Why Single Ingredient
Most dog treats are a recipe. Ours are an ingredient.
Turn over a bag of Cod Wafers and the ingredient line says one word: cod. Not “cod and natural flavors.” Not “cod, vegetable glycerin, salt, mixed tocopherols.” Cod. That is the whole product. The bag says Just One Ingredient because there is genuinely only one.
What “single ingredient” actually rules out
The phrase gets used loosely, so here is what it means on our bags. A single-ingredient treat has no:
- Humectants — glycerin and propylene glycol, added to keep soft treats pliable on the shelf
- Binders and fillers — wheat, corn, soy, pea flour, gelatin, anything that turns a paste into a shape
- Preservatives — BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin, potassium sorbate
- Colours and flavours — including “natural flavor,” which can legally cover a long list
- Added salt or sugar
We can leave all of that out because of how the treats are made. A slice of cod skin or a strip of sweet potato already holds its own shape — it does not need a binder to become a stick, and drying it properly is what makes it shelf stable, so it does not need a preservative either. The shortcuts exist to make a paste behave like a treat. If you start with something that is already a treat, you do not need them.
Why it matters when something goes wrong
The practical argument for single ingredient shows up on the bad weeks, not the good ones. If your dog starts scratching, or their stomach turns, a fifteen-ingredient treat gives you fifteen suspects and no way to narrow them down. A one-ingredient treat gives you one.
This is also why vets reach for single-protein foods when they are working through an elimination diet — the whole method depends on knowing exactly what a dog has eaten. A treat with a hidden ingredient list can undo weeks of careful work without anyone realising. If your dog is on an elimination diet, talk to your vet before adding anything, including ours.
Why it matters on the ordinary weeks too
Treats are not a rounding error. A dog getting a handful of treats a day can be taking a meaningful share of its daily calories from them, and most of that is invisible because nobody weighs a treat. When the treat is one dried ingredient, what you are adding is protein and not much else — no sugar to spike the calorie count, no salt riding along.
It also means you can read the bag in two seconds and be done. That is the entire point.
The catch, honestly
Single ingredient costs more per ounce, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise. Drying whole fish skin removes most of its weight in water, so a 5 oz bag started out several times heavier. A treat built from flour and paste does not lose that weight, which is exactly why it is cheaper. You are paying for the water we took out.
The other honest note: single-ingredient treats look less uniform. Cod skins curl differently. Sweet potato slices vary in thickness. Sardines are whatever size the sardine was. Perfectly identical treats are a sign of extrusion, not of quality.
If your dog disagrees
Dogs are the only reviewers who matter here, which is why every bag carries our empty bag guarantee: if your pet will not finish our treats to the very last bite, we will refund you in full. How the guarantee works.
