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By: Jessica Long
“Dog is a man’s best friend,” ever heard that saying? I believe that most of us feel that this is the absolute truth. If this is so, we need to take the time to protect and preserve the health of our best friend, because there is another saying we have all heard, “you are what you eat.” And that does not apply to just Humans.
There are two levels of pet food regulation: FDA which is the federal guidelines from the United States Food and Drug Administration, and AAFCO, which stands for the Association of American Feed Control Officials. The FDA establishes standards for proper identification of ingredients and net quantity statements, along with other basic rules. Whereas AAFCO has specific rules that pet manufacturers must follow.
Let’s look at a marketing term we see often on the front of a pet treat bag, "Natural". Be aware that the term, Natural, does not mean organic. According to AAFCO rules, the term natural can be placed on packaging, and it simply means lack of artificial colors and preservatives in a product. Where the term organic refers to food produced through farming methods that prohibit pesticide, genetic engineering, added hormones and antibiotics. Have you ever taken the time to really read through the ingredients on the BACK of your animal’s food, not just the faulty advertising promises of the front? WE MUST DO THIS. We must read the whole package. 90% percent of what you see on the front of the bag are misleading and simply used for marketing purposes and have no legal definition under AAFCO. Therefore, we must look at the BACK of the bag for a list of ingredients.
Let me guess, if you have taken a moment to look at the back of your dog’s food or treat bag you find it’s a novel of ingredients that you can’t pronounce and have absolutely no clue if they are healthy or not.
At Harley’s Treats USA we find that LESS is MORE. If you have taken time to look at the back of our product you will notice a list of SIX easy to read ingredients or less. We are very conscious of the well-being of our “best friends “when developing our products.
Let’s quickly look over this list below of hazardous chemicals you will want to look for when shopping for your pet.
Here is a list of 8 ingredients to avoid when fueling your pet:
· Melamine.
· BHA, BHT and Ethoxyquin.
· Propylene Glycol
· Carrageenan
· Meat Meal
· Food dyes or corn syrup
· MSG
· Sodium Hexametaphosphate.
Here is what you will find on the back of the bag of Harley’s treats:
· Almond flour
· Eggs
· Coconut oil
· Beef broth
· Berries, pumpkin, cinnamon, apples, REAL bacon, and peanut butter. (Depending on flavor)
I bet you’re thinking wow, those are all ingredients I could eat myself. EXACTLY, we are conscious enough when producing our treats that even a human can eat them.
So, I will leave you with this; Remember that the answer to “What do dogs eat?” is always real food!