# DNM: 3 Ingredients Never to Feed (Yet Many of Us Unknowingly Do)



## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

3 Ingredients Never to Feed (Yet Many of Us Unknowingly Do) - Dogs Naturally Magazine

Since the day you brought your dog home, you’ve done everything possible to do the best for him. You give all the vaccinations your vet recommends. You put your dog on something for fleas. And you feed the kibble suggested by the helpful pet store attendant.

You’ve done your best, but now your dog’s sick – and you don’t know why.

Learn more about the dangers of vaccinations here: Vaccination Safety - Dogs Naturally Magazine

Learn more about the dangers of conventional flea and tick preventatives here: Your Dog And Toxic Flea And Tick Prevention - Dogs Naturally Magazine

The more research you do, the more you’ll realize it has everything to do with the vaccines, chemicals and toxins in the foods we’ve given to our pets thinking we’re helping them – when, in fact, we’re hurting them. It’s the same kind of thing we do to ourselves, but with much less regulation in the pet world, our beloved dogs and cats get it a lot worse.

The list is long of all the possible ingredients that can go wrong in commercial pet foods. But let’s not overwhelm ourselves and start with three biggies: BHA/BHT, ethoxyquin and propylene glycol. Though fortunately, the better brands make it a point not to add these, they may not appear on the label if a supplier in the food processing chain decided it was a good idea to add one or more of these. If you have any doubt, do your homework on what you’re feeding and switch brands if necessary – or better yet, prepare the food yourself.

BHA/BHT

Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) are related preservatives. BHA is listed as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen” in a Report on Carcinogens by the United States National Toxicology Program. Though BHT fares better on the cancer front, the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database lists it as a moderate concern as a skin, eye and lung irritant and for organ system toxicity.

Ethoxyquin

Another preservative, it’s often associated with foods containing fish meals (it’s difficult to find a wet cat food with seafood that doesn’t contain it) and has been anecdotally linked to everything from allergies to liver cancer. Unfortunately the US Food and Drug Administration has deemed that ethoxyquin “may be safely used in animal feeds” under certain guidelines, including a maximum amount used in each product. The problem is – as many of us pet parents have been instructed to do by our nutritionally untrained vets – many of us end up feeding our pets the same thing day in and out. So, let’s give ethoxyquin the benefit of the doubt for a second, and suppose it’s only mildly harmful. How much can your pet’s body take of consuming something that is mildly harmful for every day of his life?

Propylene Glycol

A dog food additive used to help keep food moist and as a solvent, propylene glycol is a relative of ethylene glycol – yes, that’s antifreeze. Though it’s allowed in dog food, it is not allowed in cat food because it can cause Heinz body anemia. The major threat of this ingredient for humans (it’s surprisingly common in human food) seems to be in the form of skin irritations. But really, who would knowingly want to feed this to her dog?


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## BasketMichele (Sep 9, 2014)

Thanks for some great information. Really makes you think.


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## zellko (Jul 3, 2013)

This is so scary for me. Though I'm picky about feeding quality foods, Mickey lived on (yes, it was his main food source) Pupperoni for the first 3 years of his life before we got him. I worry that it may have caused problems that will not become evident until some time in the future.


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## Kalisee (Jun 1, 2012)

Thank you for this!! Very interesting information!


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

Also be careful of treats! I see so many people who would never feed kibble with those things in it but are then out buying treats that are full of preservatives. I knew a woman whose dog ate only ziwipeak canned and dry, but she couldn't figure out why her allergies and stomach were acting up again suddenly. Then I saw her giving iams treats with corn and chicken in them (among other things) and one of those totally artificall long lasting chew things that stick in the top of special balls. When I pointed it out she said that it couldn't be causing problems because those things were only treats! With so many healthier options as far as treats these days it seems crazy to feed something with bht and other crazyness in it.



zellko said:


> This is so scary for me. Though I'm picky about feeding quality foods, Mickey lived on (yes, it was his main food source) Pupperoni for the first 3 years of his life before we got him. I worry that it may have caused problems that will not become evident until some time in the future.


I worry for a similar reason for Nova, except she lived off cockroaches and trash! I'm not sure what is better honestly, i might say the cockroaches would be better than pupperoni except they were junkyard cockroaches so prolly full of industrial chemicals. 

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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

I fed my cats and hounds icky food before I learned about pet foods. Sadie lived to 17 (6+ years on healthy food). I think by changing and making better decisions it helped expand her life. The body removes the toxins and health improves.


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