#1 Chemical preservatives.
Highly processed food made in bulk needs added preservatives to stop it from quickly spoiling. There are two ways to do this: man-made vs natural. Adding in man-made synthetic preservatives is the method that many brands use because it is the most cost effective for them.
While some of these preservatives are linked to serious health issues including cancers, the most common side effects for dogs is allergies. These typically manifest as breathing issues or skin issues.
The list of preservatives to avoid include, but are not limited to: butylated hydroxyl anisol, butylated hydroxyltoluene, ethoxyquin, and sodium bisulfite.
#2 Coloring dyes.
The sole reason that these are added to dog food is to please pet owners. Colorful food is often equated with tasty and/or healthy food; though this is certainly not always the case. Some artificial dyes are used in human food products as well and it’s just shocking how dangerous these can be.
Red #3 was found to be a carcinogen via animal testing. There is strong evidence, but not yet proof, that Blue # 1 and #2, Green #3, Red #40, and Yellow #6 cause cancer in animals.
In addition, all of these artificial coloring dyes are linked to allergies. Signs include runny eyes, itchiness, rash, breathing issues, and more.
And, these dyes are linked to hyperactivity, irritability and aggressiveness in children; it is uncertain but suspected that this applies to animals as well.
#3 Questionable ingredients.
The guideline for what passes as ‘human-grade’ food per the USDA sets the bar low. It simply must be ‘edible’. However, lots of commercial kibbles and canned food do not even rise above that.
By-products are found in lots of dog foods and are animal parts deemed unfit for human consumption. This includes beaks, spinal tissue, spleens, tails, undeveloped eggs, lungs, and more.
Many brands contain 4-D meat which stands for dead, dying, diseased and disabled animals.
Generic meats and oils which are labeled as ‘meat’ or ‘animal’ followed by ‘fats’, ‘meal’, etc. can consist of any animal whatsoever. Independent meat processing plants essentially consider nothing off-limits. They process road kill, euthanized animals, dead zoo animals, expired meat from butcher shops and supermarkets, and more.
#4 High levels of wheat gluten.
When Maltipoos or other dogs are sensitive or allergic to gluten, this typically does not involve all grains but rather is usually a reaction to wheat or wheat-by products. Other grains that contain some level of gluten such as barley and gluten-free grains such as brown or white rice or oatmeal is usually well-tolerated. The problem is that wheat is one of the cheapest types of grains and is used quite a bit in many dog foods.
#5 Fillers.
Fillers can be responsible for a Maltipoo eating feces (coprophagia) or grass, and are linked to malnutrition. These are very cheap ingredients that are added to food to plump it up though they offer very little to no nutritional value.
One of the most common is corn. And, this is not the corn that you may eat off the cob at family barbecues. It is low-grade ‘feed corn’ that is often reserved for animals like cattle. This also includes by-products of corn like corn meal. Other fillers include hulls and husks (oat, peanut, etc.) and cheap cereal by-products.