Why I Started Reading Ingredient Labels (And You Should Too)

Like a lot of pet owners, I used to grab treats off the shelf without thinking twice. If it said “made with beef” or “for healthy skin,” I figured it had to be good — right?

It wasn’t until I adopted my dog and really started paying attention that I realized how much unnecessary junk goes into popular pet treats. Ingredients I couldn’t pronounce. Artificial colors. Preservatives. Stuff that sounded more like chemistry class than a snack for my best friend.

That’s when I started flipping the bag around — and everything changed.

I learned that:

"Natural flavor" doesn’t mean natural.

Red 40, Yellow 5, and Blue 2 are synthetic dyes — and pets don’t care what color their treats are. 

Some treats have more fillers than actual meat.

You can find sugar in the ingredient list. Yep, sugar.

I wanted something better for my dog. That’s why I created Bellflower Treats — made with simple, real ingredients you can actually read and recognize. Things like chickpeas, peanut butter, duck, blueberries — not sorbitol, BHA, or propylene glycol.

Because our pets can’t read labels — but we can.

So next time you pick up a treat, flip it around. Read it. Ask yourself if you’d eat it. If the answer’s no… your dog probably deserves better, too.