Chicken Soup For The SoulSoft & Chewy Dog Treats - Duck Savory Sticks

A poultry protein, fattier and richer in iron than chicken. As with other fresh meats, the wet weight pushes it up the list; duck meal is the dried form. Duck is a different family of bird from chicken and turkey, which is why it is used as a novel protein, though pets that react to chicken sometimes react to duck as well.

The most common protein in pet food, and for dogs one of the most common food allergens, with beef and dairy. If chicken is what your pet reacts to, it hides everywhere: chicken fat, chicken broth, chicken meal, natural flavor. On a label, chicken listed first is weighed with its water still in, so a food leading with fresh chicken often has less chicken protein than one leading with chicken meal. Neither is better; they are different measures.

A cereal grain used as a slow-digesting carbohydrate. It is high in soluble fiber, especially beta-glucan, and has a lower glycemic effect than rice, which is why it turns up in weight-control and diabetic foods. Pearled barley has had the hull removed, which lowers the fiber somewhat. Barley grass is a different ingredient, a young green shoot used as a vegetable.

A whole grain used as a carbohydrate and fiber source. Oats are well digested, higher in protein than rice, and contain beta-glucan, a soluble fiber linked to steadier blood sugar. They are a common choice in sensitive-stomach and weight-control foods. Oat fiber is the hull, which is mostly insoluble fiber; oat flour and oatmeal are the whole grain milled. Grain allergy is rare in pets.

The familiar white potato, used as a carbohydrate source in many grain-free foods. Potato starch binds kibble; potato protein is a concentrated plant protein that lifts the protein figure on the bag. Cooked potato is safe and well digested. Grain-free foods built on potatoes and legumes were part of the FDA's 2018 to 2022 look at diet-associated heart disease in dogs, which did not establish a cause; the agency has not asked for any to be withdrawn.

Almost always rosemary extract, used as a natural antioxidant to keep fats fresh, usually alongside mixed tocopherols. The amounts are tiny. A persistent internet claim links rosemary to seizures in dogs; there is no published evidence for it at food levels. If your dog has epilepsy, ask your neurologist rather than avoiding foods on this basis alone.