ingredients that might affect your dog’s health.

Some of the brands use cheap ingredients in the dog’s food. The reason for that is, they are most often only concerned with their profit. That’s why brands are not trustworthy for providing top-quality dog food. Yet, for us, nothing is more important than the health of our dog.

So, the only way to be sure about the quality of dog foods is to check the ingredients label on it. The ingredients list will always show the real picture of the product.

The interesting fact is that some of these ingredients are not illegal in the US. Though, many countries do not allow it. There are two reasons for using these ingredients. One, these are inexpensive. Second, these help to keep the food fresh for a long time.

Either way, I would not want my dog to consume these hazardous ingredients daily. Also, it’s not the risk worth taking. Before opening another can, you should check the ingredients list. If the listed ingredients are present in your dog’s food, you might want to reconsider.

Want to see the comprehensive list of hazardous ingredients in dog food to answer your what dog food ingredients should I avoid question? Keep reading this article to understand!

What Dog Food Ingredients Should I Avoid?

BHA, BHT, and Ethoxyquin

The BHA and BHT are food preservatives, used for preserving fats in dogs and human’s food. These banned ingredients in some countries can cause child hyperactivity and even cancer. According to Richter, who is against any artificial ingredients in food, “There are concerns that these chemicals can be harmful with long-term exposure and ingestion”.

Still, according to many researchers, these ingredients can help cure herpes and AIDS. Though, you can never be sure about it. So, you must look out for BHA and BHT in your dog’s food and even in your food.

Meat and Meat Meal

The meat is healthy for your dog. Most of your dog’s food should contain it. Though, if you see unknown meat named, “meat meal”, “meat and bone meal”, etc. you should stop feeding that food to your dog.

The reason is, when the manufacturers add an ingredient with non-descript terms, you can never guess what it exactly is. Most of the time, these ingredients are the left-overs, and there is no guarantee of safety in it. Wondering what dog food ingredients should I avoid? Definitely fake meat meals like these.

Also, this unnamed meat is a product of processing, named rendering. Richter elaborates rendering by saying, “Meat producers take all of the leftover bits and scraps, and cook them down to remove the fat. After the fat is removed, meat meal remains”.

So, these ingredients make digesting hard for your dog. Yet, it can add some protein to your dog’s food. Still, the risk is not worth it so, you need to keep your dog away from it.

Colorful meal

There is only one reason for using these artificial colors in dog’s food, making it visually appealing. Non-beneficial, artificial colors are the reason for hyperactivity and other biochemical processes within the body. So, using it is unnecessary in any dog’s food yet, harmful.

No benefits but affect the health of your dog that is not an option to opt for. Thus, you should keep away your dog from these types of foods.

Monosodium Glutamate

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is a very common ingredient in the dog’s food. The main reason for adding it to food is, to enhance the flavor. Even so, this can cause complications for dogs. The reason for adding MSG to the food is the compensation of flavor in low-quality ingredients. Wondering what dog food ingredients should I avoid? MSG for sure.

Yet, it is difficult to know if it is present or not because for manufacturers, it is not a must to show it on pet food ingredients. Still, you can find it by these names: protein isolate, hydrolyzed protein, texturized protein, natural flavors, autolyzed yeast, yeast extracts, hydrolyzed yeast, soy extracts, sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate, monopotassium glutamate, glutamic acid, disodium inosinate.

Not just nutritionally unnecessary but also, this ingredient is a very common allergen in pets. So, you must avoid feeding the MSG included food to your dog.

Gluten

Asking yourself what dog food ingredients should I avoid? Well, this is one of the most dangerous ingredients in your dog’s food. This ingredient can cause complications for your dogs such as stinky ears and chronic ear infections, itching, and hot spots, digestive stress, and other allergies.

Moreover, this un-natural Gluten can is present in the form of Gluten-grain, like barley and wheat. Many people avoid the use of gluten to improve their digestion and lose weight.

Furthermore, this ingredient can be more dangerous to your dog than other animals. So, there is no reason to feed it to your dog other than the help of manufacturers to form the shape and texture of kibble.

Corn syrup

There is no doubt about the negative impacts of corn syrup on our dog’s health. Still, are you aware of this inexpensive, sweet as sugar sweetener is present in dog’s food? Yes, you heard it right! This sweetener can affect the health of your dog in many ways.

Like refined sugar, corn syrup can make your dog fat. Also, this is the reason for the high blood sugar of your dog. Furthermore, this also contributes to obesity and diabetes. By using this addictive ingredient. Your dog will always be in search of sugar-sweet food. Wondering what dog food ingredients should I avoid? Definitely corn syrup.

So, this ingredient is only used to make the food sweet and addictive. With all these negative impacts on health, you might want to look out for this ingredient in your dog’s food label.

Sodium Tripolyphosphate (STPP)

You might have seen this ingredient in detergents for the softening of water. Some food makers use it as an ingredient for dog food. Shocked? Yet, it’s true. This ingredient is used as a preservative in a dog’s food.

The STPP is harmful if inhaled and also a skin irritant as per the Food and Water Watch fact sheet. Moreover, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has some doubts that it might be a neurotoxin.

Not just that but also, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identifies this ingredient to be an insecticide, fungicide, and rodenticide. Still, this ingredient is present in your dog’s food. You better watch out for this one, as this might affect the health of your dog the most.

Propylene Glycol

Propylene Glycol is a dangerous additive that is beneficial for maintaining texture and keeping food soft and moist. This ingredient is FDA approved yet, that does not change its negative impacts on your dog. According to Richter, he would not suggest using this ingredient for dogs.

So, just for maintaining texture, we could not risk our dog’s health. Thus, you should always look out for these ingredients on dog food labels.

Conclusion – What Dog Food Ingredients Should I Avoid?

No one can better understand as the one who has a dog only know how much we should be concerned about the health of our dog. So, I have always searched to know about what dog food ingredients should I avoid? These are some of them that you should watch out for.

Yet, there are other ingredients too that might have bad impacts on your dog’s health. However, there are also some good ingredients that you can add to your dog’s diet. So, do your dog a favor and avoid these ingredients. Then, go pet your dog to have their emotional health intact.

Rajkumar Ravichandran

Welcome to Learn About Pet. My name is Rajkumar Ravichandran and I love all pets, travel, and amazing food. I write about my passion and personal experience caring for multiple pets in this blog! ❤️