I have a habit I cannot shake, and it is that I turn every pack over before it goes in the trolley. Dog food, treats, Dental Sticks, all of it. It started as a new dog mum thing, back when I was trying to work out what any of it actually meant, and somewhere along the way it turned into the whole reason Bell & Bone exists.
So this is the quick ingredient test I would love to pass on to you today, because once you start doing it you really will not be able to stop. Read the first ingredient on your dog's dental stick pack. Not the front of the pack, with all its lovely pictures and promises, but the actual first ingredient on the back.
And if you have never thought to look before, please do not blame yourself. Big brands are very good at selling their products, and the front of a pack is designed to show you exactly what they would like you to see. That is the whole reason we have made this test as simple as it is: turn the pack over, and look at what comes first.
Why the First Ingredient Is the One That Counts
Every pet food and treat label in Australia lists its ingredients in the same order, from the one there is the most of right through to the one there is the least of, Pet Food Industry Association of Australia (PFIAA).
Which means that whatever is sitting in position one is not a minor detail at the bottom of a long list. It is the main event. It is the ingredient making up the biggest part of that stick, and the one your dog is eating the most of every single time you hand one over.
You do not need to understand every word on the panel to get something useful out of it. You really just need the first one.
And once you start looking, a pattern shows up pretty quickly. Pick up a few dental sticks in the pet aisle, turn them over, and read along the top of the ingredients list, and you will keep seeing starch in all its forms. Wheat flour, rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, corn starch. Sitting right there at the top, ahead of any meat at all.
The thing about starch in position one is that it is not there to support your pup's teeth, and it is not doing a great deal for the rest of their health either. It is there to bulk out and hold the stick together, so the biggest part of what they are eating is doing very little for them.
You deserve to know what is in it. Then you get to decide 💜
What the Research Says About Starch Heavy Chews
We are not the only ones who have wondered about this. A peer reviewed study looking at the nutrient makeup of dental chews and chewable sticks, published in the Veterinary Record, found a really wide variation in starch and simple sugars from one product to the next, and it called for far more transparency on treat labels so that pet parents can genuinely see what they are buying.
There is also the question of what all that starch is quietly taking the place of. Treats are generally recommended to stay under 10% of your dog's daily calories, World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA), so that they do not crowd out the balanced diet your dog is getting from their meals.
That is a fairly small window when you think about it, and when most of it is going on filler, your dog has spent their whole treat allowance for the day without getting a great deal back in return.
SHOP HEALTHY, NATURAL DENTAL STICKS
How Easy It Is to Choose Meat First
Try this method next time you are standing in the pet aisle, or reach for a pack of any treats that is already sitting in your cupboard.
Why Bell & Bone Is Meat First
This is the exact frustration that led me to make our own Dental Sticks. Dogs thrive on a meat first diet, so I could never quite work out why the dental aisle seemed to treat meat as the optional extra rather than the main ingredient.
✅ 1. Real Meat, First on the List
Every adult Dental Stick we make leads with real meat, and the exact percentage is printed on every pack. Kangaroo, Mint and Turmeric is 30% kangaroo. Salmon, Mint and Charcoal is 30% salmon. Chicken, Mint and Seaweed is 29% chicken. Lamb, Mint and Manuka Honey is 27% lamb. First on the list, every time, never buried down at number four or five. Every ingredient in everything we make is on our ingredients page, in the same order it appears on the pack.
What Else Makes Bell & Bone Different
✅ 2. Grain and Filler Free
There is no wheat, no grain and nothing in there simply bulking the stick out. If you would like the longer version of why that matters so much, it is all in why meat first dental treats are the best choice for your pet's health.
✅ 3. Oral Actives That Keep Working
The three pronged shape helps scrape away plaque and tartar while your dog chews, and the oral health actives keep working on the bacteria that a shape on its own could never reach. Ingredients doing two jobs at once, which is really the whole point of a daily stick.
✅ 4. Low in Fat and Low in Calories
Because of that 10% rule, a daily treat has to earn its place in your dog's day without unbalancing everything else they eat. Ours are made to be given every single day, which means keeping them light was never optional.
And it is not just the adult sticks. The same meat first rule runs right across the range, from Senior Dental Sticks for older dogs through to Puppy Dental Chews from 10 weeks.
It Starts With One Pack 💜
I know a raw, meat-first diet is expensive, and I know it is not something every pet parent can realistically keep up. Something as simple as turning their treat pack over and making small changes to their everyday will support them in more ways than you realise.
Thank you for caring enough to read this far, and for wanting better for your dog. You are the kind of pet parent who reads the back of the pack, and that is exactly who I built Bell & Bone for 🐾
With love and gratitude,
Arianne xx
