Diet and nutrition has always been important to me with my pets. Unfortuantely, like many, I used to think that premium brands were healthier and that grain free meant healthy. Over time I learned that isn’t always the case, especially in dry pet food and with many treats. The problem is that dry pet foods, plenty of other commercial foods, and many pet treats, either contain sugar or contain high levels of starchy items such as potatoes and peas flour that convert to sugar. See this article from Dr. Karen Becker for more on why that is often the case. Sugar intake can then lead to a variety of health problems such as diabetes and inflammation. In my case, where I have a dog with cancer, it could be deadly, as sugar promotes cancer growth. So, when Ty was first diagnosed with lymphoma, I began looking for convenient diet options that were sugar free, high in protein, and low in carbohydrates. It wasn’t easy. I settled on Primal Dehydrated Raw Turkey and Sardine. You can read more about Ty’s cancer diet here. Then I began reading treat labels, and boy was that ever an eye opener. Many, heck even most, treats not only contain starchy ingredients, they often contain pure sugar outright. When I attended the Blogpaws conference last year, nearly every single treat item I was given had sugar in it. I came home with bags full of items from the exhibit hall and found only two packaged treat products that I could actually give to Ty. Just Two! I won’t feed items with sugar to Eve either. So needless to say, I unwittingly brought home a lot of useless items.
Here is a look at a few that I grabbed at random. My point with this is not to call out any specific brand so much as it is to show how marketing often does not jive with reality.
This package advertises that is 85% beef and 15% “good stuff.”
That “good stuff?” It includes brown sugar, which is also the second ingredient in the list. Note the references to “healthy” above the ingredient list. I don’t consider any treat containing brown sugar to be healthy.
This is another item from the same brand. I was a bit perplexed by “nutritious superfood carbs.” Really higher protein is better.
The marketing on the back states that the treats are crafted to be “amazingly healthy.” But in this case, the treats include maple syrup, which is a sugar. It also has grains and starchy items that convert to sugar. The choices of “superfoods,” which I am assuming are the fruits and vegetables, also happen to include sweet potatoes and carrots. Those are starchier choices that convert more readily to sugar. But it was the maple syrup that really bothered me.
This brand advertises on their treats that “Every Ingredient Counts.”
Sugar is the third ingredient on the list. I am not thrilled with the soy and potatoes either.
Here are treats advertised as “healthy.”
A look at the back of the package reveals sugar in the ingredients. I am suspicious of the rice protein as well. To be fair, this brand did give me another product though that was sugar-free and was one of the two products that I could give to Ty.
I could have provided many more examples since I came home with bags of full of items with similar ingredient profiles. It is also easy to see this for yourself. Just take a field trip to your local pet store and start reading packages. Challenge yourself to find something without sugar (or maple syrup or honey). Then, when you do find something, make the challenge harder by trying to find something without sugar that is also free of grains, potatoes, and starchy vegetables. It won’t be easy.
The Good Guys
So, who were the two that gave me items that Ty could eat? (Disclosure, these recommendations include affiliate links).
The first was Red Barn Pet Products Bully Nuggets. Below are the ingredients.
The second was Rocco and Roxie Liver Treats. The only ingredient listed in that product was beef liver.
Finally, I was also given a Beef Trachea from Jones Natural Pet Chews. I didn’t count that as a “treat” for purposes of this article since since I was focusing on packaged treats over things like chews and rawhides. But that was a third item that I could give to Ty. I also was provided with various samples of dehydrated raw pet food, some of which could be used as treats.
Some Other Options
Here are a few additional sugar-free dog treat options. I often give my dogs pieces of grain-free and sugar-free freeze dried raw food as treats. Freeze dried meal toppers have become popular and they are a good training treat size. Some brands include starchy vegetables in the ingredients, but most do not add sugar, and often the starchy items are further down the list of ingredients. Stella and Chewy Meal Mixers is a good example.
