We received an interesting question recently. Someone asked us “Why do you need to put colouring in your dog biscuits?” This was in response to the vibrantly coloured Beetroot Peanut Butter and Golden Paste Pumpkin biscuits, which are a deep red and bright yellow respectively.

Well, we didn’t put any colouring in them, we just can’t help the natural colours of the ingredients we use! LOL!

The fact is that many commercial dog biscuits and dog treats that are sold in pet shops do contain edible food colouring. Natural colouring derived from vegetables and fruit isn’t always vibrant and enticing, and while colours don’t matter to our four-legged friends, it matters to the humans buying them.

Natural colouring from fruits & vegetables

We cannot deny that colours are fun, and treats should be fun for both pups and humans! So there are many ways to infuse dog biscuits or treats with colour, naturally, if you’d like to try it yourself. Here are some examples

• Green – spinach, broccoli, spirulina
• Yellow – pumpkin, turmeric
• Red – beetroot, strawberries
• Orange – carrot
• Pink – beetroot, strawberries
• Blue – blue pea flower, blue spirulina
• Purple – purple sweet potato

Dog biscuits can be coloured naturally by using the colourful fruits and vegetables as the ingredients, or in some cases, by using powdered fruits and vegetables. You can make these powders by grinding up dehydrated or freeze-dried fruits and vegetables and using the powders in your dough mixture, or you can buy them.

In our dog biscuits and treats, we do not use vegetable and fruit powders, but use fresh fruits and vegetables itself, for its benefits as a whole. By using the fresh fruit and vegetable as a whole, we include all the goodness of the nutrients, vitamins and fibre, and we benefit from the beautiful natural colours as well. It’s a win-win for us and the pups we bake for!

The next time you see a prettily coloured dog biscuit or treat, ask if the colours are naturally derived or if it contains food colouring, and make an informed decision! A responsible seller will be able to tell you exactly what is in their treat. If they can’t, that’s a red flag!

Shop colourful (but natural) dog biscuits here – because who said dog biscuits have to be just boring bones? :)