What We Know About Plastic and Dogs
From chew toys and kibble to beds, treats, food bowls, and even the dust on your floor, plastic is part of nearly every dog's daily life.
Plastics can contain a wide range of toxic chemicals that are linked to reproductive, developmental, neurological, and cancer-related effects.1 These chemicals can migrate or leach out of plastic products over time. Plastic can also shed tiny particles of plastics known as microplastics, that carry these chemicals and create another potential route of exposure.
Scientists are already finding evidence of plastic exposure in dogs. In a study of pet feces (cats and dogs) collected in Albany, NY, microplastics were found in every sample.2 It’s good that some of this plastic is being excreted, but likely not all of it is. In another study of canine testicles, every dog was found to have microplastics and the amount correlated with signs of reduced fertility.3
Our dogs are living in the same plastic-polluted world we are, and they may be exposed every day through the things they chew, eat, lick, and encounter in their environment.
Our Dogs May Be Exposed Through:
Chew Toys
Dog toys are often made of plastic or silicone and are designed to be chewed, licked, and are often ingested. Because plastic can easily release chemicals, this can be a major source of exposure to toxics for dogs.
A 2013 study tested plastic dog toys and training devices and found that some products released the endocrine disrupting chemicals, phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) — chemicals known to disrupt the hormone system — into simulated canine saliva.4
In pets, endocrine disrupting chemicals have been associated with thyroid dysfunction, reproductive disorders, metabolic diseases like pet obesity and diabetes, and various types of cancer. Young animals are especially vulnerable to these chemicals as it can cause developmental abnormalities.5,6
Food and Food Packaging
Just like humans, dogs are exposed to plastic through their food. A 2026 study examining pet foods sold in the United Kingdom found microplastics in 84% of the brands tested.7
Microplastic and chemical contamination can enter food through contaminated ingredients, food processing equipment, and from plastic packaging used to contain the food. In another study in Spain, microplastics were present in all dry dog food tested and the researchers identified packaging and machinery as the primary source of contamination.
Dust and Household Products
Dogs spend much of their lives indoors and close to the floor, where microplastics and chemicals tend to accumulate in dust. Household products and pet furniture like foam bedding can release microplastics and chemicals.
Dogs also explore the world with their mouths, investigating with licking, sniffing, and chewing. This is very similar to young children, and research has shown that this type of behavior increases exposure to microplastics and related chemicals.8,9
The Outdoor Environment
As outdoor plastic breaks up, they generate smaller and smaller microplastics that persist in the environment. As a result, dogs encounter microplastics and related chemicals in the same parks, streets, yards, and water that we share. Because of how dogs interact with the outdoors — through sniffing, licking, and chewing — they experience even more direct contact than we do.
Our Dogs May Take On A Higher Toxic Burden
Our pets are considered involuntary sentinels of environmental exposure because they share our common living environment and many of the same exposures. However, with their compressed lifespans, dogs can also develop health problems from exposures more rapidly and have been known to act as early indicators of contamination.10
In a 2008 biomonitoring study, researchers at the Environmental Working Group found that pets were polluted with higher levels of many toxic chemicals than have been found in people. Urine and blood samples of dogs revealed dozens of plastic-associated chemicals, including flame retardants, heavy metals, and PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances).11
Pets have been used to understand the role of environmental exposure in several cancers, hyperthyroidism, fertility problems, and cardiac and metabolic diseases.10
How Can We Better Protect Our Dogs?
Pet owners can try to make safer choices, but individual choices can only go so far when plastic and toxic chemicals are woven into nearly every part of our homes and environment.
Although dogs and children share many of the same vulnerabilities to plastic and toxics, they do not share the same protection. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Food and Drug Administration have specific regulations for chemicals in baby food, toys, and products like baby bottles. Pet food and toys, on the other hand, only have very general, lax regulation as consumer products by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.4
Protecting our dogs means reducing plastic and removing harmful chemicals from the beginning, before they end up in our homes, our environment, and our pets. Given that pet owners are spending over $100 billion per year on pet food and supplies,12 it is time for governmental agencies to ensure the safety of these products in a systemic way.
References
1. Wagner, M. et al. State of the Science on Plastic Chemicals - Identifying and Addressing Chemicals and Polymers of Concern. https://zenodo.org/records/10701706 (2024).
11. Polluted Pets High Levels of Toxic Industrial Chemicals Contaminate Cats and Dogs. https://www.ewg.org/research/polluted-pets (2008).
12. Unlock Pet Industry Insights: Market Trends & Statistics. https://americanpetproducts.org/industry-trends-and-stats.
