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How to Choose Better Puppy & Dog Food - Learn How to READ LABELSJan 03 '12 (Updated Feb 01 '12) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Please learn how to read labels when it comes to your pet's nutrition. Their longevity depends on it.
Sadly, most of the companies making pet food and treats have never really had to adhere to any quality code. After all, they're just animals - right? Recently, newer companies have sprung up to offer pets healthier options. Equally as sad is many pet guardians just pick a food that their pet(s) will tolerate, not have a bad reaction to or costs the least. This is simply an uneducated approach to animal nutrition. My goal in writing on this topic is two-fold. To educate the general public about pet nutrition and to make consumers become readers of labels - like they would when buying food for themselves and their families. When looking at an ingredient list, the main rule of thumb is "less is more." The fewer the ingredients - the better off your pet will be consuming it. Sadly, in most cases, less-expensive foods and treats are packed with poor ingredient choices. BUT places like Costco sells many higher-quality lower-cost options that are simply re-packaged high-end nutrition at about half the cost of the high-end pet foods they replace. If you don't believe me about what constitutes good pet nutrition, please search the internet and learn about the ingredients used in the pet food industry. Dogs should live longer than 3-8 years. My beloved Husky/Shepherd mix lived until she was SIXTEEN because I'm a label reader. It all boils down to whether (or not) you consider your pets as part of the family or just mere living furry property. INGREDIENTS TO STAY AWAY FROM: If your pet food includes ANY of the following, move on to the next option. If a label includes many of the following - run away and never consider it. BEEF BY-PRODUCTS, CHICKEN BY-PRODUCTS - ANY BY-PRODUCTS: - Do you really know what the use of "By-Products" means? Truth be told, throughout time animals have eaten other animals, BUT in this case, when animals die they're often sold to pet food manufacturers. All of those dead animals are then chopped up into bits and then used as "filler meat substances" that's then eaten by your animals. That includes things like beaks, hooves, paws, etc. Problem is that if those dead animals happen to be diseased, those diseases are then passed onto your animals in some form or another. BHA or BHT: These toxic preservatives are a no-no for animals. Conversely Tocopherols used as preservatives are a much better option. Corn: Simply put, ANY corn or corn products are bad for pets. Dogs CAN NOT process or digest corn and (more often than not) leads to skin allergies and major scratching. Salt: Pets don't need salt and like humans, too much salt will lead to hyper-tension (high blood pressure). Taurine: This ingredient is up for debate - whether it's caustic or beneficial. There have been studies that suggest the amino acid Taurine is good for cardio-vascular systems yet other studies suggest Taurine is caustic to pets and humans. Ethoxyquin: has been proven to be the most lethal CARCINOGENIC and TOXIC preservative. Brewer's Rice and Brewer's Yeast: Both cause damage to a dog's liver. Dried Beet Pulp: A sugar alternative and another source of weight gain and Diabetes in dogs. Potassium Chloride: Yes, that potassium chloride - the stuff used in lethal injections. It's in human food as well. Trouble is that we don't know if pets or humans excrete the stuff or if it's stored in our system until the point where it becomes dangerous. Why use it at all? Food Dyes or Coloring: Many pets are color-blind - all dogs are color blind. Why color their food? Besides dyes are bad for dogs. And look at the fat content. Puppies need more fat while adult dogs should be limited to fat content - especially those animals who don't get out much or older dogs. If your pets won't eat dry food - dry, try mixing in some warm water. If that doesn't work, try mixing in canned dog food, beef broth, or chicken broth. The broth acts like a "gravy" in a sense that it wakes up the flavor of the food. When buying canned dog food keep an eye on the "moisture" content because you're paying for water in that case. And for those who like to feed table scraps to their animals, be aware that some "human" foods are TOXIC to dogs. Just a couple raisins will cause renal failure (kidneys to shut down), a bit of chocolate and many other things will actually harm or kill a dog. FOOD STORAGE: I suggest keeping all food and treats in air-tight containers to keep freshness in and rodents out. The one I like is the Gamma Vittles Vault. Puppy or Dog? Depending on the breed (especially if it's a large breed) you can gradually switch over to adult dog food after 8 months. In many cases, you don't have to wait a year or more especially if the food is catagorized as "all life stages." FEEDING: Especially when feeding larger dogs, buy or build them a raised feeding platform so that they won't strain their necks or backs while eating. I built our German Shepherds a platform by simply cutting three holes in a piece of plywood that their bowls nest in. Dental Care: Like humans, animals need to brush their teeth. And since they don't have posable thumbs, we have to brush their teeth for them. If you refuse to brush them, try using a product like Plaque Attack. WHAT ARE BENEFICIAL INGREDIENTS? If the first four or five ingredients include real beef, real chicken, real lamb, real salmon, oatmeal, potatoes, beef or chicken broth, rice, vitamins, condroitin, glucosamine, vegetables or other natural ingredients, you're probably on the right track. Remember, the fewer items on the ingredient list the better the food probably is. If the ingredients are "poultry meal", "lamb meal" or any of the "meals" they're okay if they're not really by-products. Enjoy your pets and treat them like your children – not a burden. Cherish them and show them affection each and every day. You never know when their time on Earth is up. Here's a list of the FOOD and TREATS for DOGS that I recommend All Day Long: DOG FOOD: Kirkland Signature Super Premium Chicken & Rice Dog Food Kirkland Signature Super Premium Lamb & Rice Dog Food Kirkland Signature Super Premium Healthy Weight Dog Food Kirkland Signature Super Premium Mature Dog Food Kirkland Signature Super Premium Canned Dog Food Natural Balance Taste of the Wild Nature's Domain Salmon & Sweet Potato Blue Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice Gentle Giants DOG TREATS: VitaLife Duck & Sweet Potato Twists Wet Noses Dog Treats Waggin' Trail Chicken Jerky Treats Natural Balance Food Roll - Beef Kirkland (Costco) Super Premium Dog Biscuits Old Mother Hubbard P-Nuttier Peanut Butter Treats Milo's Kitchen Chicken Meatball Dog Treats Milo's Kitchen Beef Slices with Rice Nutro Natural Choice Chops  |
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