Doctor Becker Bites is another favorite in our house. Its only ingredient is liver. You can also get big tubs of freeze dried liver, which makes for a rather economical treat.
If you have a dehydrator, dehydrated green beans and other dehydrated vegetables are good treats. Learn how to dehydrate your own treats here.
Finally, I give Ty and Eve bits of raw vegetables when I am cooking. They especially love raw kale, which is a good antioxidant, and I often give them a cherry tomato on their breakfast. One caution: green tomatoes can make a dog sick, so please only give ripe ones. One study found that the consumption of leafy green and yellow-orange vegetables lessened the occurrence of bladder cancer in dogs. So, I am glad that my dogs like kale!
Go take a look at your pet treats. The ingredients might surprise you.
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Very interesting! I’ve been paying a lot more attention to labels lately too.
Way to go! I’m with you. Sounds like we have a similar mission…educating the public on reading the ingredient panel. It’s a shame that more manufacturers don’t step up to the plate. We want real and healthy ingredients for our pets. Thank you for this.
Great post! I like to bake treats for my crew. It’s becoming increasingly more difficult, as you pointed out, to find truly healthy treat/food options. Very frustrating!
Seriously? “15% Good Stuff”
I find that pet food labels, and photos on bags make it more confusing and misleading to the majority of pet owners.
Isn’t brown sugar unrefined, I thought white sugar was meant to be the evil twin in the sugar world. I had no idea that being sugar free was such a vital part of a pet diet, even as treats either – wow.
Do you know if the sugar used as a preservative, like it is in jams and preserves? Or like salt can be used with meat? What would be the alternatives a company could use to sugar as a preservative, if it is? Does it make treats more palatable do you know?
I believe the people who design the packaging for these companies do more damage to a company’s reputation than anything don’t they!
Sugar, whether refined or not, is still sugar. Honey and maple syrup are also sugar. Being “natural” doesn’t change the effects of it. It causes insulin spikes that can lead to or exacerbate diabetes, unnecessarily increase the percent of carbohydrates in the food, and can promote growth of cancer. It is also addictive, as those humans with a “sweet tooth” can attest too. Some believe that it is used to create an addiction to a treat or food in pets (See my link in the post to Dr. Becker’s article on that). It definitely is often added to make the food or treat more palatable and appealing. In the case of food, starchy vegetables tend to take the place of grain as “fillers.” I doubt it is being used as a preservative and there are plenty of other options for that. I tried to find some credible defenses of sugar in pet treats and only could come up with ones from pet food companies, who obviously have a reason to be biased on the topic Now, will an occasional treat with sugar in it kill your pet? Not likely, but if the cumulative effect of starchy foods and sugary treats is added up, our pets really are likely getting overloaded on sugar. The same thing has been happening in humans for quite some time. Hence the rise of diabetes in both humans and companion animals. I actually gave up sugar myself recently. The results in my own fitness and health have been remarkable!
This was such a great post – I cannot love it enough and will share it with our readers. I never truly thought about this – but yes, duh, I work in healthcare so this is a no brainer. It’s funny how connecting the similarities in human treatment and animal care didn’t click on this one – until your post. Great research and thoughtful input! Thank you for your work here!
Ruby likes Primal Turkey and Sardine nuggets, too.
I’m always shocked to see how many foods (human and dog) have added sugar. Ugh. Ruby likes green beans as snacks, but haven’t tried kale or cherry tomatoes.
I cook and bake for Layla and she gets no sugar of any kind phew
Mr. N is super picky so that limits the amount of treats he will eat! He seems to have pretty good taste and goes for the meat!
Kilo is very robust for now but he eats a quite healthy diet with some kibble and some indulgent treats. He loves the freeze dried raw and the pure liver and the pure bully sticks.
Since my dog seems to have a grain allergy, I’ve started reading labels a lot more carefully. Sugar is one of the things I try to avoid for her. Now if I could just give it up myself!
