The Guide to Dog Food
By theguideto
There are hundreds of commercially made dog food on the market today and that makes it difficult to tell which brand is better than the rest and why. In the first place, you can’t judge which dog foods are good based on advertising; many companies spend millions on advertising for inferior food. And unless you really love your dog that much, testing the food for yourself is out of the question. The best indicator of quality is price. More often than not, low quality dog foods are the cheapest available on the market.
Good Ingredients
Before you can make an informed decision about what dog food to buy, you need to know what ingredients are superior to others. Quality dog foods’ first four ingredients should include protein and meat, and not grains. Other quality ingredients you should look out for are turkey meal, fish meal, chicken meal, lamb meal, potatoes, rice, sunflower oil, and other human-grade ingredients. Make sure the label places “chicken meal” as the main ingredient, not “chicken” . Chicken meal is the cooked version of the protein, whereas chicken counts the entire chicken – including the beak, feet, and feathers. Other good ingredients in dog food are vitamins and fatty acids like Omega 3 and 6. These are essential for a healthy coat and skin. Finally, make sure that the dog food does not have preservatives.
Bad Ingredients
Ingredient’s that you DON’T want in your dog food are inferior proteins like soy, corn, wheat, sugar, and chicken by-products. These are difficult to digest and may give your dog serious health problems if it is consumed for a long time.
Nutrition, Your Dog, and Your Vet
It would also be helpful if you follow your veterinarian’s advice on what good to get. Dogs of different ages, especially old age, need a prescription diet. They might be more expensive than the average dog food but these diets contain the right nutrients dogs in that age category need.
Proper nutrition is key to your dog’s good health and longevity. By being informed of which ingredients are top quality and which ones to avoid, buying your dog’s food won’t be the confusing and harrowing task it used to be. If you’ve got any more questions, ask your vet’s staff for recommendations and advice.
| « Raw Dog Food |
on March 11th, 2010 at 4:30 am
I have 2 bichon/yorkie crosses, 7 1/2 months old and I have been making my own dog food for them, that they seem to like very much. I was concerned about their digestive systems and the amount of feces they were eliminating (so quickly) from the commercial wet dog food I was giving them along with dry kibble, so decided to make my own…so far so good. Their previous diet was Beneful Puppy Chow and Beneful wet dog food.
My recipe that I’m currently using as follows:
I look for sales on cheaper cuts of roast beef and usually buy 2 or 3 if the price is good.
For a 3 lb roast - 325 degrees for approx 1 hour. Put roast on a roasting rack and add approx. 1 cup of water. Do not overcook as overcooking destroys nutrients. I also add approx 1/2 tsp of salt and a little pepper.
While roast is in oven, I cook separately: (all unsalted)
1 cup boiled barley (40 - 45 mins) plus 1/4 cup Becel margarine or any margarine that has omega vitamins added.
1 cup boiled rice (can be brown or white - follow pkg directions for boiling)(I prefer white whole grain rice)
1 cup oatmeal, do not cook (I soften in warm water for 1/2 hour)
3 med. carrots, sliced, microwave until just warmed through and slightly crisp ( do not overcook) put through food processor. Dogs do not digest vegetables well, so should be processed finely before adding to the mixture of barley, rice, oatmeal.
When roast is done, I remove roast and make a “gravy” of the drippings. Do not make it too thick, it should be approx the thickness of a broth. Add barley, rice, oatmeal and carrots to the broth and mix it altogether, then cover and let it sit while you process the roast. I chop the roast up into small chunks and put through my food processor. It can be processed quite finely, or if you have a food chopper, you can make the meat into coarser chunks. I prefer to process mine quite finely as it is easier to mix in with all the other things to get an even consistency. Add the processed roast beef to the mixture and mix well. I have saved the plastic cups the Beneful wet dog food came in (approx 385 grams per cup)and I feed 2 of those a day (1 in the morning and 1 at supper) to my dogs along with a cup of Beneful Puppy Chow per day. My dogs are 10 and 12 pounds in weight.
Their coats are healthy, they run like the wind, eyes are bright and intelligent, so it seems to agree with them, and their feces are a medium soft stool that is easy to pick up. I found that feeding them on the diet I used to use that they were eating grass, their stool was rock hard and they eliminated within minutes after eating. Now they don’t eliminate as rapidly (gives a chance for nutrients to absorb into their system), the stool is a healthy color, and has very little odor. I also supplement this homemade recipe with a nutrient supplement to make sure they are getting all the nutrients they need. It seems to be working well, as I have very well adjusted, happy puppies who seem to enjoy life. For variation on this recipe you can use utility chickens, boiled and processed. Every once in awhile I thow a can of light chunk tuna or pink salmon into the mix - they love it! I usually get 18 - 24 packets of food out of this mix. Cost wise breadown: my cost was approx. $10.00 - $12.00. To buy this amount of puppy food retail costs approx. $36 - $48.
I hope you find this recipe as useful as I did.
on March 15th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
my american eskimo is three mths old, shes on puppy chow (recomended by breeder for the fat content) when should i get her off this food to a better quality food.thanks for your time.
on March 15th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
waiting for reply?