Have you ever looked at your dog food ingredients list? If you think it is hard to understand, you're not alone. But what you don't know about what is in your dog food could cause health problems for your dog. You only want the best for your pet, but his current dog food may actually be harming him.
Sometimes is seems like you need a degree to figure out all the ingredients in your dog food. What do all these terms mean? The dog food companies basically tell you not to worry about it - they will take care of your beloved pet. But consumers got a terrible wake-call with the massive pet food recalls over the last few years. They may know what is best for our dogs, but that is not what they are giving us. Thankfully, more organic and all-natural pet foods have been springing up, giving us healthier dog food choices.
Although some of the ingredients seem like a foreign language, one you learn some tips in reading through the label, you will be able to compare dog foods and figure out which one is healthiest for your dog.
1. Ingredients are listed by weight, by law. So the first 5 - 10 ingredients listed are the main ingredients in the dog food. Good ingredients will equal a good dog food.
2. Look for natural preservatives, such as vitamins E and C (also shown as tocopherols and ascorbic acid). Inferior dog foods still use BHT, BHA, and Ethoxyquin. These chemical preservatives have been banned from use in human food.
3. A trick some dog food companies use, legally, is to break up one ingredient into several "sub-ingredients," thus moving these ingredients lower in the ingredient list. This is especially true for inferior grains. For example, instead of seeing "corn" listed, you might see corn bran, corn gluten, and corn flour, even though they are all derived from corn. Now, another ingredient that weighs more than either of these sub-ingredients, will be listed before these.
4. We all want to see a meat listed as a top 2 ingredient. That way we know our pet will get the good protein he needs. But really, you want to see the meal of that meat listed instead. If a meat is listed by itself, then its weight is measured complete with liquid. That makes it very easy to put as a #1 or #2 ingredient. But when the food is actually processed, the liquid is removed, so weight-wise, it might actually fall down to #3 or #4. A meat meal is weighed after the meat has been dehydrated. So you get more of the animal protein and nutrients in the meat meal than you would just the meat.
The moral of the story? Learn to read the labels to see what you are actually feeding your dog. Your current dog food may be great, or it may be the worst thing for your dog. Don't just rely on enticing packaging showing a delicious chicken and lots of fresh beautiful fruits and vegetables. Although we like to think that is what we are feeding our dogs, the reality is, most dog foods are nothing like this!
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