When picking a Christmas treat for Radar

Know what’s in your treats. 

In Canada, there are little to no regulations controlling what is allowed in the products we give our animals.

What little regulation we do have, is governed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and outlined in the Health of Animals Act (S.C. 1990, c. 21) – Health of Animals Regulations (C.R.C., c. 296).(1)  When you find the section about your pets food in part 4 section 53 you will see it’s very short and all about import, nothing to do with anything made in Canada. It is completely up to the consumer to be reading ingredient lists and educating ourselves on those items.

For example, did you know most Rawhide bones are treated with bleach? Follow this link to the Canine Journal to learn more.

When picking your treats and food, read the ingredients list and keep your eye out for these farther down the list; BUTYLATED HYDROXYTOLUENE (BHT)(3) and Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA)(4). Looking at the testing, there are mixed results from these two chemicals. Most recent studies however, are showing both to be carsinogins (5). Ethoxyquin is another one to watch for, though most companies are turning away from preservatives like these and are instead using Tocopherols, collectively known as “vitamin E” (7).  Other items in the list like, salt/sodium, sugar/molasses, artificial colouring/flavouring, might not be harmful to your dog but they are cheap fillers used to balance the dollar to weight ratio of the package. 

Don’t buy based on aesthetics! If it is perfectly white, it was probably bleached. Red dyed food often has Red dye 40. Flashy packaging is often used to distract you from turning it over and reading the fine print.  Your dog and its belly will be much happier if their treats look natural and have a shorter ingredients list. 

Another option is Kong! This chew toy can be used over and over, your imagination is the limit. Each day can be a new, fun, treat-filled adventure for your dogs taste buds. 

Homemade treats take all the guesswork out of what’s going in, head to your local butcher and pick up some liver or heart. Cook until medium-rare for a great treat for your pet!

Cushman Road Park is small but not quite so there are pros and cons. Unfortunately, there is only one garbage can, this means the far end of the park can get a little dirty sometimes. For the kids, it has two sets of jungle gym equipment, a larger and smaller one, and for the dogs, lots of open space to run around! This is a great park for dogs who aren’t ready for the full off-leash, hiking experience because it also has a small hill, which is good to quickly tucker out your pup. Stand at the top, throw the ball down, and your dog has to work twice as hard for the same amount of fun.