The Dirty Dozen – 12 Dog Food Ingredients to Avoid

We often talk about “The Dirty Dozen” and how you should avoid feeding them to your dog, but do you know what they are? Or why they are bad for your beloved pooch? We break down the dirty dozen food and why you should buy products that are 100% real and don’t contain by-products.

The Dirty Dozen

Dangerous and disgusting ingredients in dog food

1. Wheat
The number one allergen in dogs and a contributing factor to canine obesity.

2. Corn
Useless filler that is a known cause of allergies and is difficult for dogs to digest

3. Corn Gluten Meal
Patented as a weed killer in 1991. Used as a cheap filler.

4. Soy
Considered a low-quality, incomplete protein well known to create food allergies in pets

5. Animal Digest
The worst of all ingredients. Unspecified parts of unspecified animals

6. By-Product Meal
Heads, feet, feathers, bones, blood, intestines, lungs, ligaments

7. Ethoxyquin
Used in the production of rubber and banned for use in human food.

8. Cellulose
Just another name for sawdust.

9. Egg Product
Eggshells are eggs that may have gone rancid or spoiled.

10. Brewers Rice
The broken shells of rice which lack nutrients and have been discarded by other food manufacturing processes. Floor sweepings.

11. Sugar in any form
Unnecessary and adds empty calories.

12. Propylene Glycol
Added as a sweetener. Used in antifreeze solutions, hydraulic fluids, and as a solvent.