Although animal fats are a crucial part of every dog food, they’re also subject to spoilage — becoming rancid not too long after manufacture.

The best course is to avoid preservatives if you can. Fresh frozen dog food with 100% organic human grade ingredients don’t need preservatives to provide nutrition to your pooch. When served within the guidelines the nutrients maintain virtually all of their punch and will help to keep your dog healthy.

Non-frozen food must extend the shelf life by adding preservatives which come in two flavors, natural and artificial.

Natural preservatives are typically made from vitamins C or E. You’ll usually find them on a dog food ingredients list using some form of the words “tocopherol” or “ascorbate” and could be described as “chicken fat preserved with alpha-tocopherol.”

Artificial preservatives are another story. Used long term, they can add a notable risk of toxicity to any dog food. For example, ethoxyquin is one artificial preservative to watch for on a label. That’s because ethoxyquin is not only used as a preservative but also as a pesticide — and as a hardening agent for making synthetic rubber. Ethoxyquin has been under investigation by the FDA as a possible cause for certain liver and blood problems.In addition, the preservative is not permitted for use in Australian dog foods nor is it approve within in the European Union.

Yet to this day, ethoxyquin is still commonly found in many popular brands of dog food.

Here are two more chemical bad guys to watch out for…Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and

Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). The World Health Organization has named both BHT and BHA as suspicious cancer-causing compounds. Plus the State of California has now identified BHA as a possible carcinogen. Considering these troubling issues, you’d think these two dubious preservatives would be shunned by the pet food industry. Unfortunately, both BHA and BHT can still be found in a number of commercial dog foods.

Dogs are a captive audience. They have no choice but to eat what we put in front of them. The same food, consumed day after day. Week after week. Year after year. For a lifetime. It’s that cumulative exposure of any artificial preservative that can cause life-threatening disease for your precious pup.

So opt for clean, natural food. 100% organic human grade dog food gives your dog a better chance at a long, happy, healthy life. Check out Wag Tantrum today…your dog will thank you for it.