The Best Non-Toxic & Healthier Products for Dogs
Today I’m sharing all of my favourite go-to healthier products for dogs! We all want the best for our fur babies, but unfortunately most products on the market aren’t made with your dog’s health in mind. These are items that we use for our dog, plus additional options that I would recommend to any dog owner (be sure it’s appropriate for your dog). I only give my dog the best!
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Disclaimer: I am not a veterinarian and this should not be taken as medical advice. Consult your veterinarian and do your own research to ensure each product is right for your dog.
Organic Treats
As much as possible, I like to buy certified organic treats for my dog. This is just one simple way of reducing your dog’s exposure to pesticides and herbicides without breaking the bank. Organic dog food is hard to find and very expensive, but organic treats are totally doable!
They can sometimes be hard to find in stores, however, so I will often buy them from Amazon:
- My first choice are the ones by Slobbers Organic. I really like that they don’t have any sweetener added to them… it’s best to reduce your dog’s intake of refined carbohydrates or starches as much as possible.
- These Gruffies organic treats are also a good choice overall. However, I would prefer if they didn’t include peanut butter, sunflower oil, or molasses. Cookie Pal organic treats are also very similar!
If you can’t buy organic treats, look for ones with limited ingredients and no additives, such as:
- Freeze-dried beef liver or lamb liver bites or bison
- Healthybud Turkey Gut Booster Soft Chews– these treats have good ingredients, which include some organic ingredients
- Rabbit ears– we haven’t given these treats to our dog before, but they sound very interesting (and a little gross, haha)! They are made out of 100% dehydrated rabbit ears- no other additives.
Mushroom Supplement
Mushrooms can be an amazing way to support your dog’s overall health and immunity. They offer a long list of benefits such as: immune modulation, additional nutrients, mood balancing, brain health, cardiovascular health, etc.
As my dog is now over 10 years old, we’ve started giving her a mushroom supplement every day for many months. Our holistic vet said to continue giving it to her daily! When looking at mushroom supplements, it’s important to find ones that contain the fruiting body of the mushrooms or the whole mushroom, not just the mycelium. The fruiting body contains higher levels of the beneficial beta-glucans than the mycelium, along with lower starch content.
Here are the best options I’ve found:
- Fera Pets Mushroom Supplement for Dogs & Cats with Turkey Tail– This is the one we are using right now. I like that it is certified organic, has no additional ingredients other than the mushrooms, is a blend of 10 mushrooms for a variety of benefits, contains only the fruiting bodies and not the mycelium for optimal benefits, and is NASC certified.
- Pacific Rim Mushrooms Turkey Tail Supplement Powder– This one is also certified organic, and it’s made in Canada! It contains only turkey tail mushrooms, which can be good if you are wanting more focused support with immune modulation at a higher potency (it’s for humans too!).
- If you have a picky dog, this PetNourish Pro mushroom blend has added chicken liver powder and egg yolk powder to make the taste more appealing. It also has been third-party tested, although one downside is that it doesn’t appear to be made with 100% fruiting bodies.
- This Petpal Turkey Tail Powder with Reishi is made with 100% fruiting bodies, although it does have a small amount of sea salt and natural flavour added.
As always, read the product label and directions, and ensure it is a good fit for your dog.
Unscented Poop Bags
I really don’t know why scented poop bags exist. Not only are you exposing yourself (and anyone else who smells them) to harmful synthetic fragrances, but they don’t even cover up the smell of the poop anyway. They just mix with the smell, creating an even worse smell. You will also start to associate the smell of the bag with the smell of poop (if the bags are lavender-scented, you will start to associate the smell of lavender with dog poop… that’s not pleasant).
I highly recommend getting unscented bags to reduce yours and your dog’s chemical exposure!
- These are the unscented ones we buy most frequently.
- Another great choice are these certified compostable & unscented ones from Loopa.
Paw Cleaner
This item is not specifically a “non-toxic product” itself, however, it will help keep your home & dog healthier. I find this paw cleaning tool to be really helpful in cleaning our dog’s paws after walks. While it can be a little tedious to use at times, because I sometimes have to re-fill the container multiple times to clean each paw with fresh water, I do find it’s really helpful having a designated item that is only for cleaning the dog’s paws.
Here’s why it will make your home healthier: dogs are, unfortunately, exposed to a lot more chemicals from walking so close to the ground and with their bare paws. Chemicals like sidewalk salt, lawn fertilizers and herbicides, oil leaks, other dog’s or animals’ poop, etc. These chemical residues are then brought into your home on your dog’s paws.
Your dog will then likely lick their paws too! So, it’s important that they are cleaned properly.
Natural Toys & Chews
Just like with humans, dogs are exposed to an abundance of plastics and the chemicals contained in them- like phthalates, BPA and BPS, heavy metals, microplastics, etc. These are endocrine disruptors and carcinogens. One way to reduce this is to buy toys and chews that are made out of healthier materials.
- We bought our dog this natural rubber treat-dispensing toy, and she absolutely loves it. I feel a lot better about her gnawing on it and licking it.
- There are a variety of options for tug ropes made out of cotton or hemp. This organic cotton rope is a great choice, or look for ones made of 100% hemp like the ones from this Etsy shop.
- This hemp rope from Define Planet is available locally in Canada.
Here are some great natural chews that my dog has also loved:
- Dog wood chew– these are essentially large chunks of wood that don’t splinter and are safe for dogs to chew on! I’m not sure why these aren’t more well-known- our dog absolutely loved it as a puppy! (We were told it is also safe for dogs to swallow in small pieces, which our dog did do, but please do your own research and supervise your dog!)
