The Dirty Dozen: 12 Vegetables and Fruits to Avoid for Dogs

If you're on the fence about buying organic vegetables and fruits for you or your dog, you have to read this post.

Simply, The Dirty Dozen is a list that helps you determine which foods to buy organic to minimise the consumption of unwanted toxins that come with commercial sourcing.

This list outlines 12 fruits and vegetables containing the most pesticide residue. And how can we say that?

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) provides research-based information about these toxins in our food supply and environment so that we can make healthier choices about how we live.

While fruits and vegetables are good for dogs, commercial farming practices and the excess use of chemicals leave the harvest with a lot of pesticide residue in vegetables and fruits.

And pesticides have been linked to cancer, hormone disruption, and abnormal brain and nervous system development, among other health problems.

For us humans and pet parents preparing homemade meals, this information is crucial and should be checked annually so that you can make healthy and informed decisions.

The Dirty Dozen list: your organic priority list

1. Strawberries - Looking at pesticide residue in fruits, strawberries contain high amounts and are known to cause allergic reactions. So avoid feeding non-organic strawberries if possible.
2. Spinach
3. Nectarines
4. Apples – Do not feed the core.
5. Peaches
6. Pears
7. Cherries
8. Grapes - NEVER feed your dog grapes.
9. Celery
10. Tomatoes
11. Sweet Capsicum
12. Potatoes

Please note that this list was intended for human consumption. That said, not all of these ingredients are suitable for dogs as mentioned above.

What other types of products have higher amounts of pesticides?

Considering EWG's data about the pesticide residue in fruits and vegetables, their entire list, The Dirty Dozen PLUS, contains 51 fruits and vegetables to avoid for humans. Of course for our dogs too!

So we'll add two more here for their respective data...

Potatoes

In a study from 2014, the EWG found that the average potato contained more pesticides by weight than any other food.

This is very important, as many people who prepare homemade diets for their dogs use potatoes. Also, they are commonly substituted for grains in grain-free commercial dog foods.

So if you are using potatoes, we strongly advise using organic potatoes in your home-prepared diet. Or consider purchasing products listing organic potatoes if you feed your pup a commercial dog food diet.

Spinach

Here's what a senior analyst of the Environmental Working Group and the lead author of EWG Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce, Sonya Lunder has written...

"We did detect a big change in spinach in the past year's samples. In the most recent years' testing for spinach, the USDA found significantly more pesticides by weight than prior years."

She further adds, "In fact, spinach has double or more the pesticide residues of other crops. We noticed relatively high concentrations of some new fungicides, as well as insecticide permethrin on spinach samples. In 2016, spinach was ranked number eight. Spinach jumped from number eight to number two on the list."

On a budget?

If you want to skip the bad fruits and vegetables for your dogs, but are price-conscious and buying organic produce isn’t realistic, try washing your regular produce in a large bowl filled with four parts water to one part plain white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.

Make sure you rinse well afterwards.

Alternatively, there is also "The Clean 15" list. It highlights the fruits and vegetables with the least amount of pesticides. So to cut costs, you can check both lists and then choose a mixture of conventional and organic produce.

However, please note that all the ingredients mentioned on "The Clean 15" list may not be suitable for dogs. Before feeding them to your pups, please research which foods are appropriate and which aren't.

Want quality as well as convenience?

Furchild combines quality and convenience with our natural, fresh dog food diets. We believe in the philosophy that the quality of daily diet is the most critical component to health and longevity.

For this reason, we ONLY use organic vegetables and high-quality meats in our balanced meals for dogs.

Make the switch today for healthier, happier dogs tomorrow.