7 Dog Food Ingredients that could be Hurting Your Dog!
What ingredients make for good and bad dog food?
With so many dog foods available on today’s market that are commercially prepared, it is often quite difficult as only a dog owner to tell which ones are better than others and why.
First of all, many of the big companies are paying really slick marketers and advertisers millions of dollars per year to advertise their dog food. The amount of money they are spending on marketing has no relationship to the quality of the dog food. This is unfortunate for you as some of the best advertised dog food is inferior.
There is one way for you to guess the quality of dog food however it is not fool proof. You can normally use the price of the food as an indicator as to the quality. Low priced foods are not always, but most often, the lowest quality foods on the market and likewise the more expensive are normally better quality.
When feeding your dog you want to make sure that the adult dog food you are feeding is 22-25% protein and 15-19% fat. The protein should come from a good quality source. Some dogs such as puppies, large breeds, and active breeds have different protein and fat requirements so make sure to discuss this with your vet to ensure proper feeding of your dog.
When making an informed decision, you must know which ingredients are better than others. When you look at the dog food label, the following are the kinds of ingredients that you are looking for:
- Human Grade Ingredients Chicken meal
- Turkey meal
- Fish meal
- Rice
- Potatoes
- Lamb meal
- Potatoes
- Rice
- Sunflower Oil
- Vegetables and others.
For a good dog food, the first four ingredients on the dog food label should not be grains. Instead they should consist of things like meat and proteins.
You also want to make sure it says chicken meal and not chicken as the primary ingredient. If it says chicken only, this means that the manufacturers are counting the entire chicken toward protein value. This includes all of the pieces they have probably scraped of the ground such as beaks, feathers, and feet. With chicken meal, they are only counting the cooked down version of the protein. This will ensure that your dog is getting the appropriate kind of protein and not by products.
Vitamins and fatty acids are also good ingredients in dog foods. Some examples include Vitamin E, Omega 3 and 6, etc. These are very important for a healthy looking skin and coat.
Make sure your dog food is not laden with preservatives. Some of the ingredients that you don’t want to see on your dog food label are the inferior protein’s which consists of but are not limited to variations of the following: Wheat, Corn, Chicken by-products, Soy, Gluten.
These ingredients are hard to digest and can cause health problems later on if used for a long period of time. Sugar is another ingredient that you want to stay away from.
You are always better off making your own dog food and dog treats from recipes such as those you can find at www.dogtreatrecipes.com.au, however if you are purchasing dog food you really should only purchase from a company that spends time and money field testing their products.
You can always be sure that companies such as Purina, the Iams Company (which also includes Eukanuba), Royal Canin, Nutro, Diamond, and Hill’s Science Diet are constantly testing their foods to provide the optimum quality ingredients. These companies offer different grades of food, however, from lower quality to premium quality so make sure that you always read the labels.
These are not the only companies by any means who make good quality dog food. The important thing is to read the label, do your research, ask questions of your veterinarians and pet professionals and always be informed. People who work at feed stores are usually a good resource and can help you find good quality pet food. Breeders can also be a good source for finding a quality food for your dog. Dog trainers will also often have a good knowledge of proper nutrition.
You should always follow your veterinarian’s recommendation on food as well. Many times dogs of certain ages or with certain health conditions need to be on a prescription diet. While these diets are often expensive, they do contain the proper nutrients that dogs in these categories need. Many times owners will switch to a commercial food because of cost or palatability concerns and the dog’s health will go in to a decline. Your veterinary staff know what is best for your particular dog.
While it is often confusing, proper dog nutrition is vital to the health and longevity of your dog. By knowing what consists of good quality ingredients and which ingredients to avoid, you can be assured that you will choose the proper food for your dog. As always, if you have questions, ask your veterinary staff for more information.
If you are looking for healthy nutrious but yummy gourmet dog treat recipes come and visit Justin Bryce who is the Proprietor of http://www.dogtreatrecipes.com.au
Tags: dog food, Dog Food Recipes, dog treat recipes, gourmet dog food, home made dog food recipesDog Food Recipe - Breakfast Casserole
Breakfast Category
Breakfast Casserole
Category: Breakfast
Serves: 10
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Quick Tip:
This casserole contains just the right proportions of carbs, fat and protein for your pooch’s health.
If your dog is taking medication in pill or liquid form, this rich breakfast can easily camouflage them from suspicious snouts!