- Similar to above, these Olive Wood chews are a smaller size in more of a stick shape.
- Yak cheese chews– these are made with 100% yak milk + lime juice- no other ingredients. My dog loves them!
- Bully sticks and beef trachea– Whenever possible, look for ones made from free-range and/or grass-fed beef like these ones from Eldon’s or these from WOOF.
P.S.- Try this anti-choking bully stick safety holder to increase safety when your dog is chewing on bully sticks or yak cheese chews. Another option is this one from Chewise.
Natural Bed
It was important to me that my dog had a comfy spot to rest that wasn’t off-gassing harmful chemicals. Since we are in a condo with very limited options for locations where we can put a large dog bed, I ended up purchasing a custom bed from Etsy. It’s made with linen and hemp, and I was able to choose the colour of the cover and have it made to a custom size. This is the bed I ordered from Hemp Organic Life on Etsy, and I found it to be the most affordable option in Canada for the size I needed.
Here are additional non-toxic options that I considered getting:
- Naturepedic Organic Pet Bed
- Naturelle Organic Latex Bed
- This wool sheepskin rug that is formaldehyde-free, or this sheepskin with an Oeko Tex certification
- If you’re in the U.S.A., the Avocado organic dog bed is a great choice, or this organic latex bed from Bean Products
Natural Dental Products
We all know how important good dental care is for the overall health of our fur babies! Since your dog will be swallowing anything you use to brush their teeth, it’s especially important that you use natural products without any toxins.
Here are natural toothpastes and natural cleaning wipes that get my approval:
- Black Sheep Organics natural dog toothpaste (this is my top pick!)
- Radius Organic Pet Dental Gel
- Isabella’s Clearly Natural Tooth Powder for Dogs
- Cocopup Dog Teeth Cleaning Wipes or Loopa Furresh Breath Dental Finger Wipes– Wiping your dogs teeth can help reduce plaque and tartar build-up.
Another option to try are natural food additives, like kelp, that can help break down tartar and plaque build-up. There are also options for natural dental sticks! These ones have clean ingredients:
- Fera Pets Dental Support Powder– Similar to this, we’ve been giving our dog organic Icelandic kelp from LifeLine. Kelp is supposed to slowly help break down dental plaque and tartar.
- Foothills Naturals Organic Kelp Powder Pet Food Topper
- If you like to give your dog dental chews, these natural dental sticks from Crumps are a great choice for the simple ingredients. Whether or not they actually help clean your dog’s teeth probably depends on your dog and their chewing habits!
Natural Shampoo & Paw Balm
A lot of dogs suffer from itchy skin and allergies. In many cases, this has a lot to do with the poor nutritional content of highly-processed kibble or environmental allergies, but shampoos filled with skin irritants certainly exacerbate the problem! Try these natural options to help prevent skin irritation.
Phenoxyethanol is a very common but controversial preservative in many “natural” products like shampoos, that I believe should be avoided whenever possible. These non-toxic options are free from phenoxyethanol:
- Castile soap is one of my favourite natural multipurpose products. You can totally use it as a dog shampoo- just remember that it’s very concentrated so don’t use too much! You can make a diluted foaming soap with it by following my DIY foaming hand soap guide (use dog-safe essential oils or leave it unscented).
- kin+kind Waterless Dry Shampoo for Dogs (Grapefruit or Lavender)
- Nature’s Aid Dog Shampoo Bar
- kin+kind Sensitive Skin Natural Dog and Cat Shampoo, Unscented
- Black Sheep Organics Snout & Paw Balm
- kin+kind Organic Nose & Paw Moisturizer Stick
Pet-Safe Floor Cleaner
Your dog spends most of their time on your floor! They also likely lick the floor, eat food off the floor, roll their toys and treats on the floor, have direct skin contact with the floor… all of this to say, you don’t want your dog inhaling toxic chemicals from your floor cleaner!
Here are several non-toxic options that are safe for dogs:
- Vinegar + water combination: Diluted vinegar is a budget-friendly and non-toxic pet-safe floor cleaner. If you don’t like the smell of vinegar, adding essential oils to it makes a huge difference on improving the scent! Dog-safe essential oils that are great for a floor cleaner include lavender, lemongrass, and cedarwood (make sure you dilute them properly).
- Aunt Fannie’s Ultra Concentrated Vinegar Floor Cleaner or this one without vinegar
- AspenClean Natural Floor Cleaner Concentrate
- kin+kind Pee & Stain & Odor Destroyer – Multisurface or Hardwood
- Pure Anada (Bless) Supreme Clean Concentrate
Non-Toxic Bowls (stainless steel)
It’s important that the items your dog will use multiple times a day every day, are as healthy as possible! The majority of bowls I see are made out of ceramic, and the probably with these is that the glaze and the paints used on them can sometimes contain lead or other heavy metals like cadmium.
For this reason, I recommend stainless steel bowls over anything else. Glass is also just as a healthy, but I prefer something that won’t break when my dog pushes her bowls around.
- I like these stainless steel bowls because they are 304 grade stainless steel, dishwasher safe, and the silicone bottom will help the bowls stay in place! (Believe it or not, most of the “stainless steel” bowls that I’ve seen in stores say that they are not dishwasher safe… that makes me skeptical of the material and quality.)
- I recommend using ones that state what grade of stainless steel they are, and avoiding any with painted elements on them- this includes a painted logo-as the paint often contains lead.
I hope you enjoyed this post! There are still so many non-toxic swaps that we haven’t yet discussed, like healthier dog food and tick repellent! Stay tuned for more, and let me know if you have any questions!
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