Ah, how ironic. Many animals—primarily beagles, rats, mice, and rabbits—are used for animal testing, purportedly to protect human health, but we humans do not use any of the resulting data to protect our pets from Harm from toxic chemicals in toys, bedding, and other products.

Whether it’s phthalates or lead in dog toys and pet hamster wheels, or formaldehyde in cat beds, there are tons of chemicals lurking in the objects our pets come in contact with every day, not to mention other potential dangers . So, if you’re looking for safe dog toys, cat toys, and other eco-friendly, non-toxic pet products, what should you look for?

See also: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Phthalate Fact Sheet.

In an interesting case of circular thinking, some industry representatives from the American Pet Products Association (APPA) stated in an interview that since there is no clear scientific evidence of problems related to chemicals in dog chew toys, there is no reason to investigate pets Safety limits for such chemicals in toys. Well, yeah, that's not how science is supposed to be. It's like walking to the edge of a cliff blindfolded while claiming there's no danger because you can't see you're about to fall. Open your eyes, industry!

Regardless, there is evidence that exposure to chemicals found in everyday products can cause harm to animals. In fact, dogs (as well as cats and other non-human animals) share the same home environments as us but may be more exposed to some chemicals because they tend to explore their environments with their mouths and spend more time with household items. Textiles come into close contact with dusty or dirty floors.

Recalling Rachel Carson's seminal book Silent Spring, some researchers have also suggested that cats should be considered sentinels for exposure to toxic chemicals in house dust. This dust is far from harmless as it contains phthalates, formaldehyde, heavy metals and other plasticizers, flame retardants and chemicals that disrupt normal physiological processes.

Dogs are mammals just like us humans and suffer from many of the same ailments and health issues we face. For example, mammary adenocarcinoma in humans and dogs is very similar, and both species appear to be at higher risk when exposed to high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) congeners, a type of persistent organic pollutant. risk of this cancer.

POPs include dioxins, dioxin-like and non-dioxin-like PCBs, organochlorine pesticides, brominated flame retardants and perfluoroalkylated substances. All were found in dogs diagnosed with mammary adenocarcinoma.

In humans and dogs, these POPs are primarily stored in the blood and fatty tissue, and they are likely to be transmitted to puppies through the umbilical cord and breast milk, just as human infants are exposed to these chemicals.

Chemicals such as dioxins not only increase the risk of certain cancers but have also been linked to reproductive problems, developmental problems and damage to the immune system. This means puppies and kittens are more likely to get sick even before they are born. For more information, see the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's fact sheet on dioxins.

The higher the POPs accumulate in the food chain. This means that dogs who eat a meat- or fish-only diet may consume more toxic chemicals than dogs who eat a primarily plant-based diet. Likewise, cats on a meat- or fish-based diet may be exposed to these chemicals at higher rates than humans or cats who consume small amounts of animal products.

The way dogs and cats interact with toys can also increase their exposure to toxic chemicals, such as holding the toy in their mouth or chewing the toy for hours at a time. The mechanical pressure of chewing, combined with large amounts of saliva, and some heat from the dog's warm breath and friction can all lead to increased leaching of chemicals from chew toys.

Dogs and cats may also swallow small pieces of toys, and veterinarians often notice the hardness of the formerly rubbery plastic removed from the animal during surgery. The hardness suggests that the plasticizers that make toys more flexible and soft, usually phthalates, have seeped into the animals' bodies.

And because dogs and cats tend to sleep on the floor, in beds, or on blankets made of non-organic cotton or synthetic fabrics, they can be exposed to chemicals this way, too. As for rats, mice, and other smaller animals, because of their tendency to chew everything in sight, they can be exposed to large amounts of toxic chemicals.

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