10/15/2026
Every time I'm at Walmart or Target, or even some big box pet supply stores, I see some really cute Halloween treats that EVEN I'M tempted to buy! I'm a sucker for adorable dog things.
If I'm being honest, I have no love for Milkbones but I dig this bucket of fun shapes and cool treat colors! Then I read the label. Let me break down some of these ingredients for you:
🤧 Did you see the list of 5 artificial colors at the very bottom, including Red 40 and Yellow 5? NO! Come on, we all know these aren't even good for us let alone our dogs.
🤢 Meat Meal: this is a dry, brown powder derived from animal parts that aren't fit for human consumption. It's supposed to be protein rich, which is why it's an additive in dog foods. It goes through a rendering process (aka: cooking raw foods at high temps....helloooo carcinogens) to remove moisture and separate the melted fats from the proteins and bone solids. The other reason it's added to dog foods is to prevent spoilage by reducing moisture in the other protein sources of the food. No thank you. Not for my dog.
😣Bone Meal: it is what you probably think it is -- ground up bones. This isn't a bad thing. It provides calcium and phosphorous and is high in nutrients and protein. My issue is that I don't trust commercial dog food companies. I don't trust how or where they're sourcing their ingredients. So from my perspective, bone meal isn't a bad thing if you trust the source. There are some other issues stemming from bone meal, although not necessarily common. Intestinal obstructions and pancreatitis, to name a couple. Plus, bone meal can come from any animal so it's best to avoid it if your dog is allergic to certain proteins.
😡BHA/BHT: I've talked about these in previous posts. We do our best to avoid foods with BHA/BHT in our house both for us and for Storm.
❤🐾Moral of the story: if you want some cute Halloween 👻 treats for your pup, choose to buy fresh treats from your favorite, local, fully licensed & insured dog treat baker instead!