I gave it up recently and have had amazing results. After a few weeks non-sweetened things taste super sweet.
I am extra careful about what treats we feed and what is out there that we recommend and share with our readers. There is a diabetic crisis in this country and I have no doubt that empty fillers like sugar are contributing. Way to go with this post!
The increase in diabetes in both pets and humans is quite staggering. I recently removed all sugar (and grains) from my own diet and it has been amazing. I lost weight, I’m never seriously hungry, I sleep better, I don’t get tired in the afternoon, my running has improved. It is rather remarkable. But like with pet food and treats, finding human food without added sugar is difficult. Sugar or high fructose corn syrup gets added to nearly everything!
Wow, I never would have thought of this when it came to my pet’s food!
Dr. Becker is amazing and good nutrition is equally important for our animal companions. Especially, if you have a dog with allergies or auto-immune issues (hi). Also, good nutrition can help prevent them. Thanks for this very detailed post showing what to look for.
100% agree. We make everything. So that way we control the ingredients. Including the sugar. I am convinced that we have had only 1 health scare in 6 years in very large part due to how we feed our little dude. this is a great post. Will tweet.
This makes a lot of sense. I’ve had a problem since being diagnosed with celiac disease because most of the gluten free products have rice flour, which turns into sugar quickly.
The food we feed our cats are all human grade – so technically if the zombie apocalypse occurs we could eat the cat’s food. 🙂
It’s interesting that “human food” jargon is now found on pet food. I’ll need to check my dogs treats now out of curiosity. I would like to know what beef puzzle is though.
Are you ready? It is bull penis! Bully sticks are made of it.
Interesting read. I’ve never been IG on giving my dog treats.
I think for myself, everything in moderation. But it’s really important to pay attention to pet food.
This is really informative! I don’t have a pet yet, but I do plan to get one in the near future and know I need to be aware of what I feed them. Gotta treat them exactly like family, right? 🙂
There is just so much junk in our pet food these days. I don’t know about dogs, but I know cats have very short intestines, so they just cant physically digest carbs like sugar, grains, or vegetables. Luna is on a high protein/low fat/no carb diet, and her vet says she is the healthiest cat she has seen in years. The downside is the cost of such diet – it costs about $70/month just to feed her, but I suppose we are saving big time on vet bills in the end.
I got up to look at my cats’ treats bags right after I read this. My kitties are aging and their nutritional needs are changing. Thanks for telling me what I need to look out for.
Very informative post! I wouldn’t have guessed pet food would have so much sugar in them! Very interesting… Don’t have any pets, but this article will be helpful to pass along to my friends who do!
Sugar always breaks me out and I realised this after years of acne treatments
It’s always so important to not only read the ingredient lists but LEARN what each ingredient does. Great post!
It’s really hard buying food and treats for your pets because you have to be so careful! This is a great post!
Has anyone heard of Holistic Health Extension? Based off of the ingredients listed on their website, their treats mostly have 3 ingredients or less, all of which are the main protein sources (i.e. “Bison Bites” ingredients….Bison)
I think I’m going to try them out.
I took a glance, and yes, they look good. For example, Bacon Bully Puffs are just beef lung, bacon, and liver. It appears that you are a representative of the company. I’m happy to take comments from company reps, but like to be sure that they are disclosed.
Thank you for the informative post. I didn’t think of reading labels when I shop for pet food but now I know. I realize how dangerous it is for our pets to consume such unhealthy ingredients everyday 🙁
I usually opt for freeze-dried one ingredient treats for my pups. It’s terrible that a lot of the “big brand” treats are so bad and that so few people know that. I’m STILL trying to educate friends about rawhide and Milk Bones.. and those aren’t even the ones pretending to be healthy… ugh. It’s a struggle. Thanks for the informative post!
My parents have gotten to be really careful about what they feed their dog – and he appreciates it!