My Dog's Indulgence: Expensive Cookies

Would you feed cookies to your dog? What if the cookies were bone-shaped? Absurd? Read the ingredients in a Pedigree Jumbone:

Rice Flour, Glycerin, Sugar, Cellulose Powder, Wheat Flour, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Caseinate, Natural Poultry Flavor, Dried Meat By-product, Potassium Sorbate (a Preservative), Vitamins (Choline Chloride, D-calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Pyridoxine Hydrochloride [Vitamin B6], Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Folic Acid, Dl-alpha Tocopherol Acetate [source of Vitamin E]), Minerals (Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate).

The fact that the treats are mostly flour and sugar is bad enough. But glycerine is an ingredient in soap, cellulose is indigestible by dogs, sodium tripolyphosphate is an ingredient in detergent, and calcium carbonate is an ingredient in cement.

But wait--it's not just junk food for dogs, it's expensive junk food for dogs. On Amazon, these flour/sugar/fake food treats cost--wait for it--$6.19 per pound.

My mother might indulge my dog with these, but that's what grandmothers are for. At home, my dog eats real bones, eggs, meat and vegetables, all with vitamins already in them and all for a lot less than $6 a pound.

Comments

Anonymous said…

It's the same for cats. Most cat food has vegetable protein and starches. A cat is not an omnivore, it's a carnivore – the vegetables a cat would eat is the stomach of its kill. Too much vegetable protein may contribute to kidney stones.

December 07, 2011

Exceptionally Brash said…

I used to make dog biscuits for Christmas gifts, a great way to use leftover meat fat. But, now that I am eating mostly meat and veggies, I don't have much fat left over. @smgj, I have a grass-fed cat.

December 07, 2011

Lori Miller said…

My dog's favorite food is a can of sardines.

December 07, 2011

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