Ingredients:
- 1 package refrigerated crescent rolls
- 250 ml (1 cup) mozzarella cheese
- 60 ml (1/4 cup)unsalted butter
- 100 ml (1/3 cup) whole wheat flour
- 250 ml (1 cup) chicken broth
- 200 ml (3/4 cup) water
- 100 ml (1/3 cup) dry milk
- 480 ml (2 cups) chopped ham (cooked)
- 360 ml (1 1/2 cups) frozen hash browns
- 6 chopped hard-boiled eggs
Preparation & Cooking:
- Press rolls over the bottom of a baking dish, approximately 13″ x 9″ x 2″
- Sprinkle the rolls with mozzarella cheese.
- Heat the oven to 190C (375F) and bake for 10 minutes.
- While the rolls are baking melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour, broth and milk. Keep stirring until it thickens, remembering to constantly stir.
- Fold in the ham, hash browns and eggs.
- After 10 minutes take the rolls out of the oven, keep the oven on, and pour your mixture over the crusty rolls.
- Put it back in the oven for 25 minutes to cook.
Remember to never serve them hot to your dog, you might just burn his tounge and then you will be up for a visit to the Vets.
Leftovers can be cut and stored in an airtight, refrigerated container for easy use later.
Justin Bryce is the Proprietor of http://www.dogtreatrecipes.com.au.
Stop by for yummy dog treat recipes and fantastic dog health and care tips plus way’s to spoil your dog.
Choosing Dog Food For A Balanced And Healthy Diet Needs More Careful Thought That You Might Think
Your dog needs a balanced diet of protein, carbohydrates and fats to maintain good general health, a healthy skin and coat, and plenty of energy. Broad guidelines are: 20-25% protein, 20-35% fat and 40-60% carbohydrate. Like humans, they need vitamins and minerals, though unlike us their need for Vitamin C is satisfied by their ability to synthesize it for themselves. Essential vitamin B1, however, is not stored by dogs, and can be lost in food processing. It may need to be supplied as a supplement.
Just feeding your dog lean meat does not satisfy these guidelines. In nature, dogs will eat all of their prey, including fat and the contents of the gut, which as a whole provides close to this ideal balanced diet. In fact, dogs in the wild have been observed to prefer to eat the gut of their prey first. Studies have confirmed this preference in domestic dogs, by showing they generally prefer their food cooked, warm, wet and ground up rather than in raw meaty chunks. Dogs are not delicate eaters, however. As natural scavengers, they will eat almost anything when they are hungry, and will naturally gulp down large meals quickly when food is available. Their ancestors never knew when next they might get an opportunity to eat.
Commercially processed and balanced dog food is commonly fed to dogs to help meet their ideal requirements, incorporating the necessary vitamin and mineral supplements. Often these foods come in dry form for ease of storage, or in cans or sausages, and offer a simple and convenient solution that is popular with a high proportion of dog owners. The commercial pet food business is today a huge industry. Store bought commercial dog foods are not always cheap, however.
An alternative for dog owners is to mix their own balanced dog food diet. It’s tricky to get the right combination of the right foods. Human diet guidelines are not necessarily appropriate. You will have to read up on the subject to know what you are doing. To give one example of the unique dietary issues to consider, including too much dried skim milk powder could cause scouring because of its high lactose content that dogs find difficult to digest. Recipes that offer guidance are readily available should you choose to take this approach.
Dogs like to chew on large bones, but small bones and cooked bones that may splinter should be avoided. They are a common cause of death for dogs when ingested. Cooked chicken, lamb chop and fish bones are especially dangerous. Scraps from the table are always popular with dogs, and feeding your dog after you have eaten is one of the strategies you should adopt to assert your “alpha” position in the “pack.” But do watch out not just for small bones, but also for other dangers they may contain, like toothpicks.
An aspect of dog behavior is that they will learn to associate a particular food with a bad experience, such as a digestive upset, and, as a natural survival instinct, may never eat it again. This may explain the frustrating and mysterious aversions to some foods that dog owners occasionally observe.
Feeding your seemingly ravenous dog is a little more complicated than it appears to be at first glance, but rarely presents any difficulty once you are aware of the unique requirements of dogs.
Shelby Wright grew up working with sheep herding dogs on a farm, and later bred and showed gun dogs. For more helpful information see Shelby’s reviews of dog training guides and dog care. Shelby also contributes private label rights articles to PLRWrittenArticles and writes an information products review blog.
Tags: dog food, Dog Food Recipes, feeding a dog, Feeding your dog, Homemade dog food