The Essentials of Good Dog Food
Some people feel like they are saving money by buying the cheapest dog food on the market.
The truth is, the better food you feed your dog, the less visits you will have to make to the vet (and you know how those visits can easily add up).
Eating dog food that contains bad ingredients can make your dog unhealthy, shorten their life span, make their skin and coat look dull, and have your dog looking older than he really is.
So do your best to only feed your dog good dog food! The very first thing you want to do is READ the ingredients on the bag, look at what kind of meat is in the bag.
The meat is going to determine how your dog receives his protein.
You may want the meat to be either lamb, chicken, turkey, or fish.
Keep in mind that the first ingredient listed is the main ingredient.
What you don't want to find is a turkey, chicken or fish by-product.
The by-product of chicken can include almost any part that is not used, like the neck, feet, intestines, etc.
Now you want to take a look at the grains in the food.
What you ideally want to see is rice or oatmeal as the grain ingredient.
Rice and oatmeal are easy for dogs to digest.
If your dog's food has corn, you may want to switch it up.
Corn is used as cheap filler and some dogs have problems with it.
Dogs that are allergic to corn will start itching, scooting their butts, or getting ear infections (again, more trips to the vet).
These are all signs that the dog isn't able to tolerate the corn in the food.
Corn is an ingredient that you want to weed out when searching for good dog food.
If you know your dog has a problem with wheat (or any other grain) you may want to check out some grain free dog foods as an option.
Wheat can irritate your dog worse than corn, so be careful if your dog is known to have a problem with wheat.
Preservatives The last thing we want to explore is the preservatives.
If the food contains bha, bht, propyl gallate or ethoxiquin (which is alleged to be linked to liver damage in dogs) you want to avoid buying it for your dog.
The best preservatives you can find in good dog food is vitamin e (like mixed Tocopherols).
Vitamin e allows the food to be preserved as natural as possible.
The truth is, the better food you feed your dog, the less visits you will have to make to the vet (and you know how those visits can easily add up).
Eating dog food that contains bad ingredients can make your dog unhealthy, shorten their life span, make their skin and coat look dull, and have your dog looking older than he really is.
So do your best to only feed your dog good dog food! The very first thing you want to do is READ the ingredients on the bag, look at what kind of meat is in the bag.
The meat is going to determine how your dog receives his protein.
You may want the meat to be either lamb, chicken, turkey, or fish.
Keep in mind that the first ingredient listed is the main ingredient.
What you don't want to find is a turkey, chicken or fish by-product.
The by-product of chicken can include almost any part that is not used, like the neck, feet, intestines, etc.
Now you want to take a look at the grains in the food.
What you ideally want to see is rice or oatmeal as the grain ingredient.
Rice and oatmeal are easy for dogs to digest.
If your dog's food has corn, you may want to switch it up.
Corn is used as cheap filler and some dogs have problems with it.
Dogs that are allergic to corn will start itching, scooting their butts, or getting ear infections (again, more trips to the vet).
These are all signs that the dog isn't able to tolerate the corn in the food.
Corn is an ingredient that you want to weed out when searching for good dog food.
If you know your dog has a problem with wheat (or any other grain) you may want to check out some grain free dog foods as an option.
Wheat can irritate your dog worse than corn, so be careful if your dog is known to have a problem with wheat.
Preservatives The last thing we want to explore is the preservatives.
If the food contains bha, bht, propyl gallate or ethoxiquin (which is alleged to be linked to liver damage in dogs) you want to avoid buying it for your dog.
The best preservatives you can find in good dog food is vitamin e (like mixed Tocopherols).
Vitamin e allows the food to be preserved as natural as possible.
