It seems every week the FDA’s list of dog treats that are under investigation in connection with making dogs sick gets longer and longer.  How do you know which brands to trust?  About a year ago the local dog and cat health food store that I shop at, Dexter’s Deli, stopped carrying any treats that are made in China.  I think this is a great first step since most of the food and treats that have been recalled were sourced from China but I still prefer to do my own research when it comes to the health and well-being of my pets.  I start by carefully reading the information provided on the manufacturer’s website and then personally contacting them with any questions I may still have that were not answered on the site or just to have them verify any concerns.  Remember, just because a product is labeled “Made in the USA” does not mean all of the ingredients used in that product come from the US.  Usually I just ask them up front if any of their ingredients are sourced from China.  Some companies, such as Dogswell that makes Vitality treats, admit that their chicken breasts are from China because it’s a much cheaper source.  For me  saving a few dollars on a bag of treats is not worth putting Chile’s health in danger so I don’t buy their products.  I have also contacted Cloud Star who assured me that all of their ingredients are sourced from and farmed here in the United States.  Zuke’s  is another company whose treats I have been a fan of because they use good ingredients and their mini naturals  are perfect to put in Chile’s Kong toy when we leave her alone.  I recently emailed them about where their ingredients come from and their response (listed below) was impressively thorough:

Thank you for writing us here at Zuke’s! All of our products are made in
the United States, with all of our meat, fruits and veggies not only
being ‘Human Grade’ (things you would find in your farmer’s market!),
but also sourced from the USA (with the exception of the Wild Rabbit and
Venison, which comes from New Zealand). Even our glycerin is sourced
from domestically produced palm oil. There are a very small number of
ingredients, such as the phosphoric acid, chondroitin, sorbic acid and
glucosamine that we have to source from China. We unfortunately have our
hands tied on this one as they are not available in the USA without
almost doubling the cost of our treats, and some of those ingredients
are only available from China. We are constantly looking for ways to
source everything from the USA and have not given up in our quest!!  We
do have certificates of origin for our ingredients, and we also perform
tests on our final products to ensure they are safe. All of our
ingredients are also Human Grade, as we would NEVER feed our own pets
anything we wouldn’t eat ourselves!!

From what I’ve seen only a few of their treats (clearly labeled) contain chondroitin and glucosamine, and as far as the other ingredients that they do source from China I think the amounts are very minute.  I would have a much bigger issue with them if the protein was sourced from China.  We continue to give Chile Zuke’s treats but we are very conservative with them so her daily intake of treats is quite minimal.  She usually gets about two of the small training bites in her Kong when she goes into her dog run in the morning.  If she gets any treats at night they are most likely carrot pieces from our salads or homemade sweet potato jerky (I will post a recipe later).  Chile really enjoys treats made by Salmon Paws and I like them because their products are 100% Wild Caught Alaskan Salmon.  If you are feeding Salmon Paws be careful to put any opened packages in the refrigerator immediately as these will get moldy very quickly.  I’m sure there are many other manufacturer’s that are just as responsible when it comes to sourcing their ingredients, the ones listed here are just a few that I have personally researched and trust.

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