Here are some general recommendations I make for choosing a dog food:
- Try to avoid foods with corn, wheat, soy, BHT, BHA, ethoxyquin, sugar, artificial colors and flavors, calcium propionate (a preservative)
- Try to avoid foods with unnamed meats and meat meals, and fats (like meat by-products, meat and bone meal, animal fat, etc). When the meat is unnamed, it can be anything, including euthanized pets. This is a fact, not hype.
- Try to avoid foods where the primary protein source is by-products or by-product meals. These are not as high quality of protein sources. But don't panic if your pet food has those in them as long as they are named meat sources (chicken by-products, beef by-product meal, etc)
- Named meat meals are a perfectly adequate protein source. Chicken meal, for example, is chicken that has been cooked down and had the water removed. It is a concentrated source of protein. Named meat meals may actually mean there's more protein in the food as the water has already been removed, so it isn't lost during the processing. Water lost during the processing means there's actually somewhat less of the protein in the food.
- Try to find foods with named animal protein sources (like chicken, lamb meal, etc) in the first five ingredients
- Be aware of ingredient splitting. The first five or so ingredients is what the food will be primarily composed of. For example, if the first five ingredients contain ground corn, corn gluten meal, meat by-product meal, corn middlings, animal fat, then you know the food is primarily corn.
- Be aware that some carbohydrates can boost the protein levels and percentage, but these may not be as good for your dog as animal proteins. Some examples include peas, chickpeas, lentils, etc. There's nothing wrong with having these in the dog food. Just consider what's in the first five ingredients.
- Avoid switching foods too often. Switching foods too often can contribute to digestive upset and creating a picky dog. It may be beneficial to switch protein sources or brands a few times a year to obtain a more balanced and complete diet.
So what can you do? Research. Learn about pet food labels and how to interpret them. Read and compare pet food labels. And buy the highest quality food that you can afford and that your dog does well on. If your dog is having chronic ear infections, hot spots, skin infections, chronic intermittent vomiting and/or diarrhea, gas, then diet may be a cause. Have your pet seen by a veterinarian to rule out medical causes. But understand that most vets don't have very much education when it comes to nutrition. Vets get one class on nutrition in veterinary school and it's sponsored by the big pet food companies like Hills, Waltham, etc. Bit of a conflict of interest there if you ask me. And before you put your pet on an expensive prescription diet from the vet, read up on the ingredients of those high-priced diets. Holistic veterinarians are an excellent resource for a more complete perspective on nutrition and diet.
Also, while a raw diet may be excellent, if not balanced properly it can be hazardous to your pet's health. Balance is important as well as considerations for the reality of bacterial concerns with feeding raw meat. Raw diets aren't as difficult as some people make them out to be. However, there are things that are essential to a raw diet in order for it to be balanced. One of the most important components of a raw diet is calcium. Meat is high in phosphorus and must be balanced by a calcium source. If you want to explore raw diets there are a wide variety of sources for information available. Do your research, consult with a canine nutritionist or holistic veterinarian, and be careful what recipes you follow. You don't want to necessarily follow "Bob's raw food recipe" found at random on the web without having a basic understanding of balanced raw food feeding concepts. Also, some people foods are highly toxic to dogs, so be aware.
Contrary to what you may hear from militant raw feeders, not all dogs tolerate raw. I've known quite a few dogs who got very sick on raw, even when their owners did everything correctly. My own dog lost his tolerance of raw as he got older. Meals with raw made him vomit and it got progressively worse. Took out the raw and substituted high quality canned and no more vomiting. So raw feeding isn't necessarily the magical cure for everything as some tout it to be. Also, a common misconception is that you will harm your dog if you feed kibble and raw at the same meal. This has not proven to be true. Also, my own dogs would vomit if I fed raw one meal, kibble at another. Feeding them together at the same meal eliminated the vomiting and they do very well.
http://therawfeedingcommunity.com/2015/01/08/digest-this-kibble-may-actually-digest-faster-than-raw/
There's a lot of information out there about dog nutrition and feeding. Some of it is great, some of it is junk. I'll include some resources below for those who would like to learn more.
Some of you may ask, "Well, what do you feed your dogs?" I feed a combination of high quality, all natural dry and a commercially available balanced ground frozen raw product (fed thawed and gently heated, but not cooked). I occasionally add in ground flax seed, coconut oil, fish oil, and canned pumpkin. This works very well for my dogs. Their poops are small and firm, their coats are nice and shiny with no itchies, their breath is good and their teeth look fine, eyes and ears are clean and healthy. That's what works best for me, my dogs, my budget, and my energy levels.
Also, on a very personal note, my PERSONAL opinion is that I will not feed my dogs whole raw bones. I have heard over and over how raw bones are safer than cooked and don't cause problems. But I personally have seen dogs with intestinal perforations and broken teeth from RAW bones. I will not feed my dogs raw bone unless it is ground to a very small size (like rice grain sized or smaller). That is a choice I make that goes very much against the generally accepted views of raw feeding. Please NEVER feed your dogs or cats cooked bones!!
*VERY IMPORTANT!!! Cats are different!! Their nutritional needs as obligate carnivores are specialized. I think the most important thing to know is that dry food is NOT optimal for cats. A diet of only dry food can contribute to serious and even life threatening health problems for cats including diabetes, kidney failure, and urinary and bladder issues including urinary blockage (a life threatening medical EMERGENCY). Cats NEED a moist animal protein diet with minimal to no carbohydrates in the form of canned, raw, and/or homemade. Please see the following links for more information:
http://www.catinfo.org/
http://www.yourdiabeticcat.com/diet.html
http://www.catnutrition.org/
There's so much more I could say about pet nutrition, but it can't all fit in one post. Please join me in the future for more information on pet nutrition. If you'd like additional help in learning about pet food nutrition, labels, and choosing a pet food, please contact me a fcdogtraining@gmail.com. Please consult with a veterinarian before making any changes to your pet's diet, especially if your pet is showing any signs of illness or health issues.
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/helpful-dog-food-articles/
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/holistic-healthcare-library/food-diet---general/147/top-10-myths-about-pet-food-and-nutrition.aspx
*Disclaimer-The information in this blog is for informational and educational purposes only. This information does NOT constitute or replace veterinary advice. Please consult with a qualified nutritional and/or veterinary professional prior to acting on or relying on any of the content. Author assumes NO liability.
